By Kefa Senoga
The Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono Campus biweekly community worship on Thursday, July 18, 2024, started as usual in Nkoyoyo Hall. But it wasn’t. Oscar Boban Owakubariho, a staff member, gave a unique testimony.
Owakubariho’s words were woven into a powerful story of struggle with addiction and overcoming it.
“At the time I joined UCU as a student, if someone greeted me with the words ‘Praise the Lord,’ I didn’t know what to respond,” Owakubariho, a lecturer at the School of Law, started his confession.
“You students at UCU should not take this institution for granted because the values it teaches you will help you forever,” he added.
At just 15 years of age, Owakubariho said that he had already developed a drinking habit. “Beer was rare back then, so we drank locally brewed alcohol.”
Born on October 14, 1979, Owakubariho’s academic journey took him from Kitante Primary School to St. Henry’s College Kitovu for his O’level, then to Kyambogo College School for his A’level, and finally to UCU, where he pursued a Bachelor of Laws (LLB). All the schools are in central Uganda.
He said the love for the bottle followed him even into adulthood, influencing his choices and ushering him into a world of struggles.
Owakubariho’s father already knew the challenge his son was facing. To further ensure his son continues with spiritual rehabilitation, he made a decision that he would only pay fees if Owakubariho pursued his undergraduate studies at UCU.
“He also gave me two options for courses – either law or education. I chose law.”
But even while at UCU, according to Owakubariho, he spent a significant amount of time in the nearby trading centers drinking. Such drinking sprees often made him get cross with the law enforcers for the chaos his drunkenness caused in the community. It was not unusual to find him in the Police cells because of drinking.
“We had a disco hall in Mukono called Kisumali, and we were ever there,” he said, reflecting on his student days.
The addiction did not only end at UCU. Even when he graduated from UCU in 2004, and proceeded to the Law Development Center to pursue his Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, he continued with the practice. Every law graduate in Uganda is mandated to acquire this diploma to be able to practice law in the country.
It wasn’t until 2015, when his body began to fail him that he realized the gravity of his situation. His liver and lungs were severely affected, and he found himself in and out of hospitals, including Uganda’s National Mental Referral Hospital, Butabika.
“I was close to dying,” he admitted. “I later reflected on the advice people had been giving me, and in that moment of desperation, I prayed to God to heal me.”
In 2018, at 39 years of age, he finally broke free from the chains of addiction.
“God gave me a second chance, and I knew I had to change my livelihood,” he said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every year, alcohol abuse kills 2.5 million people worldwide. WHO ranks Uganda the second leading consumer of alcohol in Africa and the 28th in the world.
Owakubariho said from his experience, he noticed that most of the people are struggling either with alcohol or drug abuse, but that they are afraid to let people know about it.
“They deceive themselves that a solution will come tomorrow, and tomorrow becomes the next week,” he said.
Owakubariho understood this cycle all too well. He says from around 2011, he was tired of abusing alcohol.
“I had gotten the signals and wanted to stop,” he recalled. “I kept saying, ‘Maybe I will stop on Saturday,’ but I kept postponing.”
Owakubariho highlighted the need to change one’s social circles in order to overcome alcoholism. He was advised to leave the drinking groups, to stop looking at alcohol-related pictures, and to “start engaging with people who feared God.” That advice significantly changed his life, and that’s how he got to understand that “there is another world beyond alcohol.”
Despite having a law degree and a diploma in legal practice, Owakubariho says that he found himself in bars with people who had never had any formal education.
“I used to drink in a bar owned by a man who had only studied up to Primary Two,” he said. “I would borrow money from relatives just to drink. If my money ran out, I would leave my ID or phone behind as collateral.”
Today, Owakubariho stands as a transformed man, dedicated to guiding young minds at UCU, the very institution that once witnessed his battle with addiction. He says his testimony serves as a reminder that no one is beyond redemption and that faith, coupled with the right choices, can lead to a life of purpose and fulfillment.
Through his experiences, Owakubariho urges students to cherish their time at UCU and to embrace the values it instills.
“God can use anyone to become anything,” he said. “In the Bible, He used Gideon, who was nothing, to save the Israelites. Likewise, if He could save me, He can save anyone.”
He is now married, but the couple has no child yet.
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