According to Dr Mutumba, Najjuma had experienced persistent pain and sought medical attention on several occasions, but the cancer was not detected early.
Gospel singer Margaret Najjuma Mubiru, who died after a two-and-a-half-month battle with cancer that had spread to her liver and stomach, was laid to rest on Friday, October 23, her 44th birthday, at Seeta-Nazigo Village in Nakisunga Sub-county, Mukono District.
Najjuma, the wife of Adventist pastor Apollo Mubiru, died in the early hours of Monday, October 19, after the cancer was detected at an advanced stage, leaving doctors with limited options to save her life.
Dr Robert Mutumba, the Deputy Commissioner in charge of HIV/AIDS in the Ministry of Health, a family friend and member of Mukono Central Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, said the cancer had spread to multiple parts of her body by the time it was discovered.
“Najjuma had several cancerous masses in the liver and five in the stomach. Although doctors at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Mulago did their best to save her, the disease was already at an advanced stage,” Dr Mutumba said.
He described the suffering Najjuma endured during her final weeks of life as severe, explaining that her illness had initially been mistaken for stomach ulcers.
According to Dr Mutumba, Najjuma had experienced persistent pain and sought medical attention on several occasions, but the cancer was not detected early.
He expressed concern that many cancer patients in Uganda are diagnosed when the disease has advanced to a stage where treatment options are limited and the chances of survival are reduced.
Earlier, mourners gathered at Mukono Central SDA Church, where Najjuma worshipped with her family for years, for a service attended by several church leaders, including Dr Moses Ndimukika Maka, the former Archbishop of the SDA Uganda Union and current general secretary of the SDA Church’s East and Central Africa Division.
Speaking at the funeral, Dr Maka said the Mubiru family had been close friends of his for years, prompting him to travel from Nairobi, Kenya, where he works, to attend the burial.
“I have been a close friend and ally of Mubiru for some time. It is the reason I persuaded him to leave journalism and study to become a pastor, a calling he has faithfully pursued,” he said.
Other church leaders, led by East Buganda Field Bishop Jeremiah Alisengawa, praised Najjuma for her ministry, generosity and encouragement to people around her.
They urged mourners to draw comfort from their Christian faith and the hope of resurrection.
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“It is advisable not to grieve relentlessly, especially if you believe that Najjuma has not entirely perished but has transformed into a new life. We testify to her faith and commitment to God, and we believe that where she has gone, there is no sorrow but rejoicing,” Pastor Alisengawa said.
Najjuma’s children, Jessy Mubiru and her younger sister, Jemima Mulungi, also paid tribute to their mother, recalling the love and care she had given them.
Jessy lost her mother while sitting her Uganda Certificate of Education examinations, which he is scheduled to conclude on November 4.
Mulungi, a Senior One student at Hilton High School, said witnessing her mother’s prolonged suffering had strengthened her determination to become a medical doctor so that she could help her throughout the battle. Unfortunately, the mother has not lived on to enjoy the treatment from her own daughter.
New Vision Editor-in-Chief Sydney Miria Babanga, accompanied by several of the deceased’s husband’s former colleagues, praised Mubiru as a dedicated professional and extended condolences to him and his children.
Mubiru, who worked as a journalist before becoming a pastor at Vision Group, spoke emotionally about his relationship with his late wife, describing her as loving, trusting and supportive.
“She was very comfortable with me handling her money. Whenever she organised music concerts, she would put me in charge of her finances,” he said.
He added that Najjuma loved him and their children deeply and had unwavering faith in him.
The couple married in 2007 and were blessed with two children.
