Accident cost Musinguzi his job and a leg

Timon Musinguzi shows off his amputated leg at his home. He is confined in a wheelchair after a road accident in 2010. PHOTO BY paul aruho. 

By PAUL ARUHO

In Summary

The former Fine Art teacher, who signed his resignation letter to get bail-out funds from NSSF, had no idea it would hit back at him.

Bushenyi

On a Tuesday afternoon, Timon Musinguzi is at home seated in the living room. It is not a public holiday but how far can this Fine Art graduate get to while confined in a wheel chair?

After a road accident in 2010, cost him his right leg, the 41-year-old Musinguzi had to shelve his job as a Fine Art teacher at Bishop McAllister College, Kyogera in Sheema District, where he had worked for 10 years.

He also part-timed at another school, while his wife Comfort Musinguzi served at Ngyeya Preparatory School as a deputy head teacher. The couple looked into the future with a lot of optimism.

Fate, however, visited them on December 27, 2010 at around 5:30pm when a saloon car, which was following them, hit their motorcycle.

The car ran over Musinguzi’s legs, caused him head injuries, and he was admitted to hospital unconscious for two months. He was first admitted to Kampala International University Hospital in Bushenyi, where he spent three days. His family had to sell off their property to pay the medical bills. The burden now had to be shouldered by Comfort.

“When they told us that they were going to do an operation on his head, we asked whether they would first do a scan. They said there was no CT scan machine in the region and they would use their basic knowledge, which we refused,” Comfort says. They then asked to be referred to Kampala International Hospital but they were advised that he could not be transported by road.

Their friends mobilised Shs5 million and they chartered an aircraft. On reaching there, Musinguzi was taken to theatre and his right limb was amputated to stop the infection. “When I came out of coma and found my right leg gone, I felt helpless and useless. At first, I felt that life had come to an end. But thank God for the counseling, I feel I can face my new life with courage,” Musinguzi narrates, wiping his watery eyes.

His troubles were not about to end though. His job too was at stake. At the hospital, he was asked to pay Shs2.5 million to get an artificial limb. Since he was saving with National Social Security Fund (NSSF), he thought they would help.

At NSSF, he was asked to get a letter from his employer showing he was not in position to teach anymore.
“I talked to my employers and they agreed that I write a resignation letter such that I can be able to access my NSSF savings. I got the money and bought the limb but when I went back in 2012 to report for first term, they told me that my services were no longer wanted since I had resigned. I felt dejected,” Musinguzi says.

In May, he did an interview with the Education Service Commission but he was unsuccessful. Rev. Can. Caleb Twinamatsiko, the principal Bishop McAllister College, says at the time when Musinguzi was bed-ridden, they were forced to employ another teacher because the students had to continue with classes.

“When he came back, he said he was able to teach only eight periods instead of 24 a week. We could not employ two people to share such a small load because we don’t have the money. He resigned knowing that we may not take him up later because his post had been taken up by another person,” Rev. Twinamatsiko said.

Since January 2012, Musinguzi has changed the socket of his artificial limb four times, each time costing Shs250,000. “When we can’t afford, we stuff it with clothes but he fails to walk a reasonable distance,” Comfort says. The couple says they sued the owner of the vehicle for possible compensation but he did not have money, so they dropped the case.