All that fallen self-styled tycoon Ivan Ssemwanga’s family wants at the moment is that he rests in peace, but the public just won’t let that be as there is speculation that he is still alive.
Ivan Ssemwanga lived larger than life and even after he was laid to rest at his ancestral home in Kayunga on Tuesday, sections of the public believe it was a stunt, more so because the casket wasn’t opened for public viewing of the body.
Several anonymous voice notes circulating in Whatsapp groups claim he “faked his death” after defrauding a South African tycoon and he is holed up in the Middle East, undergoing plastic surgery tochangehis face.
The bereaved family calls this hogwash and their explanation of why they didn’t open the casket for public viewing is that in this era of social media, they deemed it right not to have a public viewing of the body, because people would take photos and circulate them, yet that is not how they would like to remember their beloved Ivan.
Ssemwanga’s uncle Jimmy Luyinda who raised him said it was out of respect for the dead.
Meanwhile, New Vision reports that Ssemwanga’s aunt Lukia Mukalazi confirmed that indeed Ssemwanga passed away and the public should stop the speculations that only hurt the family further.
“I raised the late Ssemwanga after his mother died, when the body arrived I checked the feet, toes, fingers and nails and proved it was Ssemwanga because I know him more than anyone else since he grew up with me,” New Vision quoted her.
Ssemwanga, a main-stay on Kampala’s social scene especially during the festive seasons lived a life full of pomp, complete with sleek cars and splashing several millions in the air in night clubs, just for the fun of it. He passed away at the Steve Biko Hospitalin South Africa where he was based, aged 39, last Thursday. May his soul rest in peace.