Mr. Nathan Okori, the father of the fallen Speaker of Parliament Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah has reaffirmed that his son was poisoned. He said during the send-off of his son in Lalogi.
“I am not mourning in vain. I want to state clearly that Jacob Oulanyah was poisoned. He told me. The doctors tried to deal with the poison. It affected his health so badly that he could not recover,” he said.
Oulanyah died on 20th March 2022 in Seattle, USA barely two months after he was admitted in February this year. On February 3, 2021; Oulanyah was flown to the US aboard a Chartered Uganda Airlines aircraft A330 to Seattle for expert medical attention after efforts by medics at Mulago National Referral paid no dividends.
Okori said Oulanyah was not only his son but to the whole country. Oulanyah was taking care of many people.
“I wanted to tell this to president Museveni himself but maybe because he had some other duties. The government should complete the house that Oulanyah started. I appeal to the government to look after the children Oulanyah was looking after, and pay fees for them to the highest level possible.”
He asked for the deployment of Harriet L’Okori, Oulanyah’s sister with a Master’s Degree in Law.
Atim Oulanyah, a daughter to the deceased speaker said; “Jacob Oulanyah was a family man who put us first. He was a man with his priorities in check. He would pause whatever he was doing to visit us at school on our birthdays. The other students felt that he was a ‘cool’ person.”
She said; “My father left us with no debts or pending expenses, no grueling burdens we have to carry besides the task of filling his shoes. We will unite as a family and country to achieve the Uganda he wanted.”
Harold Oulanyah who is also a son to the fallen speaker said; “We lost our mother about 13 years ago, and now, I know my father and mother are watching over us. My father was not a selfish man. He was not a fool. A fool cannot come from a small village in northern Uganda to the third top position in the country. I want us to bury my father with the dignity he deserves.”
He said Oulanyah was a fine man. He never let positions get to his head; he was a patriotic man and always thought about his family, country, and friends.
Oulanyah served as the Speaker of the 11th Parliament of Uganda after Speaker Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, from 2021 until 2022. He was elected to that position on 24 May 2021, after defeating his tenacious rival the then incumbent Speaker Kadaga. Who had retained the seat for two terms (10 years). He served as Deputy Speaker of the Ugandan parliament, from May 2011 until May 2021.
