The body of the fallen Minister of Internal Affairs General Robert
Aronda Nyakairima has been brought home aboard Emirates Airlines
Flight A330 from Dubai.
The plane touched the tarmac at Entebbe International Airport at
exactly 2pm, it arrival sending the grieving relatives and friends
into bouts of uncontrollable sobs and moans.
Gen. Aronda, 56, died of suspected cardiac arrest on Saturday,
Sept 12, as he traveled to Dubai from South Korea, where he had gone on official duty.
Ugandans will hold prayers for the deceased General at Kololo
Ceremonial Grounds tomorrow, before the body is taken to lie in state
in Parliament, where his colleagues will pay their last respect to the
former Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Army Member of Parliament.
Later the body will be transported to the deceased’s ancestral home in
Rukungiri, where a state funeral will take place. Gen. Aronda
Nyakairima is survived by a widow, Linda Kahoza Nyakairima and two
children.
The body was received by his colleagues in the army led by CDF, Gen. Katumba Wamala, Lt. Gen. Ivan Koreta, Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde, and Gen. Elly Tumwine. Others included Inspector General of Police (IGP) Gen.Kale Kayihura and the Commissioner General of Prisons Dr. Johnson Byabasaija.
Brief personal history
Born in 1959, Gen. Aronda Nyakarima joined the National Resistance Army
in 1981, soon after leaving Makerere, where he studied Political
Science.
In 1986, after the fall of Kampala Aronda, then a Junior Officer One
(JO1) worked as an Intelligence Officer based at the Central Police
Station in Kampala. He served in various high-profile positions in the
UPDF including in the Presidential Protection Unit (PPU) and as
Commander Division 4 before he was appointed Army Commander in 2003 and later appointed Chief of Defence Forces (CDF).
He has also represented the UPDF in Parliament since 1996 and was named Minister for Internal Affairs in 2013.
