Risdel Kasasira was laid to rest on Sunday.
Colonel Chris Magyezi had already saluted the casket of Risdel Kasasira as he paid tribute to the fallen journalist when he handed over the microphone to Colonel Allan Kitanda.
Both had spoken glowingly of the late Kasasira, with Magyezi noting how the security reporter never let the excitement of being well connected to government officials and coming upon security news tips get ahead of him, when Kitanda walked over to the casket for a formal salute.
Kasasira was not a soldier but in death, he was being saluted by the men in uniform like he was a fallen combatant.
The Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF), led by Colonel Deo Akiiki, the deputy defence spokesperson, paid a glowing tribute to Kasasira, who died Friday in a road crash.
Mr Kasasira, who was laid to rest at his ancestral home in Itara Village in Rubaga, Kashari County in Mbarara District on Sunday, spent nearly two decades covering security matters and UPDF wars and combat missions in Somalia, DR Congo, and Congo Brazzaville.
There were more than a dozen officers, including Major-General Paul Muhanguzi - recently appointed as the commander of the UPDF Second Infantry Division - and scores of boots and uniforms at the funeral.
Col Akiiki revealed that the late Kasasira had given him a premonition ring before the fatal accident.
Calling it the sixth sense, Akiiki said he had not spoken to Kasasira for sometime when the journalist rang him up days ago to inquire about how he was doing.
"I asked what he was up to and he laughed," Col Akiiki said of what he now believes was a premonition farewell call.
Col Magyezi, a public relations assistant to the Chief of Defence Forces, said the late Kasasira would defend his employer Daily Monitor, an independent daily that President Museveni has often labelled the "enemy paper", whenever the State was having issues with their reporting.
"Kasasira was a patriot. Many journalists have made a career out of sensationalism or for headline but he was never one of them," he said.
Seeing the large presence of government officials and the boots and uniforms at Itara Village, the old suspicion that the late Kasasira had to live with that he was a spy would come back into question.
It is something Mr Charles Mwanguhya Mpagi, host of the NBS premium talk show, Frontline, dwelt on as he spoke on behalf of the Fourth Estate at the funeral.
Mr Mwanguhya, who was Kasasira's editor at Daily Monitor, said the deceased's connections in n government and the military made it very difficult to do his job.
"But it was only Kasasira who could manage it," he said. "He professionally served Daily Monitor from 2007 to 2022."
In a fleeting moment of emotions, Rachel Mabala, a former Monitor photojournalist known for wearing a constant smile, broke down as she recalled the laughter Kasasira gave them.
To Ms Mabala and the more than a dozen journalists who had were in Itara to see off Kasasira, this was a man who touched their lives, not one who induced suspicions.
Mr Mwanguhya said the deceased was a humble man before he was a humble journalist.
"His journalism was pure, never driven by malice or ill-motive," he said.
"Although he had friends in government and others in important offices, he never took advantage of anything - or of anyone - and many times he faced hardship without ever compromising his dignity."
"Kasasira loved me so much, he loved his children and he always brought joy to the family," said widow Shallot.
"He was quick to forgive and he was always honest. I will miss him dearly."
Ms Kasasira was returning to Kampala from the festive holiday with her husband and two children when their vehicle plunged into a marshland at Kalagala Village along Lyantonde -Kashagama Road on Friday, January 3.
Ironically, the family revealed that the late Kasasira's last report, still unpublished, was about road carnage in Africa. He had covered the story for Associated Press.
The unassuming
Born Risdel Kasasira Nimi on March 9, 1980 to Mr and Mrs Elifaz and Alice Nimi in Itara village, Risdel attended Itara Primary School then joined Nganwa Secondary School for O-Level.
He completed his secondary education at Mbarara High School in 1998 and joined Makerere University, graduating with a degree in Mass Communication in 2002.
After a stint with Daily Monitor as a business contributor, he joined Ultimate Media Consult in 2004 where he became a parliamentary reporter.
He would become a research executive with Ultimate Media Consult, helping in the gathering of research on media practice in Uganda.
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However, he rejoined Daily Monitor in 2007 and quickly distinguished himself as a security reporter who broke multiple stories.
He covered Ugandan troops deployed to Somalia under the African Union peacekeeping force known as AMISOM, embedded with Ugandan troops hunting down LRA rebels in Central African Republic, and covered violence and political instability in South Sudan.
After parting ways with Monitor in 2022, Mr Kasasira founded the Kampala-based East African Centre for Investigative Reporting, an organisation that, in recognition of its immense potential, had only recently won a generous grant to focus more substantially on improving the quality of investigative journalism in Uganda.
"He was looking forward to this and other work opportunities in 2025," the Nimi family said.
At the time of his passing on, Kasasira was a stringer for The Associated Press news agency.
The late Kasasira is survived by his widow Shallot and children Aretha Ntone, 6, and Elron Nowangye, 3.
While two of his brothers in a family of eight siblings are officers at the rank of a Major, Kasasira's journalism path appeared made at childhood.
His sister said he was always listening to news over the radio.
