“Your Excellency, we are calling for your help. This school has done a commendable job, and supporting it now would be greatly appreciated,” she added.
The State Minister for Labour, Gender and Social Development, Davinia Esther Anyakun, has appealed to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to intervene and rescue her former school, Bishop Nkoyoyo Matale Primary School, which is currently in a dilapidated state.
Anyakun said that although she had spent 35 years without returning to the school, her visit to it on April 30—during preparations for International Labour Day—left her emotional after witnessing its condition.
She made the remarks during the National Labour Day celebrations held at the school’s playground. Addressing President Museveni, Anyakun explained that the school was founded in 1957 by the former Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo as a girls’ boarding primary school before later admitting boys.
After being taken over by the government, the school became one of the model institutions in Mukono District in the 1990s to early 2000s, producing many prominent Ugandans. “I am an old girl, having studied here for my entire primary education,” she said, noting that other alumni include Robert Migadde Ndugwa, the Buvuma Member of Parliament.
Anyakun also reminded the President that he had previously contributed sh100m toward the school’s renovation, but said its current condition remains dire.
“Your Excellency, we are calling for your help. This school has done a commendable job, and supporting it now would be greatly appreciated,” she added.
Local residents and alumni praised Anyakun for raising the issue, noting that it had not been highlighted earlier by the area Member of Parliament, Diana Mutasingwa.
In her remarks, Mutasingwa who is also the State Minister in the Office of the Vice President addressed several other local concerns, including the delayed tarmacking of the Lugazi–Buikwe–Kiyindi road, which has appeared in multiple national budgets but remains incomplete.
She also called on the President to address ongoing challenges affecting fishing communities, saying many livelihoods have been impacted by the declining state of the fishing sector.
In his response, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni directed the Permanent Secretary and the Minister of Education to ensure that plans are made to support the school and improve its current dire condition.
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