A TRIBUTE TO MR. FRANK MURAMUZi

A TRIBUTE TO MR. FRANK MURAMUZi

By Oweyegha-Afunaduula

Conservation Biologist

Center for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis

11th August 2025.

FRANK MURAMUZI:  A TRIBUTE

The news of the demise of environmentalist Frank Muramuzi early today, 11 August 2025,  found me when I was still in bed recuperating from an illness. I had not heard that he was sick. All the time I was involved in environmental struggles in Uganda, East Africa, Nile Basin and the World, I never saw him sick. He was always active defending the environment in all its dimensions against national and international political and corporate plots against the environment.

I did not know Frank Muramuzi until Ms Byaruhanga, formally in the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry at Makerere University, took me to his office at Makerere University where he taught refugees English, etc. That was in 1998. Martin Musumba and myself had formed  a civic crusade called Save Bujagali Crusade (SBC). We wanted to link our effort to a fearless, environmentally focused civil society organisation (CSO) adequately committed to  environmental conservation in all the dimensions of the environment (ecological-biological, socioeconomic, sociocultural temporal). Muramuzi was the Director of an environmental NGO called National Association of Professional Environmentalists.

The reality now is that of all three people who combated destructive development with reference to Bujagali Dam, I am the only one still alive. Martin Musumba died in 2013. And Now Frank Muramuzi has died today. But as William Shakespeare wrote, the world is a stage where we all come, play our different roles and then leave.

It was not easy to fight environmental causes in Uganda, because the leaders of Uganda were greatly in love with building a money economy at the expense of Nature, people and the environment. Frank Muramuzi was a very courageous and effective leader of the environmental struggles in Uganda Africa and the world. He quickly agrees that for the struggle against big dams in Uganda, Save Bujagali dam should operate as a project under the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE). Under NAPE, Save Bujagali Crusade became very effective, not only in Uganda but also in the whole world.

Under Muramuzi’s leadership, NAPE extended its influence all over the world as the NGO in Uganda that co fronted political and corporate forces with alternative to destroying nTure and the environment.

Here are some of the struggles that Muramuzi led.

1. Struggle against Bujagali and other dams.

2. Struggle again the use dangerous chemicals to remove the water weed, water hyacinth from Lake Victoria.

3. Struggle against destruction of Mabira Rainforest for sugarcane growing.

4. Struggle against destruction of freshwater resources in Western Uganda by oil development.

5. Struggle against oil palm growing in Kalangala and the rest of Uganda.

6. Struggle against Genetically Modified Organism.

7.Struggle against the Use of DDT to combat the Anopheles mosquito and Malaria.

8. Struggle against the destruction of indigenous agroecological systems.

9. Struggle against Desrtificalion by embracing analog forestry.

10. Struggle to popularise alternative energy resources (biogas, solar, geothermal) in Uganda.

Uganda and the environmental fraternity has lost a fearless, courageous leader who believes that words, environmental knowledge, awareness and  concern alone will not save the environment but ACTION will.

In all the struggles, Frank Muramuzi recognized that world was now a small global village, necessitating that environmental issues generated locally can manifest  themselves globally, and that  therefore, all humanity should be united in resolving them. This way he maintained an array of civil society organisations such as Friends of the Earth and International Rivers, which. Building a viable network of civil society organisation for the environment.We shall miss his environmental leadership, wisdom and courage.

May Frank Muramuzi’s Soul Rest in Peace!

For God and My Country