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Cecilia Ogwal was not a political thief – Amuriat
UPC leader Jimmy Akena (right) Norbert Mao Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs (2nd R), and FDC leader Patrick Amuriat Oboi (C) place flowers on the casket containing Ogwal's body on Saturday. Photo | Charity Akullo
What you need to know:
- Mr Amuriat made the remarks while addressing thousands of mourners at the burial of their party member in Dog-Gudu Village, Alito sub-county in Kole District on Saturday.
The leader of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Mr Patrick Amuriat Oboi, has said that the fallen Dokolo Woman Member of Parliament, Barbara Cecilia Atim Ogwal was not a political thief but a champion for multiparty democracy.
“Atat (grandma) was a champion for multiparty democracy. And in Lango, there were strong men who accompanied her along this journey. I would like to mention the late honourable Yefusa Okullo Epak (former Oyam South MP), honourable Daniel Omara Atubo (former lands minister and former Otuke County MP) and honourable Ben Wacha (former Oyam North MP),” he said.
“Atat was a political activist. I hear people talking about political activism without mentioning the name of Cecilia Ogwal. She was among the first Ugandans to form a pressure group known as Lira Boys. She was not a political thief, the army needs to know that,” he added.
Mr Amuriat made the remarks while addressing thousands of mourners at the burial of their party member in Dog-Gudu Village, Alito sub-county in Kole District on Saturday.
Chief Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo said Ogwal was a lady of strong conviction.
“If she believed in something, she would pursue it, and if she discovered what she believed in was not right, she did not fear to abandon that position and take the one which is right,” he told mourners.
On Saturday, crowds swelled as thousands of mourners from all walks of life gathered at her home to bid farewell to the “iconic” political leader. She passed on at a hospital in India due to a cancer-related illness on January 18.
Vice president Jessica Alupo was the chief mourner. She was accompanied by top government officials including the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Thomas Tayebwa.
The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya, Hon Gladys Boss Shollei, and other dignitaries from Kenya and other African states also attended the ceremony.
“She taught me how to navigate the muddy waters of politics, and she taught me how to be a mother and a leader,” Ms Shollei said.
Dr Samuel Opio Acuti, the Kole North County Member of Parliament, said Ogwal was a peacemaker, not a peace breaker and a defender of human rights in Uganda.
“Secondly, she was a Member of Parliament and supported vulnerable schoolgirls in all nine districts that make up Lango sub-region,” he told mourners.
Mr Tayebwa, said: “Atat was prepared to leave but for us in Parliament, we were not prepared to lose her. We shall continue trying to learn from her even when she is not here physically.”
The deputy speaker further urged men to prepare their wives for Uganda’s juicy political positions.
Ms Judith Alyek, the chairperson of the Lango Parliamentary Group, also the Kole woman MP, said Ogwal was their political mentor.
“We miss her so much,” she said, further requesting the government on behalf of the constituency to construct a seed school in Alito in honour of Ogwal’s dedicated service to the country.
