Bank of Uganda Governor Mutebile dies in Nairobi
Monday January 24 2022
Bank of Uganda governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
The Central Bank of Uganda (Bank of Uganda) governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile died on Sunday morning at a hospital in Kenya’s capital, according to his deputy Michael Atingi-Ego.
Prof Mutebile, 73, was Uganda’s longest serving Central Bank governor.
Reports say he was rushed to Nakasero Hospital after he collapsed at home on December 31, 2021 due to complications related to diabetes, which he has been battling for a long time. He was later flown to the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi where he has been undergoing treatment.
As the Governor of Bank of Uganda, and also chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Bank of Uganda, Prof Mutebile is credited for implementing policies aimed at economic recovery after the economic slowdown of the 1970s and 1980s.
The seasoned professional economist worked as secretary to the Treasury from 1992 until 2001 when he was appointed governor.
Recently, his contract had just been renewed for another five years.
Despite his ill-health, President Yoweri Museveni kept him at the helm of the bank owing to his knowledge, experience and professionalism, earning himself the title ‘stabilising factor of the economy’ among fellow economists.
The respected economist also worked as a consultant for multilateral and regional organisations including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of East and Central Africa, UK Department for International Development, the North-South Institute in Canada, and for the governments of Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Eritrea, and Nepal.
Who is Mutebile?
Born on January 27, 1949, in Kabale, southwestern Uganda, Mutebile attended Kigezi College Butobere for his O-Level studies, Makerere College School in Kampala for his A-Level and then joined Makerere University for his undergraduate studies.
As the guild president of the university, he addressed students criticising the expulsion of Asians by President Idi Amin in 1972, later fleeing for fear of his life.
He completed his studies at Durham University, graduating with Upper Second Class honours in Economics and Politics. He did his post-graduate studies at Balliol College, Oxford, before returning to East Africa to lecture at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
He returned to Uganda in 1979 after the liberation of the country and overthrow of Amin. He served in various positions in the Ministry of Planning, which was later merged to create the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.