Parliament of Uganda has clashed with the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party over burial arrangements for late Iron Lady and Dokolo District Woman MP, Cecilia Ogwal.
This follows the release of Ogwal’s burial program by the party.
The late Ogwal, has been a member of Uganda’s legislature continuously since 1996, died of a cancer-related illness at an unrevealed hospital in India, where she had been evacuated for specialized medical care.
FDC had earlier communicated the funeral arrangements of the fallen MP but parliament in a rebuttal announced that it would take over all the burial arrangements of the deceased legislator as they had been for the previous sitting legacies.
“The burial of the late Cecilia Ogwal is the responsibility of Parliament, not the FDC. Please disregard the purported burial program released by the FDC on its social media platforms.”
Parliament said, “The Speaker of Parliament, together with the family, will release the funeral arrangements. We urge the FDC to observe the bare minimum of respect and decency and not vulgarize the final journey of the hugely respected Ogwal.”
However, FDC hit back at parliament stating that Ms Ogwal was a nationalist who belonged to three families, parliament, FDC and her biological family and therefore, should be accorded respect based on that.
“You do not look into the mouth of the bereaved with teary eyes, we remind Ugandans that the now late Cecilia Barbara Atim Ogwal was a national leader with three major families; FDC, Parliament of Uganda and the biological family. Therefore, we must accord decency and respect to all the stakeholder. She was a peace maker and no doubt about that. FDC has been second home, and we are sure, given the choice, she would have preferred to be laid to rest adorned with FDC colours and the FDC flag” FDC wrote
She was instrumental in guiding and shaping local leaders, as well as advocating for a just global agenda where the voice of the global south was heard, especially in the OACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
She was an accomplished accountant whose knowledge of finances greatly informed her legislative input into various laws and budgetary processes. She became the Secretary General of the Uganda People’s Congress in 1985.
Throughout her distinguished service to the legislature, she stood for constitutionalism, the rule of law, human rights, equity, and inclusivity and tirelessly worked for the dignity of all Ugandans, irrespective of tribe, religion, region, age, and gender.
She represented Lira Municipality from 1996 to 2006 and later represented Dokolo District from August 2006 until her death. The deceased also represented Uganda at the Pan African Parliament in the 9th Parliament (2011–2016).
