Museveni visits Parliament to pay tribute to deceased MP Cecilia Ogwal

President Museveni paid a visit to Parliament on Monday evening to eulogise Woman Representative for Dokolo District, Cecilia Atim Ogwal as her body lay in state at the House.

The head-of state arrived at about 7.15 pm accompanied by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataaha Museveni.
They proceeded to pay their respects as her body lay in state in the foyer of the House’s South Wing building.

Addressing legislators, friends, and family members of Ogwal and other mourners at Parliament’s South Wing Parking lot, Mr Museveni lauded the deceased opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) member for being a big defender of the country despite not being a member of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

 “..when she was elected to the African Parliament, if you went there in South Africa, you would not know that she was not NRM,” he said, adding, “Outside there, she was a big defender of Uganda. You would not know whether she was not NRM. No. That one I also saw because I went there to address the Pan-African Parliament and she was actually like the leader of the Ugandan group and she was very patriotic.”

Remembered for her loud high-pitched voice, assertiveness and outspokenness, Ogwal had enjoyed a thriving political career from 1996.
President Museveni added that she was a very good leader but was suppressed by the bad atmosphere created by politics. 
“In Luganda, they say obukyayi, where you create like hatred and bigotry,” he said.

But Ogwal, Museveni said, was in the process of rejecting such kind of politics, in that the initiators [of the bad politics] are now remaining few.
“These remaining initiators of bad politics were even trying to sabotage the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM),” Mr Museveni who has been in power since 1986 added.

“You can imagine they were even trying to sabotage this NAM. Imagine! NAM is not for Museveni. They are not looking after my cows. What are they doing for me? Did they go to look after my cows? To publicise your country so that your country is understood better and you say it is bad?” he said.
The 19th summit of NAM was organised between January 15 and 20 to provide a platform for global cooperation and advancing common goals.

President Museveni who at some point referred to Ogwal as “this talkative sister of mine,” also commended her for creating time to have a family despite her heavy involvement in politics.

“I did not know that she had the time to have a big family but apparently, she was very active publicly but also privately,” Museveni said, attracting laughter.
“And I saw a big clan here, mainly boys, with one girl, I think. We really must thank her for her contribution and they are all well-educated, the children.”

The legislator is survived by her husband Lameck Ogwal, seven biological children, and other adopted ones.
The First Lady did not make any remarks.
Ogwal died on January 18 in India, a country in South Asia where she had gone to receive specialised medical care for cancer. She was 77-years-old and had served as a legislator since 1996.