Forced into exile at nine, Ramathan Abdallah Gongo turned personal tragedy into a lifelong commitment to Uganda’s liberation and the NRM ideology.
“The chick that will grow into a cock is visible on the day of hatching,” goes an African proverb, highlighting that some things are so apparent that there is no need to stress over verifying them. This saying aptly describes Ramathan Abdallah Gongo, whose significant political legacy began in his teenage years while he was still a student in Nairobi, Kenya.
Driven by a desire for justice and fuelled by a childhood shaped by anger, Ramathan emerged as a fighter for liberation at the young age of 19, although not in a traditional combat sense. To seek justice, he joined the National Resistance Movement (NRM) struggle, aligning himself with his teacher (the author of this article), who was covertly involved with the NRM External Wing.
In 1976, Fatuma Juma Rakuba could no longer endure the relentless death threats posed by her stepson, a soldier in President Idi Amin’s regime. Ismail, a high-ranking officer in Amin’s army, had repeatedly threatened to kill his stepmother over inheritance disputes. He constantly tortured Fatuma psychologically, often threatening to shoot her while in full military uniform.
Haunted and terrified, Fatuma resolved to escape the country in 1976 with her only biological son, Ramathan, who was then in Primary Three at Uganda Air Force Primary School in Entebbe.
School life in exile
Upon reaching Nairobi, Ramathan’s uncle sponsored him to Jamuhuru Primary School, where he sat for his Primary Seven in 1981.
He then joined Senior One at New Kenya Secondary School in 1982, where he found Ugandan teachers, including Wilson Isabirye, Ashaba, Paul Muhangi (Andrew Mwenda’s brother), Elvis Basudde Kyeyune, and Zubairi Atamanvaka, who later became a member of parliament for Arua Municipality upon returning to Uganda.
Ramathan was not the only Ugandan student. Others included Umaru Shambe, son of Hajjati Hanuna Omari, the current presidential advisor on Islamic religious affairs, and Said Nasur Kuti, who later became mayor of Arua Municipality and then MP for the same area.
There was a time when Ramathan put his studies on hold for about three weeks to care for his mother, who had fallen critically ill and was admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital. Upon returning, he discovered that school fees defaulters were being sent home, and he was among them, with a balance of Ksh80.
“Elvis Basudde Kyeyune, who was my class teacher, asked me why I missed classes for some weeks. I told him that my mother was sick and I was caring for her at the hospital. Basudde was so touched after learning I could not pay the balance, and surprisingly, he gave me the Ksh80, allowing me to attend classes. I was charmed by Basudde’s altruism,” Ramathan recalls.
“Since that time, I became very close to Basudde, divulging family secrets and challenges, including the sad story of my mother being harassed by her stepson, which eventually led us into exile,” he adds.
Joining the liberation war
When Ramathan was in Senior Four S4) in 1985, he participated in peace talks chaired by President Arap Moi, from August 26 to December 17. He confided in Basudde that he was praying for peace in Uganda so he could return home, expressing his suffering while staying at his uncle’s place.
“If I had a chance, I would join the NRM/NRA to liberate our country,” he said.
He later learnt that his teacher, Basudde, was acting as the secretary for the Dagoretti NRM ward and was a writer for the NRM propaganda newsletter, working under the late Kirunda Kivejjinja and Besweri Mulondo (RIP). Basudde even invited Kivejjinja as the guest of honour to a school debate competition.
From that point, Ramathan actively teamed up with Basudde, participating in NRM-related clandestine activities while still a student, completing his Senior Four amid the mission of liberating his country.
Returning home safely
In 1986, as the NRA was entering Kampala, Ramathan learnt that his stepbrother, Ismail Gongo, the soldier who had harassed his mother, had been shot dead by the liberators.
“You cannot imagine how relieved I was. It was a big relief for my mother and I, knowing that we could now return home safely and live peacefully since the person who had forced us into exile was no more. Indeed, in 1987, we returned home,” he says.
As Uganda prepares to mark NRM Liberation Day on January 26, Ramathan’s story serves as a reminder of how ordinary Ugandans, even students in exile, played extraordinary roles in the struggle for freedom and national restoration.