Teso leaders eulogise Bukedea District chairman Olemukan

The Bishop of Kumi Diocese, Rt. Rev. Michael Okwi Esakan has said that Teso has lost a leader who fought corruption and led the path of development in his district.

“We appeal for calm and sobriety among our people. We heard the sad news of his death while in Kachumbala for a pastoral wedding visit. We pray for serenity and fortitude among the family, clan and Ikidia (people of Bukedea),” he said in a condolence message following the demise of Moses Olemukan, the Bukedea District Chairperson.

While on his sick bed in October, Olemukan oversaw the transition in the District Health Office where the new DHO, Dr Emmanuel Odeke had been locked out of office for months.

Olemukan tasked members of the District Executive Committee to give the job to the new officer who had been appointed. He said that the district would suffer charges if the recruited official ran to court. Bukedea had spent more than 10 years without a substantive DHO.

Bishop Esakan added that Olemukan was clear about the path of development that he wanted Bukedea to follow.

“He shall be greatly missed. We pray that he rests in peace with his Lord and Saviour (Luke 23: 43)”, he said.

In 2019, Olemukan came to the rescue of hundreds of people who had been evicted from Amujeju Village. Olemukan helped the affected residents who suffered looting, torture and sexual abuses to access justice in Soroti High Court, according to Alfred Edeke, one of the petitioners in the case.

The Serere District Chairperson, Mr Stephen Ochola says that Teso has lost a very hardworking, trusted and impartial leader who served with an open heart.

“Olemukan was open and straightforward. He spoke the truth and respected his people regardless of their political ideologies,” he said.

The Bukedea Resident District Commissioner, Hajji Imran Muluga has described the fallen district leader as a political mentor who selflessly shared knowledge and provided guidance to both politicians and technocrats in the district.

“Olemukan was an accomplished district chairman of the mighty Bukedea District. He was a master of the nit grits in the entire district. He concretized the positive aspects of decentralization. Indeed, he was a true servant of the people. He was a hero in life, in sickness and death. To the people of Bukedea in his public appearance, he gave them a gift of unity. We shall mourn day till morning. Rest thee well our dear friend,” his message reads.

In January 2022, Olemukan was seen with members of the community demanding justice over the death of two suspects in Bukedea Police Station. He was later arrested and charged alongside five others for the murder of Francis Opolot, whose death caused the arrest of suspects who later died in Police cells.

When he was released later on bail, Olemukan fell ill and has been in and out of hospitals including Mulago National Referral Hospital. His condition, however, deteriorated and he was flown to Nairobi Hospital after he was diagnosed with the cancer of the liver in October.

Olemukan has since been undergoing chemotherapy of the liver from Nairobi Hospital, according to Samuel Musoke, the Councilor representing workers at Bukedea District Council. He died on Saturday at Mulago Cancer Institute where he was rushed on Saturday morning for treatment, according to the Bukedea County MP, John Bosco Ikojo.

Ikojo told this reporter that Olemukan returned from Nairobi last week where he was undergoing treatment.

 “He was stable when he returned and we were hopeful that he would be able to recover after all the treatment, but unfortunately he died,” he said.

Before becoming the district chairperson of Bukedea where he was serving his second term, Olemukan was the Bukedea Sub County Chairperson for two terms. He also served as the youth councillor and has been in business.

Olemukan, 48, has been a member of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party and hailed from Akuoro Village in Bukedea Sub County. In the 2021 general elections, Olemukan lost the NRM flag to the former RDC, William Tukei, but managed to win on an independent ticket.