Today in History: Tamale Mirundi Dies at 60

What the report says

Joseph Tamale Mirundi, a veteran Ugandan journalist, broadcaster and political commentator, died on August 13, 2024, at Kisubi Hospital along Entebbe Road, Nile Post reported. He was 60. The report said he had spent about a month receiving specialised treatment for lung-related complications before his death around 11:40 p.m.

Mirundi’s career spanned print, broadcast and government communications. Born in 1964 in Matale-Kalagala Village in present-day Kyotera District, he began as a newspaper vendor while still in school, later worked for Munno newspaper, and studied mass communication at Makerere University. He went on to found newspapers including The Voice and Lipoota and served two terms as president of the Uganda Journalists Association.

His profile rose sharply in 2003 when President Yoweri Museveni appointed him presidential press secretary. He held that post for 13 years and later served as a senior presidential advisor on media. Outside official roles, he became known for widely watched television and radio appearances, especially on political talk shows that mixed sharp commentary, humour and theatrical delivery.

Nile Post said Mirundi also wrote books on politics and governance and remained a prominent, sometimes critical, voice on Uganda’s public affairs. His death marked the end of a long and highly visible career in the country’s media and political establishment.