UPDATE 🚨
Acholi MPs have protested the cut down of the burial budget for the late Jacob Oulanyah and giving allowances to the National organizing committee.
The budget has been reduced from 1.8 billion shillings as approved by parliament to 1.2 billion shillings.
Acholi MPs Protest Budget for Burial of Oulanyah
Oulanyah Body Received at Entebbe Airport
“We have officially received the body of our departed brother. We receive it utmost sadness and grief.” Vice President @jessica_alupo
Rev Fr. Godfrey Loum, the Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Uganda leads a short prayer session before Rt Hon Oulanyah’s casket is handed over to A-Plus funeral service.
PICTORIAL 📸
Welcoming the Body of the late Speaker Jacob Oulanyah with “Bwola Dance” a Royal Dance among the Acholi people. This dance traditionally accompanied the Chief (Rwot) when heading for battle and upon his return. Sadly this battle was lost #RIPOulanyah
PICTORIAL 📸
The casket containing the remains of fallen former Speaker Jacob Oulanyah being loaded into a funeral service van after it arrived at Entebbe International Airport aboard Ethiopian Airlines plane on April 1, 2022.
📸 @bamulanzeki
The body of fallen former Speaker Jacob Oulanyah has arrived at his residence in Muyenga, Kampala ahead of the Sunday funeral service.
PICTORIAL 📸
The family of the late Jacob Oulanyah and top dignitaries led by the Vice-President @jessica_alupo, Speaker @AnitahAmong and Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo wait to receive the body of the Rt Hon Jacob Oulanyah at Entebbe international Airport #RIPOulanyah
PICTORIAL 📸
A select group of MPs – the males honouring @JacobOulanyah’s signature bow tie – are among the dignitaries at #Entebbe International Airport to receive the body of the late Speaker of @Parliament_Ug.
Owiny Dollo Apologizes to Kabaka
CJ Owiny-Dollo apologizes to Kabaka.
“I made a wrong and inappropriate reference to His Majesty the Kabaka of Buganda. I hereby unequivocally, unreservedly and of my free volition, wholly retract that reference and also hereby tender my apology to His Majesty, the Kabaka. …”
Oulanyah’s Emergency Operation of 1990 Caused His Death – Mao
“I knew, of course that due to the beatings in Makerere of 1990, his spleen had to been cut out in an emergency operation at Mulago. Now when you don’t have a spleen, you are prone to multiple infections because those are some of the organs that deal with the germs that we all carry around. They cleanse the body and so on. And many of his internal organs had been traumatized as result of [cutting out his spleen due to] that beating on 10th December 1990
Hon Nobert Mao, the president general of the Democrtatic Party (DP) and close friend to fallen speaker Rt Hon Jacob Oulanyah, has said that Oulanyah’s beatings of 1990 caused his eventual death last weekend.
Mao was referring to Oulanyah’s university days when he led a student’s strike (with Mao) against the removal of student allowances by the new National Resistance Army (NRA) government in 1990.
Oulanyah was the leader of the strike as the guild speaker, together with Mao who was the guild president. During the army’s efforts to quell the strike, President Museveni’s army, only four years in power by then, shot two students dead and brutally beat several other students. As it turns out, one of the worst beaten was Jacob Oulanyah.
Oulanyah ended up being hospitalized at Mulago for several days. The injuries from the beatings were so severe that it was incumbent that he gets an emergency operation in which, according to Mao, his spleen was cut out
Mao said this, while giving one of the foremost seminal tributes to the fallen speaker on the Capital Gang on Saturday morning. He narrated what Oulanyah’s doctor told him and the team that went to Seattle to see the bedridden Oulanyah:
“The doctor told us that the medical team thought that they could possibly harvest cells from someone who is genetically related to Jacob, and then modify those cells in a lab and transplant them into Jacob to tackle the cancer cells. This is why Jacob was taken to that particular hospital. Many patients have undergone that kind of treatment there and recovered.
“However, the doctor told us that unfortunately, Jacob’s illness is (sic) so advanced and his organs are (sic) in no position to take the kind of treatment regime that would revive him. And I have to let you know that many of us didn’t know the details of Jacob’s illness.
“And I am a person who believes that I should talk about what I know. Even as a very close friend, I actually never heard from Jacob telling me that he had cancer.
“I knew, of course that due to the beatings in Makerere of 1990, his spleen had to been cut out in an emergency operation at Mulago. Now when you don’t have a spleen, you are prone to multiple infections because those are some of the organs that deal with the germs that we all carry around. They cleanse the body and so on. And many of his internal organs had been traumatized as result of [cutting out his spleen due to] that beating on 10th December 1990.”
Farewell, a Thinker with Sense of Originality
Farewell, a thinker with a sense of originality and a level headed gentleman – Jacob Oulanyah!
By Odrek Rwabwogo
It was early October 1990 and we had just picked our brown envelopes having checked our names on the noticeboards at the main building where they were printed with a stencil and typewriter. For some of us from rural schools with limited educational facilities, we had finally made it to Makerere University.
The crowding and craning around the noticeboards was intense; many of us strangers trying to see if
there was anyone from one’s area or former school and if they were residents or nonresidents.
The milling around the hall filled us with a measure of excitement as well as curiosity for we wanted to know what portended for us in this ‘wider world’ given it had been our first step out of our villages. The air was filled with a taste of bitter rivalry between two-contending university factions in previously concluded guild elections that pitted two candidates, Nobert Mao who had emerged winner and the
late Noble Mayombo, who had lost by a narrow margin.
The aftermath of the race seemed to signify a dying era of UPC symbolisms and an incoming, not yet well
understood NRM. In many ways, the race was a sign of the times, bringing up underlying but unmistakable fears, largely stereotypical, that divided the country at the time.
One of these was that for the first time an army officer hailing from Kabarole district and a refractory student leader from Gulu had locked horns over leadership. The language alone was divisive. For many of us, one camp represented the new order of ‘no party politics’ and the other a temporarily dying one, of ‘multiparty politics’.
Mao had allied with another candidate called Charles Vvuba in what Mayombo termed an alliance only comparable in terms and proportion to the 1962 UPC/KY alliance, to defeat Benedict Kiwanuka. It is a strange irony that Mao would some twenty years
later, lead the Democratic Party (DP).
In a few days of my joining university, curiosity and the love of debates got the better part of me. I went to the main hall one evening and watched a Guild Representative Council (GRC) in session for the first time. And there, even I who was warming up to
the villain camp of Mayombo, was struck by this young, tall, dark orator who when he took to the floor, spoke as if his nose was a little pressed for air and he had a rhythmic flow of words that one would simply want to listen more.
It was Jacob Oulanyah. He had a developed command of oratory for his age and even though as speaker of GRC, he needed to show impartiality, he would mercilessly cut the other side to size to make
a point. It is partly this grandiloquence that drove students into the strike of December 10, 1990 over the scrapping of student allowances.
Police shot at us and killed the two Thomases Okema and Onyango. In opposition to this strike, our side mobilized students to sing and match in the night through freedom square protesting the strike
and denouncing strike leaders and asking students to go back to class.
Police fired at us again in the night and near the old social science building, I fell headlong into a large ditch left off an unfinished construction site and broke my back. I would lie in bed for days.
Fate really has a sense of irony. Both Noble and Jacob on two extreme sides of student politics would end up on one side of the political spectrum some sixteen years later. Jacob joined the Movement after his loss in the 2006 Omoro constituency MP race in
which he had held the banner of a now severely reduced UPC while, sadly, Noble died in May 2007 without seeing how this had turned out that in May 2011, one of his protagonists in the 1989 race, Jacob would be the deputy speaker of parliament on
an NRM ticket and ten years later, speaker of Uganda’s 11th parliament.
I suppose in death, these two men have met not as protagonists but rather as rekindled souls of
smart, insightful, discerning and consensus builders of their generation on earth. I suppose too they have embraced, giving us a strong signal to always work and govern from the middle in order to accommodate each other.
No extremes are sustainable in life and in public matters. Extremists never build anything. I got to know Jacob better when he married a fiery friend of mine, a colleague minister in the guild government, the late Dorothy Nangwale, herself of the UPC stock (her father, Eng. Abner Nangwale had been minister of works in Obote II Government).
Dorothy was a keen slash and burn, no holds-barred debater too, a human rights activist and a leader in the National student Movement. We were both elected in Mbale in September 1993 to lead the student organization and to work on setting up the
Uganda National Youth Councils.
I wasn’t surprised Jacob ended up with Dorothy as
a couple. They both had an independent streak, they were often decidedly anti authority and rebellious, challenging status quo; they were intellectually excellent to spar on any issue and they were firmly confident in their views.
They were a couple destined for greatness in every way in their country. Dorothy once came to church
one Sunday morning a few years before her death. Holding her baby in arms, she took to the microphone and asked the preacher of the day, whether it was right to “obey government rulers as written in Romans chapter 13 especially if that government was undermining the rights of its citizens”.
Dorothy was confident we would take no offense and that we would challenge her position both spiritually and intellectually given we had background with the couple as my friends for a long time. Two things the country will miss about Jacob, things that will stand out as probably his legacy for the young people.
In the 2016 speakership race in which he calmly
ceded ground for his opponent before the elders of the party, I came to see him. He was deeply troubled by the talk that he was ‘less NRM simply because he had had a UPC background’.
He told me, “When I make a decision, I have very well considered all aspects of an issue, calmly and maturely. When I left UPC, I didn’t leave any part
of me. I left wholeheartedly and completely and I had no intention of going into any other party.
I had seen the internal UPC fights decimate a party that had built a record and I noticed how so fundamental it was to rally behind a strong, smart, firm, intellectually superior African leader, Yoweri Museveni, whose devotion to Uganda and
Africa is unmatchable”.
The lesson here is twofold – that those who claim to be the best NRM pedigree simply because of the accident of history or position, are really often the demobilizers for the Movement whether they know it or not. If we had missed Jacob even for the short time we had him, simply because he came into the
party late, would Uganda not have missed the contribution of this illustrious son?
The other embedded lesson is that it doesn’t matter when people come. It only matters that they come anyway and come with no preconditions. When they do, they are replenishing the ranks of our leadership if they are good.
They bring fresh experience that the party might not have. We must always welcome them with open arms and try their skills and not hold them against their past. The second thing we will miss is his fight to level on ideas not pettiness.
In the 2021 race, he worried much about the shallow campaign that had more talk ‘about money and less enriching’ on what candidates wanted to do. In a country where politics has been monetized, it is always refreshing to hear someone begin their race with what they want to change not how much they plan to spend. We will miss this original thinker and level headed gentleman of our generation.
God keep his soul in eternal peace
Museveni Reshuffles RDCs
LIRA CITY RCC RETAINS HIS POSITION AS PRESIDENT RESHUFFLES RCCS
President Museveni has announced a reshuffle among Resident District Commissioners, Resident City Commissioners and their deputies.
According to the new list released on Wednesday, the Kampala RCC, Hudu Hussein has been moved to Yumbe and replaced by Amina Lukanga.
The controversial Hudu Hussein recently came out to deny one f the statements in which he had given preachers 30 days to vacate Kampala streets.
“My President is a very religious and God-fearing man, and he is my inspiration. I cannot do something that he himself cannot do. I emphasize that I cannot and did not say anything about chasing street preachers. I referred to street children, among other issues,”Hudu Hussein said in a statement later.
Today’s changes have also seen Phoebe Namulindwa moved from Luweero to Kassanda whereas Kigozi Ssempala has been moved from Kayunga to Mpigi and replaced by Hajji Nsereko Mutumba who recently was serving as the spokesperson for the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council headquarters at Old Kampala.
The changes have also seen Mariam Nalubega Sseguya who has been in Kawempe sent to Kiboga whereas former MP Saleh Kamba has been appointed as the new Jinja City Resident City Commissioner.
In the latest reshuffle, Kyeyune Ssenyonjo has been moved from Pallisa to Nabilatuk in Karamoja region and has been replaced by Majid Dhikusooka.
Among those who have retained their positions is Justine Mbabazi for Wakiso, Anderson Burora for Lubaga and former journalist Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi who is still serving as deputy RCC for Masaka City.
The new changes according to the president take immediate effect.
EARNING A LIVING: The Ups and Downs of Making a Better Life
There is not a person in life that doesn’t want new things on earth very well knowing they do come at a cost. Can you afford them? Why take steps and mileages to obtain something at an expense that can be foregone? At personal level, some people see 5this as the way to go for their own means of survival though this can seem to be a hard path to ride on because you reach an extent of taking a debt to pay a debt just as way to swerve life to new standards.
This policy has also been shifted to both national and international levels because we individuals make the nations and these build the continents. This has its advantages and disadvantages as we all see.
We tend to foresee the advantages more than the disadvantages because of the ambitiousness and thirst we tend to have for development and transformation to new standards of life. Not forgetting that we are the top contributors to the disadvantages. Economically, we are advised to use times of need to reach high economic achievements through establishing the solutions to the problems which isn’t the case in this situation. Having people doing so in the reverse direction.
Swindling and embezzling funds intended to lead to new standards of life is a way of tarnishing and destroying the little you have made for yourselves as the country. How do you expect to get better infrastructure, education, medication and other necessities of life when we also do this always?
Hidden under the clause of earning a living because of having made it to such strategically position but doing it at the expense of others even tormenting your own children and families. For instance take a look at Kampala, in the urge to get to better city standards we forget the sayings “old is gold”, why?
We fail to maintain the good we have and let it reach the sorry state demanding for replacement the infrastructure. For that reason, we require a loan to do so forgetting we have “locusts and termites” that take charge of books of account leading to taking secondary loans for the same projects. Nevertheless, this happens for each and every project that is meant to be put in place. What of the offices that earn from keeping track of the money, money spent on machinery that is to remain redundant as we await the secondary funding?
All this leads to corruption. But it’s like singing a song that was a flavor to all people’s ears and then round the corner its later termed as noise because we live the corruption, we no longer practice it.
Instigated and instilled in children from birth and it has turned out to be hereditary all in the name of earning a living. The sweat soon perishing and proving to be nothing all at the expense of one day things forgetting to account for the future. That’s why we can afford to have “enjoyment ku enjoyment” when a debt rate of a million per head on each Ugandan keeps getting on arise.
Let’s earn it the right way since we are heading back to old colonial days where we worked for their successful rise to world class as we subdue to our own class. Seemingly hard but I guess we have a fourth world country.
Northern Uganda MPs Threaten to Boycott Speakership Election
NORTHERN UGANDA MPS THREATEN TO BOYCOTT SPEAKERSHIP ELECTION
Members of Parliament from Northern Uganda have resolved that the Election of Speaker in the 11th Parliament be reserved for the region following the death of Jacob Oulanyah.
The loose coalition brings together 102 Members of Parliament from Acholi, Lango, and West Nile sub-regions of the country. Their resolution follows the nomination of 13 MPs by the ruling National Resistance Movement – NRM party on Tuesday.
According to the resolution, Northern Uganda overwhelmingly voted for the NRM government in the January 2021 general polls where President Yoweri Museveni and NRM party won in the region for the first time in three decades.
Denis Hamson Obua, the Ajuri County MP in Alebtong District who expressed interest to contest for the speakership race on the NRM party ticket says that the position of the Speaker was allocated based on the performance of the party in last year’s general elections.
Obua says that CEC must allow a candidate from the North to finish the term started by Oulanyah.
Lillian Aber, the Kitgum District Woman Representative says that currently politics in Uganda is based on regional balance as recently demonstrated in the East African Legislative Assembly – EALA by-elections.
In the elections, the NRM Central Executive Committee ring-fenced the position that fell vacant following the death of Mathias Kasamba who succumbed to Covid-19 in April 2021, and James Kakooza, the former Kabula County MP was elected unopposed to replace the deceased.
Gilbert Olanya, the Kilak South County MP in Amuru thinks that MPs from Northern Uganda are expecting CEC to maintain the same precedence in the race to replace Oulanyah.
The Late Speaker died from a Hospital in Seattle, USA on March 20th where he was admitted for specialized treatment. He was the first sitting speaker ever to pass on since colonial administration in Uganda, serving for only 9 months.
The other MPs from the Northern region who have expressed interest to contest include; John Amos Okot (Agago North County), Lee Jackson Alima Guti (Arua City Central Division), Felix Okot Ogong (Dokolo North), and Dr. Ruth Jane Aceng (Lira City Woman Representative).
“The three Parliamentary groups from Northern Uganda have unanimously endorsed all persons who have expressed interest from the Acholi, Lango, and West Nile sub-regions.
The Northern Region has therefore expressed interest for the speakership position through them. We expect CEC to select one name amongst them who will be forwarded for election. If more than one name is selected from our list we demand a meeting to come up with one name as the NRM flag bearer”, the regional bloc’s resolution read.
“If CEC fails to select any candidate from among them, the 102 members shall not turn up for the elections of the speaker on Friday, March 25th, 2022. We shall instead congregate at the Rt Hon Speaker Jacob Oulanyah’s residence to continue to console with the family and mourn with our brothers and sisters from the three sub-regions”, said the resolution.
The concerned MPs from the three regions have also demanded an urgent meeting with the National Organising Committee (NOC) on Wednesday to address concerns relating to burial activities, programs, and budgets.
The MPs also demanded clear participation of cultural, religious institutions, and local governments from the three sub-regions because Oulanyah doubled as the National Vice Chairperson for NRM in Northern Uganda.
Mistakes to Avoid When Driving in Uganda
Mistakes are unavoidable when driving in Uganda or any part of the world. No one is 100% perfect when it comes to driving and like any human, mistakes are part of life but they can be avoided if you are keen enough. Car accidents are experienced worldwide and driving in a new destination like Uganda, mistakes are bound to be made but they can also be avoided if you practiced good driving habits.
It is for this reason why there are several traffic sign posts designed purposely to guide drivers when driving. But still, there are common mistakes many drivers make and here are some of them and how you can avoid.
Top Mistakes to Avoid When Driving in Uganda
Using your phone while driving
Use of mobile phone while driving is a common practice among most drivers in Uganda and this is one of distractors that often put the lives of others in danger. Regardless of whether you are an experienced/expert or first time driver on the road, full attention is vital when driving.
Driving while on phone at the same time isn’t only punishable by traffic laws of Uganda but also it is advisable to as much as you can not to do it. The disadvantage about it is that when driving, it divides your attention and focus is definitely lost at the end of it all.
Ignoring a seat belt
Wearing a seat belt is mandatory while you are behind the wheels. This is punishable by law in Uganda and before you set off to any road trip to any destination, firstly, ensure that you have worn your seat belt including everyone on a trip with you.
Unlike most public means, for most Uganda car rentals, there are seat belts for everyone to wear. Always keep at the back of your mind to wear seat belts before you are even stopped by police. This isn’t fashion but for the sake of saving lives, it is vital to do it. For vehicles with faulty seat belts, it is advisable that you replace it before setting off for your journey.
Speeding
Speeding is one of the elements that have resulted in most road accidents today. Yes, there is always temptation to speed off but be mindful of the end result. Always observe the speed limit on sign posts and maintain it till you get to your preferred destination. Avoid racing or overtake other drivers when not necessary.
While over speeding, it becomes hard to control the car at a point you need to. For those of you who perhaps get worried about getting there late, it is advisable to leave as early as possible.
Failure to use the turn signal
This is one of the common mistakes many drivers make and often puts lives of many into danger. When turning or changing lanes, it is important to ensure that you do it safely and a quick turn signal is recommended since it alerts the other driver of your next move.
Taking the advantage of your turn signal plays a vital role, especially in informing other drivers of what your intentions are. By so doing, they get enough time to accommodate you turning or change lanes. Failure to use it means no one gets to know when you may want to slow down in order to turn or go to another lane.
Driving when tired
For most people who don’t get good night sleep, higher chances are that you will have a long day of feeling tired and sluggish. Study shows that fatigued drivers are twice as likely to make mistakes while on the road compared to drivers who get adequate rest/sleep a night before.
If you are fatigued, avoid driving for long distances. It is advisable that you take a nap early prior your next day of driving and in case it happens while on the road, park somewhere and rest.
Driving a wrong lane
Most often, there are some drivers who take wrong lanes and while others do it out of ignorance, some do give lame excuses like beating appointment time. When driving, be considerate and keep in mind that you aren’t the only one in hurry. Regardless of your reason, try to keep within your lane and only overtake when at right time.
Driving under influence of alcohol
This is common especially during weekends where most drivers get on the road under influence of alcohol or other toxins. While on your road trip, be keen on how others are driving and ensure that you fully concentrate on your journey.
Driving very close behind another car
Always keep a good distance from the next driver. Driving close to another puts you at the risk of road accidents or car damage when suddenly the next driver stops.
Jacob Oulanyah is Dead
Rt. Hon Speaker Jacob Oulanyah is dead, President announces.
According to sources, the late Jacob Oulanyah was having terminal cancer and a few surgeries could give him a bit of a lifeline, President Museveni was willing to go to the end of it all until the last phone call coerced him to make the final announcement.
Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah was a Ugandan agricultural economist, lawyer and politician, who served as the Speaker of the 11th Parliament of Uganda (2021 – 2022) but passed on 20th March 2022 in Seattle. He was elected to that position on 24 May 2021, after defeating the former Speaker Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga. He served as Deputy Speaker of the Ugandan parliament, from May 2011 until May 2021. Oulanyah was also the member of parliament representing the Omoro County constituency, Omoro District, Acholi sub-region, in the Uganda’s Northern Region.
The life of Rt. Hon. Dr. Jacob Lukori Oulanyah
Late Jacob Oulanyah’s 360° Fact file.
Oulanyah was born in Gulu District, on 23 March 1965 to Nathan L’okori and Karen Atwon.
He attended St. Joseph’s College Layibi, Dr. Obote College Boroboro, and Kololo Senior Secondary School for his O-Level and A-Level education. In 1988, he joined Makerere University, the oldest university in the East African Community, where he studied agricultural economics.
He graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in that subject. That same year, Oulanyah entered law school, also at Makerere University, graduating in 1994 with a Bachelor of Laws degree.
He served as speaker of the university students’ guild during his stay at Makerere. In 1995, he attended the Law Development Centre (LDC), where he obtained a postgraduate diploma in legal practice.
Following his graduation from the LDC, Oulanyah worked as a lecturer at the centre. During the same timeframe, he began private law practice at the law firm of Oulanyah, Onoria & Company Advocates.
In 2001, he entered politics by successfully contesting for the parliamentary seat of Omoro County, in the then Gulu District under the no-party system also known as the Movement Political System. He was however a cardholder of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC).
Oulanyah also participated in the peace talks between the government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels. In 2006, standing as a UPC candidate, he lost his re-election bid. In July 2006, he quit the UPC and joined the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
In 2008, he served as the chairman of the commission of inquiry into the controversial sub-lease of Kisekka Market, one of the municipal markets in the city of Kampala. In March 2011, Oulanyah was elected to represent Omoro County then in Gulu District, in the Ninth Parliament, this time on the NRM ticket. He was elected as Deputy Speaker of Parliament on 19 May 2011.
Following the February 2016 general election, Oulanyah was re-elected as Deputy Speaker of Parliament on 19 May 2016. In the vote, conducted by secret ballot, he received 300 votes, while Muhammad Nsereko received 115.
On 13 July 2019, Oulanyah was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Divinity by Zoe Life Theological College USA and acquired the title, Doctor enabling him be called Rt. Hon. Dr. Jacob L. Oulanyah
On 24th May 2021, Oulanyah was voted Speaker of Parliament in a race against his former boss, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga and Kira Municipality MP, Ibrahim Ssemujju. He obtained 310 votes against Kadaga’s 197 and Ssemujju’s 15.
On 20th March 2022, President Museveni announced through his twitter account that the Speaker had died on 20th March 2022 in Seattle ………
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