A SUNDAY WITH A CHRIST FANDOM IN ARMY DIGNITARY

Now, if you missed this week's edition of the popular weekly Sunday Funday at the Makerere University Guest House, my heartfelt sorries but beat yourself up no more! Simply get cozy, and read down hither as I will narrate to you the things that happened thither; the tales of a man that has had narrow death escapes and attributes his survival to a power unusual. In his narration, he admits that you can have a well-trained battalion for bodyguards but unless the Lord guards, all the apparent safety and security is in vain.

It's been a couple of hours now, but I can almost hear the echoes of his voice resounding in my ears. A man entitled to have guards yet choosing to drive single in the city and elsewhere may seem to undermine his safety but what's his trust in? Soon after he began to address the FunDay attendees, courtesy of the National Christian Students Association, the Ugandan Army Spokesperson, Brigadier General Felix Kulayigye retold the memories from his army encounters and his life as a young man.

Mr. Kulayigye is a man passionate about journalism and radio news reading having been inspired by famous radio hosts, Ddamulira and Dan Kyazze before he turned into a determined officer in the army owing to the incidences that he faced in his childhood. It was some naughty gun-holding bully that turned it all around when he kicked a tender boy. This was the advent of Kulayigye's determination to join the army and fight against such injustices and ensure that his and other people’s sons would never go through the same experience. "When I see an injustice, I find a way to right the wrongs just to find rest for my children," the officer says.

Besides being a Christian and renowned high-ranking army official, Kulayigye is also a professional teacher. At the brink of graduation after pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Education, four jobs laid in waiting for him but the boy had a different dream; a longing to have a camouflage uniform fitted with accolades set upon his shoulders, a dream that was met with resistance from many except his father who constantly taught him to remain himself no matter who spoke ill about his ambitions. He added that the same people that belittle you will be proud of you come to your victory.

The most intriguing part about his tales is how he never separates his faith and profession and he shares how fortunate he was in the life-threatening circumstances that God pulled him through and  he came out strong. Over the years, Kulaigye says that he found out what he could do and majored in bettering his best in that very quality.

A story so rich in experience, the highs and lows of it are packed with intense emotion and inspiration. Which each moment, you can clearly perceive that the hand of God must have been with him all through. From losing his mother less  than a fortnight after birth and the family having a consensus to bury a then Felix together with deceased mother, only one man came out to refute the idea because of solid religious convictions, a thing that salvaged the man in uniform.

To be continued.

The writer is a member of the National Christian Students Association (NCSA)