Cecilia Ogwal starts final journey to her resting place

As part of the activities in honour of Dokolo Woman Member of Parliament Cecilia Ogwal, mourners yesterday gathered at All Saints Church for prayers ahead of her burial this Saturday. 

Mourners at the church were from all walks of life, including family members, friends, MPs, as well as current and former government top officials. 

Speaker Anita Among appealed to the church to pray for all legislators, saying this is the fourth lawmaker they are burying in a space of two and half years. 

“Pray for us as Members of Parliament. Where we could have wronged, we ask for forgiveness. We need prayers,” Ms Among said, attracting a few murmurs from the congregation.

North Kigezi Bishop Onesmas Asiimwe, presided over the funeral service, who said Ogwal’s death has affected the entire country. 

“She had rare boldness and courage. In fact, at the risk of sounding selfish, I would like to think that she must have been a Mukiga who found herself in Lango,” Bishop Asiimwe joked, attracting laughter from the congregation. 

“Yet she remained a humble and submissive wife and a great mother, and having all these qualities packaged in one woman, was certainly a gift from God,” he added. 

Ogwal died on January 18 in India, a country in South Asia where she had gone to receive medical treatment after her health deteriorated. 

Mr Moses Michael Otyek, her second born, told the congregation that it was while there that their worst fears were confirmed. 

“Unfortunately, we went through the scan and [it] came back confirming the suspicions of the doctors in Mulago, saying that it was a cancer that started in the pancreas and unfortunately, the cancer was identified very late,” Mr Otyek said. 

The news was broken to him and Susan, a cousin. The duo had accompanied the deceased to India.

“The doctors could not do much to change it. However, they wanted to keep her comfortable and do what her body could handle, which they did and she was speaking happily, getting stronger,” Mr Otyek said, adding, “Surprisingly, she turned the other way on Wednesday, [January] 17 (January) after a session of exercise...Now, what happened was she had a bit of fluid buildup in her body which caused the heart to work harder….exhausted her, and she ended up being taken back to the ICU where they put all sorts of breathing apparatus to help her breathe,” Mr Otyek explained. 

With the restrictions that come with the intensive care unit (ICU) limiting patient’s interaction with visitors, the duo was advised to return to their residence and wait. 

“Unfortunately, I was called and told that her heart had stopped, and they were trying to resuscitate her. They did what they could, and eventually after about one hour and a half to two hours, they called Susan and I in, saying her pulse was now recovered but it was low. So we went in and spoke to her but she was not responsive anymore at that point…and that is how it happened.”

Joshua Joseph Odoc Ogwal, another son, remembered his mother as a defiant and stubborn woman. 
“When you told mummy no or put a barrier in her way, you were really just inviting her to break that barrier,” Mr Odoc said amid laughter, adding, “You would ask her, ‘Why do you have to be so stubborn’,” and she would respond, ‘...from the time of John the Baptist, the kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it forcefully. But that was mum’.”

Rosemary Alwoc, her eldest child, said her mother took a lot of guidance from her Christian faith and translated this into her life at home.

Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo said Cecilia Ogwal was larger than life.
Her husband, Lameck Ogwal, said his wife was an exceptional mother and wife, who needed her personality rooted in this country. 

Cecilia is survived by Lameck Ogwal, seven biological and other adopted children. 
After the service ended, the body was transported to one of her family homes in Adok Sub-county, Dokolo District for a vigil.