The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Serving from 2003-2012, Humphrey Ahimbisibwe popularly known as Mushere was hailed as the architect of the school’s resurgence
OBITUARY | IAN KATUSIIME | “Good evening school,” he would belt out to the packed makeshift main hall at the Monday evening school assembly. “Good evening sir,” the students would reply in unison. This is how Humphrey Ahimbisibwe would begin his weekly address as head teacher to Ntare School in his usual Kaunda suit attire, often in sparkling white.
This was in the mid-2000s at a time when Ahimbisibwe, popularly known as Mushere, was hailed for the turn-around of Ntare as an academic giant in Uganda after it had gone through years of slumber. He died on May 13 aged 69 after a battle with cancer of the colon, his family said.
At Ntare, Mushere’s decisions were not always popular but he found a way of enforcing them. With his thin, neatly kempt moustache and a slow but deliberate gait, he forged a reputation as a strict disciplinarian and a deft administrator who ensured that academic success was the prime goal of every young lad who arrived at the gates of Ntare.
An excellent mentor. Fully responsible for Ntare School’s resurrection. As Head Prefect (@agabadave, was Deputy) his emphasis on personal responsibility for our lives stuck with us. His memory will keep a blessing. https://t.co/Wxx6MXYmiQ
— DBwambale (@TheMutaD) May 13, 2021
Mushere was a physics teacher who also served in Kyebambe Girls SS in Kabarole, Kashaka Girls SS, Muntuyera High School Kitunga, Ruhinda SS, Bweranyangi Girls SS. In his career as an administrator, he was the only male head teacher of Bweranyangi Girls SS in Bushenyi district.
Baptism of fire at Ntare
When he was appointed headmaster in early 2003, students went on strike in his first term. It was a baptism of fire. Mushere introduced restrictions on how much time students could spend outside school. Unlike many schools, Ntare had cultivated a reputation as a mini university- students were free to go to town or go off campus after class hours. Many students felt he was moving too quick with the new reforms.
Mushere’s decision to curtail these freedoms infuriated students so much that they set fire to the administration offices. “Word was passing around that we shouldn’t go for nshera (porridge served at breakfast). Generally a strike was imminent but the older boys; especially S6 begged people not to go on strike,” recalls Hans Ateenyi, a Senior Two student at the time.
The new headmaster made a few concessions and the students also budged from their dug in positions and some normalcy was restored. However Mushere was beginning to put his imprint on Ntare. By the end of his second year, Ntare was topping the academic charts with its best students scoring an 8 in 8 aggregate at O-level, topping the Western region and putting Ntare back on an equal footing with other top-rated schools in the country.
Such a leader & humble giant. The architect of the resurgence of Ntare School’s excellence both academic & co-curricular in the 2000s. You influenced our young impressionable minds & instilled belief in us that we can be anything we want to be. May God receive you with mercy! https://t.co/Yp5X7eX5Gs
— Pathy (@PathyKlinn) May 13, 2021
Under his reign, Ntare maintained its dominance in sports; especially in football and volleyball for the western region. Mushere exercised a strict adherence to rules and discipline and it had near fatal consequences for him much earlier. While headmaster at Muntuyera High School, a mob of students ganged up on him and chopped off part of his thumb.
However, he lived to tell the tale and carried on with his life as a teacher and an administrator. Many former students have described him as a mentor, a great educationist and a father figure. “Such a leader and humble giant. The architect of the resurgence of Ntare School’s excellence both academic & co-curricular in the 2000s, wrote Pathius Akabanjuna, a former student on Twitter.
“You influenced our young impressionable minds and instilled belief in us that we can be anything we want to be. May God receive you with mercy!” he added.
“An excellent mentor. Fully responsible for Ntare School’s resurrection,” Daniel Bwambale, a former Head Prefect described him. “His emphasis on personal responsibility for our lives stuck with us. His memory will keep a blessing.”
It was under Mushere when the school had two memorable events; an Old Boys reunion in 2004 and the Golden Jubilee Celebrations in 2006 both attended by President Yoweri Museveni, Ntare’s most prominent old boy. The 2006 fete was also attended by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, another prominent old boy. Over its more than 60 years existence, Ntare produced a rich network of alumni including Mushere and many of his contemporaries who serve in government.
At the Golden Jubilee celebrations, Museveni and Kagame praised Mushere for his stewardship of their former school.
All round administrator
Eligious Birindwarugaba aka Bonshe who served as a deputy headmaster under Mushere described his former boss as a rare man and all round administrator. “He was very devoted to his work and very conscious of academic performance.”
Mushere was born in 1952 in Igara, Bushenyi District. He went to Bumbaire and Ruyonza Primary schools before joining Ntare School, where he spent his six years of secondary school. He enrolled at Makerere University for Bachelor of Education with Science where he launched his education career. Mushere worked his way through various schools as a teacher to the ranks of headmaster that saw him return to Ntare where his skills as an educationist were most profound. He was buried at his home in Kashaka, Mbarara. He is survived by a wife and four children.
