Brother of Besigye lawyer found dead in Ntungamo

Anthony Kushaba, the younger brother of exiled lawyer Aaron Kizza, who has represented dettained opposition figure Dr Kizza Besigye, was found dead in his rented room in Ntungamo town on Friday, hours after spending an evening with friends.

Kushaba, 36, was a communications officer with Ntungamo District Local Government and a former Uganda Radio Network (URN) journalist. He had served in the district for about eight years.

His colleagues became concerned after he failed to report to work on Friday and could not be reached on his phone.

“We were together at a burial of his aunt in Nyabihoko on Thursday. We came together, had dinner and he drove and went home at around 10:00pm,” said Eng Prosper Butubuura, a close workmate.

“He was always among the first to report to office, but at times he would travel to his home (Kabale) without telling anyone. We realised he was not in office and not coming in at about midday, and calls to his phone were not going through. We decided to look for him physically,” Butubuura said.

Kushaba rented a room a few metres from the district headquarters where he worked. When Butubuura and colleagues went to check on him, they found the door locked and received no response when they knocked.

“I called in the landlady and we decided to call police, but before police came, I looked through the hind window and saw the shoes he was putting on in the evening. The door was locked from inside and there were all signs he was inside,” Butubuura said.

The door was later broken open and Kushaba was found dead on his bed.

His landlady, Juliet Kwata, said Kushaba normally woke up in the morning, greeted people and then went to work, although his routine sometimes made it difficult for neighbours to know whether he was inside his room.

She said he would sometimes sleep for several extra hours or leave his car parked outside while going to the office, meaning his absence from the compound did not immediately raise suspicion.

The night before his death, Kushaba had been with friends at a pork joint in Buhumuriro suburb, where they spent the evening together.

“He told us many stories, mimicked a wedding for one of us and gave each one roles to be played at that wedding. He was a very happy man,” a friend who asked not to be named said.

A postmortem conducted at Itojo Hospital reportedly found ruptured blood vessels, according to Butubuura, who said doctors linked the condition to Kushaba's death.

There was no immediate indication that Kushaba's death was connected to his brother's exile or his work as a lawyer. Butubuura said Kushaba had not reported receiving threats to his life, although he had previously raised concerns over problems related to his work.

Kushaba began his journalism career in 2009 before moving into radio presentation at BFM in Bushenyi and later Voice of Kigezi in Kabale.

He later joined URN, where he served as the agency's Mbarara bureau chief for about three years before joining Ntungamo District Local Government.

Colleagues remembered him as outspoken and willing to raise workplace grievances.

“If we had grievances and failed to pass them through, we would tell Anthony and he would either say it during meetings or tell it to the concerned directly,” said Florence Kisembo, an inventory officer.

“He fought for our rights and was straight and to the point, an open man,” she added.

Kushaba is survived by his wife and three children.