Our cousin's are our first best friends,
Blood leave's little room for pretense,
We fight with no compromise until the fittest has their way,
in a patriarchal place sometimes the girls sit or work and watch the boys play,
These are the types of things my big brother would challenge about society,
What was the best way for us to coexist?
How could we ensure that we could all flourish?
Male, female, sexist, racist, brown, pale, Christian or atheist.
Anyone who really knew Musenge knows he didn't shy away from controversy,
He knew that change cannot come from conformity,
Though we didn't always agree,
I saw him as mind that was free.
I was so glad when i heard he was pursuing journalism,
Like when we were kids i thought he was stepping in to his rhythm,
We would dance to Michael Jackson at family gatherings,
Without a care for whether we were actually happening,
It was the two of us against the world for that moment.
Those are my fondest memories.
Then he went to the UK and we became slightly estranged,
The next time I saw him,
his jawline had changed,
His voice had a buzz,
but his eyes were the same,
The eyes never change,
but the face tales a tale,
of struggle and pain,
fear and rejection,
but also of joy and of hope,
love and acceptance,
I was curious to know how his journey had been since we last met.
He was still like my best friend and we picked up like he never left,
He really enjoyed Marvel movies so we'd go to the cinema whenever we could,
recently we'd grab a shawarma and a beverage from the local neighbourhood when I'd come home for the holiday.
He was a fan of a good story.
He looked at life as one and he often questioned his own and our own.
One thing I'll always remember was Musenge's cry for unity.
He felt that there was a drop in love in the family and not just the Kasese's but Africa.
Having lived in three different continents his mind became global and he no longer saw Jew or Greek, slave or free. As much as he sometimes had doubts about God as we all do he was getting closer to the heart of Jesus more than he probably knew.
So what then must we do to honour the life of our friend, brother, son and nephew?
I believe we must try to love like he loved,
He had the best wishes for each of us,
St. Thomas Aquinas said To love is to will the good of the other,
Though sometimes misunderstood,
Musenge's intentions were good.
May we tell each other how much we love each other more often and may we show it too.
May we give big open hugs as he would.
Make this journey a little less lonely and cold,
May we have discussions and not arguments and listen to each others views.
May we be curious to challenge the status quo and ask how we can improve,
May we heal the world and make it a better place,
That's what Musenge was trying to do.
May we not be crushed by the pain and grief.
May the spirit of God comfort our hearts and may we be grateful that we got to experience the wonderful enignma that was Musenge Geoffrey Chibwa.
We will miss you my friend,
Your story had too soon an end,
May mercy make us meet again.
Lord graciously hear us.
