“I want to salute Atwine first of all for studying well and secondly for being a very reliable cadre of the NRM,” he said.
The President made the remarks on Saturday 31st August, 2024 during the 25th wedding anniversary celebration for Dr. Atwine and her husband Mr. Noah Kanzira, held at Lake Victoria Serena-Kigo.
According to President Museveni, Dr. Atwine is a dedicated and selfless cadre who works for the interests of Ugandans.
“When the NRM came into government, the elite especially the medical group was against the NRM, I don’t know why, so Atwine would go there and study medicine (at Mbarara University) and hear professors speak badly about the NRM in the classroom, then she would come and tell me everything,” the President disclosed.
President Museveni also thanked God for the life of Dr. Atwine, describing her as the most prominent survivor of catastrophes in Uganda.
“Her father was a cattle keeper in the Ngoma-Luwero area whom I didn’t know at that time, but he was among our supporters. He had four wives. The Obote soldiers came and killed him and his three wives. Each of the three wives had eight children, they were all killed. Now Diana’s mother is the one who hid with Diana and her remaining siblings, that’s how they survived. During the bush war, UPC killed over 300,000 people including Diana’s relatives. They were accused of supporting the NRA guerrillas,” he asserted.
Furthermore, President Museveni recalled how he met Dr. Atwine and her family after the 1986 Liberation war.
“When we defeated the regime in 1986 and we took power, I was aware of all these families who were scattered in the homes of other people. I said no! All of you, the survivors of catastrophes, come and gather at Kiruhura. They came in big numbers especially the widows and orphans. That’s how I decided to settle them at Kanyaryeru. By that time, Atwine had just finished her Primary Seven. When we took her in, she was at Bweranyangi. When she came, we supported her.
“The NRM supported these orphans through the collective solution of free education. The NRM line is that when you don’t have enough resources, use collective solutions, don’t try to use individual solutions, because if you do, you may fail to succeed. That’s why many children are out of school now. They can’t go beyond Primary Seven because you don’t accept the NRM’s collective solution. You try using an individual solution which is not possible when dealing with big numbers. That’s how these children came up. When we linked up with Atwine, we supported her through Bweranyangi, Namagunga then Mbarara University until she finished. She was a bright girl. I want to salute her.”
The President also congratulated Dr. Atwine for marrying a husband she loves, staying with him for the last 25 years and building a stable family.
“Life is about family first, career, wealth and spirituality,” he said.
President Museveni further gifted Dr. Atwine with 50 Ankole cows.
“Atwine is also a wealth creator. She has been telling me how she is into farming.”
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon. Thomas Tayebwa congratulated the couple upon achieving the milestone.
“We have been friends with Dr. Diana and her husband Mr. Kanzira for some good time, we have shared a lot and you are a very humble couple,” he said.
“Diana, I really want to inform the public that us, who do oversight, you are doing a great job together with Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng. Your Excellency, I really want to thank you for reappointing her as a Permanent Secretary,” he added.
On her part, Dr. Atwine thanked God for the gift of life and family.
“We celebrate 25 years not because we have so much money to waste, not because we didn’t have other things to do, but we celebrate 25 years because we know that first of all we must set example for our children to know that family comes first; whatever we are and do, if you do not have a stable family, you cannot have your roots,” she said.
“For us, family comes first, and career comes next. We are here to celebrate family and the love we have shared for the last 25 years. But also, we are here to thank the Lord because it is not just for granted that you would live and have your children and they grow up.”
Dr. Atwine also thanked President Museveni and the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Museveni for being parents to her.
“I have spent more years with you than what I have spent with my parents. You took me up when I had just been orphaned; when my father had been killed and we were recovering from the shocks of the war. Thank you Mzee and Maama for teaching me the values of family.”
On the other hand, Mr. Kanzira revealed that Dr. Atwine is a loving and God-fearing wife.
“Diana loves her family, she is passionate about it,” he noted.
He also thanked the guests for embracing their ceremony.
