FRONASA legend Mzee Kutosi remembered as revolutionary, education advocate in Bugisu

Bududa, Uganda: The Minister of State for East African Affairs, Hon. James Magode Ikuya, has paid glowing tribute to his father-in-law and FRONASA funder Mzee Joseph Kutosi, recalling his key role in spreading the FRONASA ideology across Bugisu in the mid-1970s.

While speaking during the burial ceremony held Wednesday, May 7, in Bulucheke, Bududa District, Hon. Ikuya narrated how the late Kutosi, alongside other revolutionaries like Masaba Natolo and himself, actively supported the formation and growth of FRONASA, a liberation outfit that later fed into the National Resistance Army (NRA).

“I was a young man then, and Mzee Kutosi gave us logistical and ideological support as we advanced FRONASA operations in Bugisu. He was a political father figure and a true pillar of the struggle,” Hon. Ikuya said.

Mzee Joseph Kutosi, who passed away aged 95 from natural causes, was a respected businessman, political mobiliser, and original funder of the clandestine group Elgon 13, which later aligned with the NRA in the 1980s.

He is survived by five wives, over 43 children (both deceased and living), and nearly 300 grandchildren.

Speakers at the burial praised Kutosi’s legacy in advancing education, local development, and political mobilization in Bududa and the wider Bugisu sub-region.

His Highness Jude Mike Mudoma, the Umukuka III of the Bamasaaba, in a message delivered by his Culture Minister and official spokesperson, described Kutosi as “a fatherly elder whose role in supporting the NRA through Elgon 13 will not be forgotten.”

The Umukuka encouraged the Bamasaaba to emulate Kutosi’s legacy: “Produce many children, yes, but also educate them and prepare them to carry forward the region’s development,” he urged.

He further pledged that the cultural institution of Inzu Ya Masaba would officially recognize the late Kutosi’s contributions to the liberation struggle in a posthumous tribute at an appropriate time.