Mike Mukula’s love for his mother

Mike Mukula’s lite side

Any three things we don’t know about you?

I have very strong family values. I am from a very humble background. I have lived a very honest life, I don’t drink or smoke. I have an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I am too neat and clean.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

It is when one has a good relationship with family and God. I have very strong relations with Pastor Kayanja, Bishop T.D. Jakes, and Pastor Adeboye. My mother was a born again Christian though I did not follow in the same.

What is your greatest fear?

My greatest fear is to lose a loved one like a family member.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

I am extremely disciplined and I sometimes think it offends people. I also don’t like the fact that I have OCD. I love to live in a perfect environment and love everything to be done the right way which is not attainable in the real world. So I get frustrated and don’t like that about myself.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

I detest proud and corrupt people. I think it is so insensitive to be corrupt.

Which living person do you most admire?

I admire President Museveni for his high level of tolerance, bringing freedom in a state where there was tyranny, and having his heart bent to achieving the African dream by creating African solutions to African problems. No one can pin Museveni for corruption; he doesn’t even own a car of his own or a town house of his own. This is very admirable of an African leader.

What is your greatest extravagance?

I really love art and design. I am a very aesthetic person by nature and so I spend a lot on nice things.

What is your current state of mind?

I am more at ease now that I am in the private sector. While in the public sector, people make their problems your problems. They will come to you for school fees, upkeep, medical bills, burial fees and you have your free time infringed on. I am more at ease that I have been relieved of some of these uncalled for duties.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

I think it is humility. It is a virtue yes but it is overrated.

On what occasion do you lie?

I never tell lies. If I ever make a mistake and tell lies I will go back and apologise.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?

I love everything about myself.

Which living person do you most despise?

I think I despise Satan because he is living. Otherwise, no one else.

What is the quality you most like in a man?

I love a sincere and honest man who respects a woman. I grew up in a home where my father battered my mother who later raised us single handedly.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

I love a woman just like my mother; she was very hardworking and selfless. I also love it when a woman is particular and zealous just like my wife.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

I think I overuse the word ‘we’. I am not egoistic and self-centered. I believe in collective terms.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

It is shared between two people. My mother was the greatest love of my life. The second is my wife.

When and where were you happiest?

I was happiest when I was exonerated of the corruption charges that I had stolen money from the GAVI fund.

Which talent would you most like to have?

I wish I could play soccer just like Ronaldo. I’m an Arsenal supporter.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

It’s very difficult for me to judge myself and know what I need to fix.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Having broken the ‘glass ceiling’ of poverty and having come to live in the suburbs of Kampala among the affluent is my greatest achievement.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

I would still want to live my life. I would also want to live the life of Nelson Mandela. He broke the chains of subjugation, fought for freedom for all.

Where would you most like to live?

I would most like to live in Uganda. We have beautiful weather, the birds, and great people

What is your most treasured possession?

It is life.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

To lose someone you love so dearly. When I lost my mother around this time last year, it felt horrible.

What is your favorite occupation?

I love piloting. Flying gives me so much job satisfaction. My new found love now is business. I’m loving it in the private sector too.

What is your most marked characteristic?

I am such a go getter. Life is so short so I live like I’m only around for today but plan for tomorrow.

What do you most value in your friends?

Honesty, trust, and commitment.

Who are your favorite writers?

Chinua Achebe, Sun Tzu the author of `The Art of War”, and Nelson Algren.

Who is your hero of fiction?

I am not fascinated by fiction. It is very rare for me to watch or read fiction. I love to see the world as it is.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

I relate more with Fidel Castro; an icon of self-determination who led Cuba to stand against a super power like the Unite States and made his country self reliant.

Who are your heroes in real life?

Museveni is.

What are your favorite names?

African names. If it wasn’t for my mother to give me the name George Michael I would have made my name Mukula wa Mukula.

What is it that you most dislike?

I dislike greed, corruption, and pretense. On the other hand I love truth, hard work, and development.

What is your greatest regret?

I regret the election of Donald Trump. He is reckless. America is not just America like he keeps saying; the impact of America is global.

How would you like to die?

Whether you die very well or badly, death is death.

What is your motto?

No surrender, no retreat. Forward ever backward never.

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editor@independent.co.ug