The State Minister for East African Community Affairs, Hon. Magode Ikuya, during the burial of the late Joseph Kutosi—his father-in-law and a founder of FRONASA and Elgon 13—explained to mourners the role played by the late Kutosi and others such as Masaba Natolo and himself in spreading FRONASA ideology in the Bugisu region in the mid-1970s.
Hon. Magode Ikuya, who is also a son-in-law to the late Kutosi, briefed mourners on the role he and Mzee Kutosi played in southern Bugisu in the 1970s, when Magode was a young man involved in FRONASA operations in the region.
The late Joseph Kutosi, a notable businessman, contractor, and political supporter as well as a funder of Elgon 13, was laid to rest on Wednesday, the 7th, in Buluchecke. He passed away at the age of 95 due to natural causes. He is survived by five wives, about 43 children (both living and deceased), and nearly 300 grandchildren.
Various speakers at the burial eulogized the role the late Kutosi played in promoting education, politics, and development in Bududa.
The Umukuka III of the Bamasaaba people, His Highness Jude Mike Mudoma, through the institution’s spokesperson and culture minister, encouraged the Bamasaaba to plan for their children, to have many, but also to ensure they are educated.
The Umukuka III further reminded the Bamasaaba people present of how he had worked closely with the late Joseph Kutosi under Elgon 13 as they supported the National Resistance Army (NRA) in Masaabaland in the mid-1980s. “I found Joseph Kutosi befitting the description of an elder, and as a cultural institution, we shall recognize his efforts at an appropriate time, even if posthumously,” the Umukuka stated.
Steven Masiga is a researcher from Mbale.
