On October 9, the late-afternoon sun hangs gently over Naalya as I walk into Eldard Mugabe’s home. Laughter, murmurs and the excited shuffle of chairs spill from the compound as Samuel Bakutana moves across small clusters of men and women, guiding teams through a tense but joyous Bible quiz. It is a St John’s Kamwokya Church of Uganda Mothers’ and Fathers’ Union joint fellowship, but beyond the competition, something else is happening-hearts are reconnecting.
For two hours, the quiz stretches across current affairs and everyday life. When the fellowship winds down, and people begin strolling out in small groups, Bakutana does not rush to pack up or slip away. Instead, he wanders through the compound with an easy warmth, greeting, listening, and embracing. His presence alone tells a story: leadership, for him, is not a seat at the front, it is a posture of service.
As the Provincial President of the Fathers’ Union in Uganda, Bakutana’s calling was shaped not by ambition but by awakening. He learned early that life is not measured by bills paid or promotions secured, but by a personal walk with God that demands action.
Service, he says, is the rent paid for the privilege of living on God’s earth.
‘In God’s economy, the currency for paying rent is obedience, humility, and love. When men rise to serve in their homes, churches, and communities, families flourish, children thrive and nations heal,’ Bakutana says.
Family roots that shaped a servant-leader
To understand the passion behind his mission, you must return with him to Buyanja in Rukungiri district, where leadership was not taught in speeches but lived in footsteps. His late father, a polygamist and lifelong educationist, carried the weight of many responsibilities including teacher, headmaster, district chairperson of headteachers, community mediator. He was the kind of man who would lead a choir and settle a village dispute before lunch.
‘His voice carried authority but his heart carried unity. Growing up in such a home taught me that leadership is not about titles but impact by showing up and serving others,’ Bakutana recalls.
His childhood was stitched together by long walks to school, rotating home chores and the humbling reality that responsibility was not optional.
With siblings across two homes, he learnt early that care must be shared and that life’s lessons often come wrapped in hardship.
Innate leadership
Academically, his journey wound through Kyamakanda Central, Nyakaina Primary School, and later Kyamakanda Secondary School. He excelled, earning a government scholarship to Kyambogo University. But long before university, leadership kept finding him, sometimes through elections, sometimes through appointments, and sometimes, he says with a smile, simply because he ‘showed up early and stayed late.’
‘Year after year, I found myself in positions of responsibility, some by vote and others by appointment. A few were because I showed up early and stayed late,’ he says.
From class monitor in primary school to district Speaker of UNSA, from chairing debating clubs to leading diocesan youth missions, he lived in constant preparation, being refined, stretched, challenged.
‘These positions prepared me for future leadership in phenomenal ways. Student leadership shaped me and the leader I would become later,’ he explains.
Further studies took him to Uganda Christian University, Singapore, Harvard, Germany and beyond, each step sharpening his calling to serve.
Rising to the provincial presidency
Becoming Provincial Fathers’ Union President is not for the timid. It is not for men who think leadership is wearing a tie or giving long wedding prayers.
It demands strategic leadership, spiritual stamina and deep personal discipline. The constitution leaves no room for shortcuts.
‘The constitution demands that you must have been an active member of the Fathers’ Union for at least seven years. You must be a husband of one biological female wife and actively involved in your local church,’ he says.
He explains the requirements with humility, but also pride for an institution that takes men’s spiritual maturity seriously.
‘It’s not just a title but a calling. If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?’ he quotes.
Transforms families
In his gentle yet firm way, Bakutana carries the weight of families on his shoulders. His role is not ceremonial; it is deeply transformational.
‘I cause marriages to be strengthened by creating spaces where men are empowered to lead with love and wisdom, not just with money and remote control,’ he says.
He works with leaders across 39 dioceses to equip fathers to reclaim their spiritual positions, to turn homes into places of prayer, devotion and example.
And he dreams of a Uganda where a father’s presence is not accidental but intentional.
‘When fathers rise together, families thrive together. My job is to ensure we’re not just building houses but homes, legacies and a Uganda where Godly men lead with courage, compassion and conviction,’ he adds.
A burden for homes under siege
But with inspiration comes lament. Where families once thrived, many now struggle to breathe.
Bakutana worries about rising brokenness, ideological battles over family values, and a global push he believes undermines Biblical marriage.
‘These forces rarely come with red horns and warning signs. They package moral decay as health education. The media plays its part too, painting fathers as the violent, irrelevant, or unnecessary creatures,’ he explains.
He speaks with urgency, not anger, like a father distressed about children wandering off the right path.
Homes, he says, are becoming battlegrounds instead of sanctuaries.
Rebuilding families
For Bakutana, building strong families is a mission that goes far beyond sermons.
It calls for gatherings where couples speak honestly about prayer, conflict, parenting and partnership. It calls for men ready to lead with Christlike conviction, not silence or authoritarianism.
‘Let’s stop glorifying broken homes and start celebrating healthy ones,’ he advises.
He calls for media that builds families, workplaces that respect parenting, and churches that offer richer, more practical marriage ministry.
The work ahead
His tenure is anchored on 10 thematic areas, from mentoring boys and strengthening marriages to economic empowerment and Christian community life.
He believes that with the right structures, partnerships and spiritual grounding, families can be rebuilt and fathers restored.