Kashambuzi during one of his many appearances on VOA’s Straight Talk Africa.
I have just lost a great comrade and friend, Eric Kashambuzi. Uganda has lost a great national asset. He loved the country so dearly. His family lost a father, husband, loved one.
Kashambuzi, an economist, had big ideas for economic development not only for Uganda but for the whole of Africa. He was a Black Star News columnists and shared many of his ideas and plans for Uganda’s national economic recovery and for reconciliation in many of his columns through the years. He believed—as I do—that Africa will never be able to develop unless African governments made industrialization the number one priority on the continent’s agenda.
Kashambuzi was a man of ideas and vision, an intellectual who enjoyed exchanging views over lunch and we often met in restaurants near the United Nations headquarters here in New York City.
Kashambuzi passed away here in New York on Saturday after sudden illness, and his wife Gertrude has just conveyed the sad news to me. The loss represents a serious blow to Uganda and to Africa. He was a prolific writer and his ideas for Africa can continue to spread through his books.
His many titles include: World Leaders at the UN General Assembly; Africa’s Lost Century – Who Is Responsible?; The Paradox of Hunger and Abundance; and, Critical Issues in African Development.
Kashambuzi was a consultant on international issues, and a human rights activist, opposing dictatorship in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa. He was a regular guest news analyst on Voice of America’s “Straight Talk Africa” with the legendary host Shaka Ssali.
He held many posts through the years, including with the United Nations Development Program in various capacities in Ethiopia, Zambia, Swaziland, and New York. He also worked with African ambassadors in New York, national governments, and intergovernmental organizations including the African Development Bank (ADB), Economic Commission for Africa, the African Union (AU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
He had also worked closely with various UN entities such as the General Assembly and its second and third committees, as well as the the executive boards of UNDP and UNFPA.
May my friend Eric Kashambuzi rest in peace with the ancestors. A private vigil will be held later this week in New York.
