Deceased Minister of Internal of Internal Affairs General Robert Aronda Nyakairima died of acute heart failure due to blocked vessels.
Uganda Police Pathologist Dr Philip Byaruhanga and the Uganda Heart Institute Director Dr John Omagino made the revelation today, at the Media Centre in Kampala.
Gen Aronda, who also served as the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) died last Saturday as he returned from a working visit to South Korea, and his body was yesterday brought back from Dubai, where it had been preserved since his death.
Earlier, family members and a team of Ugandan medical personnel led by the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces Director of Medical of Services Dr James Makumbi, left for Dubai to make preparatory arrangements pending the return of the deceased General’s body.
Today the General’s body is lying in state in Parliament before being taken to Kololo Ceremonial Grounds for prayers after which the body will be taken to his ancestral home in Rukungiri for burial on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the EAC Secretary General Dr Richard Sezibera has sent a message of condolence to President Yoweri Museveni over Gen Aronda Nyakairima’s death,reports Jonathan Kamoga.
In the message sent early today Dr Sezibera mourned “the passing of a great son of Uganda and a towering figure of our time who has left an indelible imprint on the history of Uganda”.
Amb Sezibera noted that the late General Aronda played a big role in deepening the EAC integration process in regard to the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Defence in the Community, while serving as Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces.
“Together with his fellow Chiefs of Defence Forces from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, the late General Nyakairima worked so hard through the Sectoral Council on Cooperation in Defence to ensure that the MoU is implemented to the letter,” Dr Sezibera said.
Through the MoU, the SG said the EAC Partner States have continued to pursue an elaborate programme of activities of confidence building among the Defence Forces such as Joint Operations, Technical Assistance, Visits and Exchange of Information, Cultural Exchanges and Sports Competitions, to enhance a spirit of comradeship among the Armed Forces in the region.
The MoU, which has now been upgraded into a Protocol, lays emphasis on unity, peace, stability and strength to defend the region’s common interests.
“The entire East African Community and I share with Your Excellency, the bereaved family and the government and people of Uganda, the feelings of great loss at this moment of deep sorrow,” concludes the message.
