Gen Tumwine’s daughter speaks out on navigating parental loss

Cynthia Tumwine, daughter of the late Gen Elly Tumwine, has said she will not discuss how to navigate the grief of losing a parent with anyone who has not experienced that loss.

“I’m sorry but if you’ve never lost a parent I am not having a conversation with you about navigating that grief. You will never relate so don’t try…” she wrote.

Her statement drew a firm boundary around conversations about parental loss. She did not name anyone or explain what prompted the remarks.

Cynthia lost her father on August 25, 2022. The former Security minister died at Aga Khan hospital in Nairobi, aged 68. President Yoweri Museveni attributed his death to lung cancer.

Her remarks come more than four years after his death. They focus on who she feels can understand that loss, rather than inviting advice on how she should handle it.

Gen Tumwine was a prominent figure in Uganda’s military and government. He served as army commander and Security minister, and represented the army in Parliament for 30 years until 2021.

Museveni also credited him with firing the first shot during the February 6, 1981 attack on Kabamba barracks, which launched the National Resistance Army’s bush war.

For Cynthia, however, the brief statement centred on the personal loss of a parent and her unwillingness to discuss that grief with people who have not faced it.