ROTAMIRROR HOLIDAY ISSUE Rotamirror Holiday Issue | Page 24

The undercover boss The most important lesson he taught me was not to delude myself into emotionally investing into romantic engagements with female rotaractors. Good or bad, I still take it as worthy advice. He said, “Well now you are not doing nothing anymore, gear up and come to Kyambogo basketball grounds.” He also offered to pay my boda fair as my presence was needed. It’s not every day you have an undercover boss that is not a work of fiction from the mind of a scriptwriter somewhere in Hollywood. Yet again, often times we meet good people that define how we live the rest of our lives, a few bad people who remind us the imperfections and a couple of loyal acquaintance that give us reason to wake up in virtue and work through the day with purpose. These are accounts of a friend, not blood but a good colleague, a mentor and a boss. Can’t say he was a role model but I did look up to him on a couple of things as a male, who was a few years my senior. He would come to be called the undercover boss as he often joked about himself in office when he either offered to facilitate lunch for us or give me a ride home. His humour was as good as his discipline, articulate manners and casual yet authoritative will to lead. He was my immediate supervisor as the chief technology officer and a director in a co- owned small company with one of my relatives. Our short office encounter would eventually lead me to commit to a Rotaract membership as well as play a major role in my professional growth and my personal growth. You see he did ask me to join the club he was then a member of; The Rotaract club of Kololo. “Pius, you should come to one of our fellowships,” I recall him saying one evening. “In fact, there are some members who went to university with you so you will fit right in” he continued. I don’t remember taking him up on his invite but sometime later, a weekend it was, he asked me if I was doing anything in particular and I said no “ “To be a great leader, first become a great person.” Robin Sharma The Leader without a title. Among the many sports, I engage in was and still is basketball. As a combo guard, I can hold up myself on the court as a shooting guard, point guard to some extent and often a small forward on smaller teams. On that day I met 3 other members; the funny and entertaining Gideon Malugge, the then president, Mutebi Deo who would go on to be my mentor as I prepared for induction into the Rotaract club of Kololo and the often serious but nonetheless lovely Nairuba Joan who is currently among the few people I confide in when it comes to club and Rotaract matters. Later I would once again cross paths with Esther.B, Angela.N and Roland.B who also were in the same university I went to. Others have since from there have joined the club and so the bond of connection and friendship in a bid to serve a greater purpose continues. And so began my journey in Rotaract. As I would go on to be inducted into the club about 4 months later. So it’s safe to say the the undercover boss was more than just a boss but also a friend. The undercover boss never offered half lifts. If he offered to give you a lift home after a Rotaract meetup or activity, he would either drop you off to a place safe enough from you to complete your trip home or he would drive you home and make sure the gate was locked behind you before he drove off. And so I learnt to look out for my friends especially the females no matter what as I often find myself walking them to taxis or respective means of transport. I have also walked a few friends to their homes given proximity to the Rotaract fellowship venue. As I recall he said this one evening as we waited for 2 female friends he had offered to give a lift, “Pius, if you think you like a girl, two things are going to happen, either you are going to want to sleep with them or you are going to want to propose some sort of exclusive arrangement. Just know 5 other guys are doing the same, 3 have probably succeeded in sleeping with that person and one of them is currently involved with this person. So don’t get excited, this is not campus.” I forgot about that until, a few weeks later, I remember living home for work with news he was in the ICU and a few hours later I receive a call from my aunt that he was gone. The world was already crushing down on me and as always I was smiling and pretending everything was okay. I walked into the restrooms, cried myself dry and walked out hoping my eyes were not too red Him being a guy in a relationship with a lovely responsible female at the time I took his word as good advice and tried to grow by it during my journey in Rotaract. The Undercover boss would pass away before I was inducted into the club he had so faithfully persuaded me to join. I do remember contemplating changing my mind about my commitment to the club but I then thought about the bigger picture and I have to say it has been a good run. I will feel even more proud when my time to transition finally comes. On the day he passed away, I was at work hoping the worst wouldn’t come to the worst as was my mood whenever I such situations developed. to expose my rare vulnerable self. The last time I felt this down was when my father died. This was also a trying time for me as I have made an account of in my article; Boxing up my early adult experiences just in time for 2019. The undercover boss had been sick for a while. My worry even though minor all started, I think about 3 weeks before the fateful day, as I came to find out that for the 1 st time during his time in the club he had not actively performed at peak performance due to what seemed as a minor illness. This was an event we have not lost since I joined the club as I have taken it upon myself to dominate the sports field in memory of him. And also because I hate losing. A week or two later, he oddly used words to describe his sickness I didn’t fit in his vocabulary and even if I didn’t give it much thought I did find it rather disturbing. This was when on one evening he came home to say hi to my Aunt, his co-owner at my previously employment with them at the time of the visit. And so came the end of my time with the undercover boss. A mentor and true friend. As is the case with all such situations time passed and we all came to live with the reality of the loss but his memory has forever been engraved in us. As friends, close friends, relatives, loved ones, fellow Rotractors and partners in Rotary, workmates and associations in a lot of other ways. The undercover boss earned the title by simply being a great person and in time he became a great leader. And a great warrior he was to the Rotaract Club of Kololo and Rotaract in general. May your soul forever Rest in peace Peter Wamanga. By Pius Muhumuza. ROTAMIRROR Holiday Issue 2018 24 ROTAMIRROR Holiday Issue 2018 25