As we approached the mid-point of 2025, death continued to stalk, snatching those we least expected. Below is the second part of our special series on deaths that shocked us in 2025.
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Shaka Ssali, Journalist, 71, March 27, 2025
Uganda’s most famous journalist for the last 30 years, Ssali was a host and editor of Straight Talk Africa on Voice of America for 20 of those years. Although Shaka did not leave us a book of his memoirs (to this writer’s knowledge, at this time), the Voice of America YouTube is still up with the hundreds of interviews he conducted in a rich, distinctive, calm, baritone voice.
Shaka sat down with almost every important African who enjoyed a public career over the last 20 years, including the likes of Amama Mbabazi, Dr. Kizza Besigye, and, not more than a decade ago, an emergent Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu. His personal dictum, “Don’t get bitter, get better,” has passed into African sayings. Read his fellow Kabale kid Omuguruusi Muniini Mulera’s blog, while it is still up, for a detailed biography of this great, humble African.
Val Kilmer, Actor, 65, April 2, 2025
One of the most iconic actors of the last 50 years, his performances in Top Gun (1986), The Doors (1991), Tombstone (1993), Heat (1995), and The Saint (1997) ensured that Val Kilmer was seared in movie lore. His good looks aside, commanding screen presence, Kilmer’s performances in those five films pay off when rewatched with unexpected layers. The only current working actor who compares to Kilmer’s magnetism is Brad Pitt. Kilmer could have been a bigger star, but he chose not to be. A reluctant movie star.
Maj. (Rtd) John Kazoora, Soldier, Politician, 69, April 20, 2025
Some men are appreciated in life, others after they depart. Major John Kazoora falls in the second category. An idealistic student who abandoned his books to fight for the liberation of Uganda from the tyranny of Milton Obote in 1982, Kazoora will not be remembered for the many political offices he held after the 1986 takeover of government. Betrayed by my Leader (2012), a book that goes into some detail about the five-year war that brought Yoweri Museveni into power and the aftermath, will be Kazoora’s legacy. That title speaks to the experience of millions of Ugandans who thought January 26 heralded a fundamental change that turned out to be a false dawn, and Kazoora penned it.
ACP (Rtd) Sam Omalla, Policeman, 64, April 28, 2025
One of the most famous policemen of the Museveni era, Sam Omalla, came to national attention for his “successful” curtailing of then Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) leader Dr. Kizza Besigye’s attempts to lead the “Walk to Work” protests after the 2011 general election. As a field force commander, Omalla oversaw police who would cordon off Besigye’s Kasangati home in what would come to be known as “preventive arrest.”
Unlike most press-shy security officers enforcing “unpopular orders,” Omalla happily and cheekily defended his officers’ actions, earning reluctant admiration even from those who suffered the wrath of the police. He would leave the police (2020) a disgruntled man, another living example of how a system can use and discard until his death this year.
Rajiv Ruparelia, Businessman, 35, May 3, 2025
The only son of Uganda’s richest man (according to some reports), Sudhir Ruparelia, Rajiv had gradually become the face of the family empire until his sudden death this May in an accident. At 35, Rajiv had begun to distance himself from the party boy image of his youth was that of an adrenaline junkie, assuming more control of the hotels, schools, financial institutions, and radio that Sudhir and his mother Jyotsna worked to establish.
In addition, Rajiv displayed a philanthropic bent that brought an outpouring of grief from beneficiaries after his death in the GTR Nissan he was devoted to. While many grieved for Rajiv, the sins of the father, who is considered a ruthless businessman, were also visited on the son by those who argued Rajiv’s untimely death was fate’s way of balancing the scales.
To Be Continued Next Week…
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