The Uganda Peoples Congress has paid tribute to Patrick Mwondha, saying he was a great Ugandan and Congressman who needed recognition.
At the time of his death the late Mwondha was the UPC Vice President, a position he held since July 2015.
And addressing the press at a memorial held in his honour today, party president Jimmy Akena said the late Mwondha contributed a lot to his country and party in various political capacities.
“The late was one of the senior party members who gave hope for the future, especially with the relentless struggle to return the country to multiparty politics,” Mr Akena said.
He eulogised the deceased as a UPC diehard who prepared for and handled the Wednesday Party Press Conferences at a time plural politics was banned and, a resolute minister who remained firm even after the overthrow of the UPC government (Obote II) in 1985.
“The party has lost an elder, an advisor, a strong pillar who contributed to educating our citizens on nationalism, pan-Africanism and internationalism,” Akena said, adding: “He represented the true image of UPC.”
Mr Akena said that the deceased’s body will not lie in state in Parliament because its campaign time but that the party will move a motion on the floor of the house to honour him.
The late Mwondha succumbed to kidney failure at Mulago Hospital yesterday and his body will be taken to UPC headquarters on Uganda House for public viewing after which it will be taken for burial at Ntanda village in Bugiri.
A seasoned politician, Mwondha served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukhooli North and also as a Deputy Minister for Local Government under the Obote II government, from 1981 to 1985.
Under the Museveni government he represented Bukhooli North in the Constituent Assembly (CA) in 1994.
Mwondha went to Busoga College Mwiri and Makerere University, where he obtained a degree in Statistics.
