President Uhuru Kenyatta has condoled with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni, the Government and Ugandans following the death of the country’s Central Bank Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile.
Mutebile, 72, passed away on yesterday morning at a Nairobi hospital following a long illness.
In his message of comfort, Kenyatta eulogised the departed Mutebile as a reformer whose tenure at the helm of the Bank of Uganda ensured his country’s and the region’s economic stability and progress.
Mutebile 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, 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.