As we close the 2025, there are prominent persons whose souls we lost and cannot forget.
The Nile Post looks at some of them
Journalist Risdel Kasasira
The year 2025 begun on a sad note with the death of former Daily Monitor senior, Risdel Kasasira in an accident.
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Risdel, as he was commonly known as by his peers died on January, 4 on Masaka Road while he together his family were returning from the village when his wife Charlotte Nshimire, who was behind the wheels, lost control of their Toyota Fielder and plunged into a swamp .
While Kasasira was not a soldier but in death, he was being saluted by the men in uniform like he was a fallen combatant, a show of the respect he commanded.
Muhammad Ssegirinya
As if January 2025 was not yet done, it also took Kawempe North MP, Muhammad Ssegirinya who died at the age of 37.
Ssegirinya, a member of the opposition National Unity Platform died at Rubaga Hospital leaving behind a legacy marked by unfulfilled potential and a political journey marred by several challenges.
Having been one of the youngest MPs, Ssegirinya, nicknamed ‘Eddoboozi Ly’eKyebando’ literally translated as Kyebando’s voice was an embodiment of youthful ambition and the promise of change but his tenure in parliament was short-lived.
By the time of his death, Ssegirinya had spent more time outside parliament than in the August House.
ISO Boss, Brig Oluka
On January, 29, Internal Security Organisation Director General, Henry Oluka.
Brig Oluka who had taken over ISO in October 2020 from Col Frank Bagyenda, had been battling with heart complications and died st at Doctor’s Hospital Sseguku along Entebbe Road where he had been taken earlier in the day.
He is credited for changing the face of ISO which had been tainted by some of the operations it carried out during the tenure of his predecessor.
Karooro Okurut
In August, former minister , senior presidential advisor, and one of Uganda’s most celebrated female authors, Mary Karooro Okurut died.
She died in Nairobi, Kenya.
Karooro, a distinguished figure in both Uganda’s political and literary circles was widely respected for her advocacy on gender equality, education, and the promotion of Ugandan literature.
Sam Omalla
In April, prominent retired police commander, Sam Omalla died at the age of 65.
Omalla who had retired at the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police succumbed to colon cancer on Monday at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
He is remembered as one of the fierce police commanders during the times of Walk- to- Work protests by opposition kingpin Dr.Kizza Besigye that he quelled.
This meant he often bore the brunt of public insults towards the police force.
AIGP Kataratambi
On October 2025, AIGP Charles Kataratambi, who was the police director for human rights and legal services died.
He had been battling health complications since his appointment to the position.
Kataratambi, who joined the Force as a cadet in 2001, rose through the ranks with a career largely spent in the Criminal Investigations.
He later headed the Media Crimes Unit, the Land Protection Police Unit, and the Flying Squad before being transferred to the Special Investigations Division in 2013
In 2015, he was among the officers arrested over allegations of mishandling a fraud case but was subsequently cleared.
However, he remained undeployed for almost 10 years until May 2024 when President Museveni promoted him to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police and assigned to lead the Human Rights and Legal Services directorate.
Rajiv Ruparelia
Among others that death snatched in 2025 was businessman Rajiv Ruparelia, the Managing Director of the Ruparelia Group.
Rajiv,as he was popularly known, died after his vehicle crashed into temporary concrete barriers placed without proper signage at the Busabala Flyover junction shortly after midnight.
Saddened by Rajiv’s death, many expressed anger over the unending state of road construction works along the Kajjansi-Munyonyo route, particularly at the Busabala flyover junction in Kibiri.
Many attested that the spot has seen many accidents caused by lack of proper signage.
His death touched many Ugandans .
Cedric Babu
At the end of May, charismatic media personality, former national tennis star, talent manager, and political aspirant, Cedric Babu Ndilima died at the age of 46.
Cedric succumbed to heart complications at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi.
Cedric, a son of prominent figures – veteran politician Capt. Francis Babu and Olive Zaitun Kigongo, the CEO of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce – was far from unknown. His life had touched sport, business, arts and, more recently, politics.
His death, just like that of Rajiv, touched many.
Shaka Ssali
Celebrated journalist, Shaka Ssali was also among those that went with 2025.
Affectionately known as the “Kabale Kid,” , the former host of Voice of America’s (VOA) flagship programme Straight Talk Africa, died at the age of 71, in the United States, where he had been based.
Ssali’s death hurt many, in Uganda, as those elsewhere in the world who reflected to his over two decades or so as the face and voice of Straight Talk Africa, where he engaged African leaders, analysts, and citizens in critical discussions on democracy, governance, and development.
His insightful interviews and unwavering commitment to press freedom earned him widespread respect across the continent and beyond.
Margaret Komuhangi
Former Nakasongola District Woman MP Margaret Komuhangi died in India where she had been hospitalised.
Komuhangi who served two terms from 2011 to 2021 will always be remembered for leaving an indelible mark in the district, particularly in the areas of women’s empowerment.
Prof George Kanyeihamba
At the beginning of the second half of the year, prominent legal scholar and retired Supreme Court Justice George William Kanyeihamba died at the age of 86, following a prolonged illness.
Kanyeihamba died at Kampala Hospital where he had been admitted.
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He will always be remembered as a man of deep intellect and fierce conviction while his career spanned academia, the judiciary, and politics.
Prof. Kanyeihamba played a pivotal role in shaping Uganda’s post-independence legal framework and was widely regarded as a symbol of legal independence and democratic values.
Musinguzi Garuga
Among others that went with 2025 was prominent businessman and philanthropist James Garuga Musinguzi who died at a hospital in Kampala at 72.
Garuga will always be remembered as one who delivered one of the most humbling blows in Uganda’s political history when he challenged and defeated Amama Mbabazi — then the all-powerful Minister of Defence — in court in 2002.
He also was one of the founding members of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) a party he not only helped build but also gave it a home at Najjanankumbi.
John Kazoora
Maj Kazoora, a former Kashari legislator and an outspoken critic of President Museveni also went with 2025 .
The bush war hero died at the age of 69 after battling a long illness.
Kazoora will always be remembered for his memoir Betrayed by My Leader, in which he chronicles his journey from an idealistic university student to a frontline fighter in the 1981-86 guerrilla war that brought President Museveni to power.
The book is a powerful indictment of what he described as the betrayal of the revolutionary values the NRA once stood for–freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.