Breaking! Former Ministry Of Finance PS Keith Muhakanizi Is Dead!
The former permanent secretary of Ministry of Finance Keith Muhakanizi has died.
According to sources, Muhakanizi died in Milan Italy where he had been flown on Sunday for treatment and the cause of his demise is not yet known.
Muhakanizi, who has been the permanent secretary of the office of the prime minister at the time of his death has been in and out of the hospital in Turkey for treatment of cancer.
The government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo confirmed Muhakanizi’s demise describing him as a “friend to many”.
“SAD! A friend to many. Keith Muhakanizi, Permanent Secretary Prime Minister’s Office, and former long-serving PS Ministry of Finance & Secretary to the Treasury has died from a Milan, Italy hospital where he was receiving treatment. May he Rest in Peace.” Opondo said.
Muhakanizi has been known for his vast experience as an economist and long stewardship of the Finance docket.
He was a no-nonsense manager who often stared at his supervisors in parliament when defending government budgets and expenditures they deemed to be too high. Muhakanizi often defended the budgets quipping that the rationale was beyond some of the outraged legislators.
He worked with BoU Governor Tumusiime Mutebile to pivot the Ugandan economy from a socialist leaning towards a capitalist system and together they are credited for restoring foreign investor confidence in the Ugandan economy with their policies and management styles that chimed with World Bank and IMF recommendations. This included steadily withdrawing the government from the business and encouraging private enterprise.
Muhakanizi guided both the technical and policy development work in the preparation of successive National Development Plans.
Muhakanizi also served on the board of the National Housing and Construction Company, Bank of Uganda and Economic Policy Research Centre among others.
Muhakanizi was born in Rukungiri District to the late Rev. Kosia Kajwengye and the late Zeridah Kajwengye. He was born to a family of 7 children, 4 boys and 3 girls.
His father Kajwengye is remembered for championing evangelism in Rujumbura that later spread throughout the whole of East Africa.
