The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Fourteen-year-old John Kakama is counting fortunes after being adopted by the Labour State Minister and Rushenyi County Member of parliament, Mwesigwa Rukutana. Kakama, who was born without arms, was abandoned by his parents because of his disability.
Despite writing with his feet, Kakama scored 16 aggregates in the recently released Primary Leaving Examinations-PLE. He obtained 4 in English, 5 in Mathematics, 3 in Social Studies and 4 in Science. He is among 51 candidates who passed in second grade out of the 1,128 special needs pupils who sat PLE last year.
Ninety two candidates obtained grade one, 14 grade 3 and 23 grade 4. However, Kakama had no hope of continuing to secondary education. Over the weekend, Rukutana learnt of his predicament through his caretaker who sought his intervention.
Rukutana told URN that he was impressed by Kakama’s exceptional performance in PLE.
He told URN that after seeing the child, the Lord commanded him to fully adopt him and fully take care of his education and other needs. “I got him a bursary at Global High School, Omungyenyi. I have cleared uniform cost, admission and auxiliary school charges.
He is now ready to start school. When I get an attendant, it’s my plan to bring him to a better school in Kampala,” says Rukutana. Rukutana says he used to support the family with little resources but didn’t know that Kakama was studying.
“First of all I didn’t know he had gone to school. Now, when I saw his P.7 results and writing with his foot, I could not imagine that boy could make those marks. I really felt a lot of sympathy for him,” says Rukutana.
Kakama’s caretaker, Dezi Nuwagaba says the 14-year-old child is well disciplined and has a promising future. “This boy has been studying well but the only challenge he has is that he is unable to bathe or dress himself and picking his food from the kitchen. But he has been a very hardworking boy in school,” Nuwagaba says.
He says Kakama was good at making friends and it is through his friends that he found easy life at school through his friend’s support. While at home, Kakama grazes goats. “If you leave him home with goats, he will graze them well but he cannot do any other home chores apart from that,” says Nuwagaba.
The excited Nuwagaba says they are optimistic that their son will be an important person in future.
“I have a family, his grandmother who is my mother is diabetic and we have been taking care of this boy. So when Hon. Rukutana announced to our family that he was going to take care of him, I felt very happy. Even when I told my mother about this development she felt extremely happy. The boy is sincerely grateful.”
“I feel much better for the sponsorship. I want to be a lawyer,” says Kakama.
Aggrey Byarugaba, the Director Global High School –Omungyenyi where Kakama is set to start his S.1 says the school has made the necessary arrangements for the child to learn. Byarugaba says he learnt of the boy’s disability while he was still in Primary six and kept monitoring his progress at school. He says he has no doubt that Kakama will fit perfectly well in the school and learn well.
He was born in 2006 at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital to Fred Tumusiime and a yet to be identified mother. Upon delivery without arms, Kakama’s mother reportedly wanted to kill him but he was saved by his grandmother, Jovanis Keminagano who had gone to attend to his daughter in law at hospital.
Kakama’s birth and father abandoned him. It is then that Keminagano took him in and brought him up in Katabega Cell, Nyanga Parish, Rubaare Sub-county in Ntungamo district. He was supported by his grandfather John Nzabandora and their son, Dezi Nuwagaba Nzabandora.
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