I first met the late Pamela Tumwebaze in 2003 when I joined Uganda Christian University (UCU) in my first year to pursue a degree in Mass Communication. In my first year, she was one of the youngest lecturers, teaching Writing and Study Skills.
Pamela was graceful and vibrant. Her warmth and charm quietly won the admiration of many students, though no one openly said so. She carried herself with simplicity, yet she was firm and disciplined in her work. After teaching us for a year, she moved on, and we no longer had her in class. Still, we would occasionally see her around the university compound, always wearing her signature, infectious smile.
Like many other students, one of my classmates and friends, Brian Semujju, admired her openly and never tried to hide it. Whenever he met her, he rushed to meet her and eagerly shook her hands, sometimes pausing in awe before hurrying back to join us.
After graduation, Brian, Frank Obonyo, and I remained at UCU to work with the university newspaper, The Standard. During that time, we continued interacting with Pamela and gradually built a closer professional relationship with her. Even after she rose through the ranks to become Director of Student Affairs, she remained humble and approachable.
She would often greet you first, accompanied by that unforgettable smile. I vividly recall meeting her after attending interviews at the university—she for the position of Director of Student Affairs, and I for a different role. When she walked out of Principal’s Hall, she looked calm and confident, smiling as though she had just left a cinema. “Things will be fine,” she said reassuringly. Her composure and confidence inspired me, and I went on to perform exceptionally well in my own interview. That was Pamela—graceful, confident, and encouraging. Tragically, Pamela was murdered on Tuesday night by an unknown assailant who broke into the home shared with her two little children.
Her passing is a profound loss to UCU.
Sadly, Brian too left us. After rising through the academic ranks to become a respected global scholar in Journalism, Media and Communication based at Makerere University, he succumbed to cancer last year. It was a devastating blow. I visited him a day before he died, together with Frank and Prof. Monica Chibita. He lay there silent and frail—a painful contrast to the lively and outspoken Brian we knew.
Frank and I later sat across the road outside the cancer hospital, helpless and heartbroken, sensing the inevitable. The next day, around midday, I received the news that he had passed on. Fear and sorrow overwhelmed me. I quietly asked myself, what is life? Though I had braced myself for Brian’s passing, the pain was immense. We buried him deep in Mityana. He had been very inspirational to many of us.
Pamela’s death, however, came as a shock. I woke up on Wednesday to a WhatsApp message from Frank: “Pam is no more.” I thought it was a cruel joke. “Are you serious?” I replied. “No, she is gone,” came the response. I returned to my bed and wept. I am currently in Sweden, where I have been since mid-January, completing my PhD dissertation.
For the past week, I had been sleeping only four hours a night, spending the rest transcribing interviews. Pursuing a PhD is no easy journey; it is demanding and exhausting. Coupled with the cold, dark winter here, the news of Pamela’s death pushed me into deep anguish. I found myself asking, Why, Lord? Why take my friends one by one at such a young age? Watching peers depart so early in life is a heavy burden to bear. What makes Pamela’s passing even more painful is that I encouraged her last year to pursue a PhD in Journalism, Media, and Communication at our school. She had only just begun that journey. In my grief, I found myself regretting—questioning whether I had led her into such a demanding path. But such thoughts cannot change reality. She is gone.
Rest in peace, Pamela and Brian. Though I am far away and unable to attend your final farewell, I know our UCU colleagues will honour you well. To the UCU community, I share in your grief. May you remain strong in the Lord.
John Semakula is Head of Department, Undergraduate Programmes, School of Journalism, Media and Communication.
