Muniini K. Mulera

Mr. Enoch Lugimbirwa: now in glory, after a life well lived for Christ

By Muniini K. MuleraJanuary 25, 20220 comments

We have lost another wonderful elder, less than three weeks after the death of his wife. Omwami Enoch Lugimbirwa of Ruharo, Mburara died at about 1:30 AM EST on Tuesday January 25, 2022. He was 101 years old. When I last shared time with Mr. Lugimbirwa in ...

Enoch Lugimbirwa: saved to serve.

By Muniini K. MuleraUgandaMarch 11, 20181 comments

It was a great honour to share time with Mr. Enoch Lugimbirwa in Mburara, Nkore in January this year. A very dear brother in Christ, MR. Lugimbirwa is a refined gentleman whose warm smile and laughter reflect his great love for humanity. Mr. Lugimbirwa, who has lived and served ...

Tumusiime Mutebile was the real deal

By Muniini K. MuleraJanuary 24, 20220 comments

#Mutebile #Tumusiime #Ruhakana #Rugunda #Kabale #Kabaare #Kigezi #Kigyezi #Uganda

His name was Emmanuel Kirenga Baryabota Tumusiime Mutebile. Some called him The Governor. Others called him Professor. And others called him Doctor. I called him Tumusiime. And he always answered to that name, one I called him when I became pulled into his orbit in 1965 or 1966. Kabaare, ...

Bishop James Ssebagala wrong about pregnant schoolgirls

By Muniini K. MuleraJanuary 18, 20220 comments

#Pregnancy #teenager #adolescence #Ssebagala

“Block pregnant girls from attending school, bishop tells teachers.” This headline, in the Daily Monitor of Monday January 10, 2022, was quite startling. Anglican Bishop James Ssebagala of Mukono was reported to have declared war against pregnant and breastfeeding ...

Law School: My Unfulfilled Dream

By Muniini K. MuleraNovember 2, 20182 comments

#law #lawyer #unfulfilled #dream #law #school

I love law, as a profession. When I was an O-level (high school) student, I decided that I would become a lawyer. No, I had no clue what it entailed. I just wanted to be like John Wycliffe Rutagyemwa Kazoora. He was the lawyer. His was a household name in my neck of the ...

Dizzy Reece, the great, underrated trumpeter, turned 91 today

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicJanuary 5, 20220 comments

#Dizzy #Reece #Jazz #Trumpet

To celebrate Dizzy Reece’s birthday today, I have listened to Star Bright and Soundin’ Off, two of his recordings on the Blue Note Label that are my kind of music. At 91, Dizzy Reece is one of a tiny number of surviving great musicians from the Golden Age ...

Njonjo and Tutu: quiet departure ends an era

By Muniini K. MuleraJanuary 4, 20220 comments

#Njonjo #Tutu #Kenya

Charles Mugane Njonjo. Desmond Mpilo Tutu. Different in many ways. Similar in others. Blessed with long and impactful lives, one a centenarian, the other a nonagenarian. One a secular leader, proud of his African heritage, who helped steer independent Kenya through its wobbly infancy. The ...

Freddie Redd Quintet’s Shades of Redd: my kind of desert island music

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicJanuary 1, 20220 comments

#Freddie #Redd #Blue #Note #Jazz

Freddie Redd Quintet: Shades of Redd Blue Note BLP 4045 Recorded August 13, 1960, Mono Recording Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder Released May 1961 Musicians: Freddie Redd – piano Jackie McLean – alto saxophone Tina Brooks – tenor saxophone Paul Chambers – ...

J. R. Monterose: the best tenor saxophonist you never heard

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicDecember 31, 20210 comments

#Monterose #Jazz

My first encounter with J. R. Monterose was jaw-dropping. That was thirty years ago. Listening to him today is still jaw dropping. Bebop/hard bop, played by the masters in their young years. The rhythm section of Horace Silver (piano), Wilber Ware (bass) and “Philly” Joe ...

Gil Mellé's Patterns in Jazz: Underrated gem

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicDecember 30, 20210 comments

#Gil #Melle #Jazz #Blue #Note #Music #Matters #Jazz #MMJ

Underrated. Underappreciated. Underplayed. Underpromoted. These are the words that flow through my mind when I listen to Arab Barber Blues, Nice Question and other tracks on this 1956 Blue Note recording. This is swinging, enjoyable music. The rhythm section alone is worth the ...

Paradox of the non-believer celebrating Christmas

By Muniini K. MuleraDecember 28, 20210 comments

#Christmas #Christianity #Science #and #Faith #Big #Bang

My friend Rwangabo rwa Rutaregama sent me a beautiful electronic card from Uganda with the following words: “May this festive period fill your lives and hearts with light, love and a new hope. Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year 2022.” Greatly touched and ...

Are computer and cellphone screens safe for your eyes?

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of BooksDecember 22, 20210 comments

#Computer #Vision #Syndrome #CVS #Books

In a discussion about our preferred reading media, my friend Manuel J. K. Muranga asked me whether e-book reading was safe for human eyes. Manuel and I share a passion for printed books, and we readily plead guilty to being more comfortable with Johannes Gutenberg than ...

Professor Jack Ja’bi Ngalamu, my classmate with healing laughter

By Muniini K. MuleraSouth SudanDecember 20, 20210 comments

#Ngalamu #Ngalam #Tabi #Jabi #Budo #Juba #South #Sudan #Mundri

Photo: Jack and Haida Ngalamu (photographer unknown) High school brought us together. We were the class of 1967, King’s College, Budo. One girl and twenty-seven boys, freshly arrived from every corner of Uganda, to embark on a journey whose course we could not have imagined. ...

Beti Kamya destined for disillusionment in anti-corruption fight

By Muniini K. MuleraDecember 14, 20210 comments

#Beti #Kamya #Corruption #Museveni #Uganda #Lifestyle #audit

Let us talk corruption, but first things first. I readily acknowledge that corruption is a universal phenomenon. It is not unique to Uganda. Transparency International told us earlier this year that multinational companies based in “clean” or seemingly corruption-free ...

Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers / First Flight to Tokyo:The Lost 1961 Recordings

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicDecember 11, 20210 comments

#Art #Blakey #Jazz #Messengers #Lee #Morgan #Wayne #Shorter #Bobby #Timmins #Jymie #Merritt

The contents of the recently discovered tapes of this January 14, 1961 concert in Tokyo Japan are now on two vinyl LPs. Released on Friday December 10, 2021, the double LP package is as one would expect. It is Art Blakey (drums) with Lee Morgan (trumpet), Wayne Shorter tenor ...

Walter Davis Jr: Davis Cup

By Muniini K. MuleraMy Kind of Music Jazz MusicDecember 8, 20210 comments

#Walter #Davis #Davis #Cup #Jazz #Blue #Note #Donald #Byrd #Jacke #McLean

Walter Davis Jr (September 2, 1932 – June 2, 1990) was one the most underrecognized top tier jazz music pianists of the twentieth century. A native of Richmond, Virginia, he played with, among others, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Art Blakey ...