Sebastian Kyalwazi

Sebastian Kakule Kyalwazi (20 October 1920 – 25 January 1992) was a Ugandan consultant surgeon who served as professor and head of surgery at Makerere University School of Medicine and concurrently as senior consultant surgeon at Mulago National Referral Hospital from the early 1970s until his death in the early 1990s. He is reported to be the first indigenous African to qualify as a surgeon in East and Central Africa.

Early life and education Kyalwazi was born in Masaka District, in the Buganda Region of Uganda, where he was raised as a Roman Catholic. In 1968, he was elected as the president of the Association of Surgeons of East Africa, the first African to serve in that position.

Other considerations He was appointed lead surgeon on the medical team selected to treat Pope Paul VI on the pontiff's visit to Uganda in 1969, if the need arose. Kyalwazi served as the president of the Rotary Club of Kampala in the late 1970s.

Honors and awards The Catholic Church awarded Kyalwazi the Order of St. Gregory the Great, in recognition of his service to the Church and to humanity. The Association of Surgeons of Uganda created an annual memorial lecture in memory of Kyalwazi's contribution to healthcare and social development in Uganda.

Personal life He died on 25 January 1992 in a London hospital from pancreatic cancer at age 71. He was awarded a state funeral by the government of Uganda.