A whirlwind blew down the tent under which the casket containing the body of the late former Speaker Jacob Oulanyah was put during his burial ceremony in Omoro District on April 8,2022. PHOTOS/ TOBBIAS JOLLY OWINY
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Gone with the wind: Oulanyah aftermath
What you need to know:
- Jacob Oulanyah’s death continues to polarise the country, with a meeting of Acholi elders in Omoro District yesterday reported to have left many none the wiser.
The wind that swept aside the tent under which the casket containing Jacob Oulanyah’s remains lay, looks set to be endlessly recalled.
While Francis Emuna mentioned it in the same breath with a telling sign hours before his brother was laid to rest on Friday, a blunt statement had earlier been delivered. It came from the mouth of the father of the departed Speaker.
Mr Nathan Okori said in no uncertain terms that his son’s life was cut short by poison.
Sunday Monitor understands that the poisoning claims dominated discussions Acholi elders had at Oulanyah’s ancestral home yesterday.
Insiders say the talks that had luminaries from the sub-region, including Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo and Democratic Party president Norbert Mao at different intervals showed no signs of simmering down.
This, at one point, forced one elder based in the Americas to opt out of the explosive talks that our sources said were presided over by CJ Owiny-Dollo.
Besides publicly revealing that his son was poisoned, Mr Okori asked Uganda’s Chief Judge—Owiny-Dollo—to rein in “a certain lady who is meddling into Oulanyah’s company and private properties.”
The lady, who is said to have been particularly close to Oulanyah during his last moments, was barred from attending his burial. Mr Anthony Akol, the chairperson of Acholi Parliamentary Group (APG), said if the “certain lady” did what is alleged, she needs to be guided and counselled as opposed to being shamed.
Enter former aide
Sunday Monitor can exclusively reveal that “certain lady” is not the only one in Mr Okori’s line of fire.
One of Oulanyah’s former aides, also finds himself in the eye of the storm.
Like the “certain lady”, the aide did not turn up for Oulanyah’s send-off in Ayomlony Village, Omoro District, on Friday.
Attempts to reach out to the aide yesterday proved futile as his known telephone numbers were switched off.
We, however, understand that—much like the “certain lady”—the aide was expressly told not to attend Friday’s burial.
This was not the first time the aide was being given such an order. When President Museveni announced Oulanyah’s passing at the backend of last month, mourners were quick to converge at Mr Okori’s compound. The aide was among those mourners.
Mr Okori was quick to rebuke the aide, and in fact ordered him off his property.
Oulanyah’s father even threatened to draw out a spear to fight his son’s former aide.
Mr Douglas Peter Okello, the Omoro District chairperson, who was present at the time, calmed both sides. Mr Okello then asked the aide to exit the home in order to let Mr Okori be alone.
Ms Santa Alum Ogwang, the Oyam Woman MP, and also a close relative, told Sunday Monitor that the family was divided on the treatment that should be extended to the “certain lady” Mr Okori called out on Friday.
Ms Alum told Sunday Monitor she “can’t get into the details because it is very sensitive.”
A member of APG, who declined to be named for fear of being reprimanded, told Sunday Monitor that the umbrella body met Mr Okori twice to persuade him to allow the lady to participate in Oulanyah’s send-off. The talks proved to be futile.
The lawmaker further revealed that Mr Okori felt so strongly against the lady setting foot at the village on grounds that she was hiding sensitive possessions of the departed Speaker.
Mr Okori also is said to believe that the lady purposely delayed having Oulanyah seek medical interventions.
“He [Mr Okori] denied our idea, saying if she (the lady) had rushed Oulanyah to the hospital early enough, he would not have died since she claimed to have been living together with him,” the lawmaker said.
Poison narrative
Back in Kampala, Mr Godfrey Kiwanda, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party vice chairperson for central region, further fuelled the poisoning narrative when he claimed that Oulanyah “told me that I was poisoned.”
That was in 2021 after the Speakership elections. Mr Kiwanda—who was hosted on Capital FM’s Capital Gang political talkshow—said he confided in ICT minister, Dr Chris Baryomunsi about the poison claims.
President Museveni has previously warned against wildly speculating about what caused Oulanyah’s death.
Mr Kiwanda, who sits on the top organ of Mr Museveni’s ruling party, said that while his earlier interfaces with Oulanyah showed that he was stricken with cancer, poison could have made a bad situation worse. It remains to be seen how the police will respond to Mr Kiwanda and Mr Okori perpetuations of the poison narrative.
