Could the acute heart attack be something invented at death? Maybe yes maybe no.

Linda Aronda, the widow to the deceased former Minister of Internal Affairs, has cast doubt in autopsy report released by government showing that her husband died of acute heart attack.

“He has been full of life. The heart problem they are talking about may have been there, but the 20 years I have lived with my husband, I have never seen him sick. My children here are my witnesses,” she said.

A visibly devastated Linda was eulogizing her dead husband during the State funeral service at Kololo ceremonial grounds.

“We have never seen him fail to get work to work. He loved to work and he always left home to go for his official duties and always returned safely,” she said, flanked by her two children.

Gen Aronda who died last Saturday served as the country’s first and longest Chief of Defence Forces before he moved to the Ministry of internal affairs in close to two years ago, where he is credited for executing the erstwhile stalled national identification project.

According to senior police pathologist Dr Moses Byaruhanga, small scars were found in the swollen heart of Aronda, an indication that he could have suffered the problem for some time.

A cue the president picked from as he spoke at Kololo.

“Apparently, Gen around twice got heart attacks but they were minor,” he said. “But this one which happened in the aeroplane was so severe that it took his life.”

The contradiction between the widow and the government report is a matter which seems to point out that she is suspecting foul play in the death of her husband.

Earlier on in Parliament, the Leader of Opposition Wafula Oguttu also posed questions regarding the death particularly wondering how the Managing Director of Uganda Media Center, and government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo came to know that Aronda had died of a heart attack even before a post-mortem was done.

When news about Aronda’s death petered through the country, on 12 September, the outspoken spokesperson tweeted that, “Confirmed #Gen Aronda has died of heart attack while on transit in Dubai from South Korea @UgandaMediaCent @skaheru @AllanKasujja”

Gen Aronda will be buried at his ancestral home in Rukungiri district on Sunday.

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The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Stanley Ntagali has called upon leaders to emulate the exemplary leadership exhibited by the former Internal Affairs Minister General Aronda Nyakairima.

Addressing mourners attending a memorial service held at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in honour of Gen Aronda, the Archbishop said he knew the deceased as a man of integrity, God fearing and humble.

“For the time I have known Aronda, his name has never been mentioned in any corruption scandal and we must thank God for that,” he said and advised leaders not indulge in corrupt tendencies but use their offices to serve the people.

He also consoled the family of the deceased especially the widow Linda Aronda.

“Linda, in Aronda you got a good husband and it is unfortunate that he has gone too soon,” the Archbishop said adding: “You made a vow to stand with him in good and bad and this there is no doubt you have done this to your best.”

Taking a jibe at the forthcoming elections, Ntagali urged politicians not bribe voters and also advised the voters not to allow to be bribed but vote basing on issues that affect them.

“Do not be cheap to be bought but rather vote leaders on merit,” he counseled before imploring the clergy to be impartial.

“Now is the time to make Uganda better,” he said.

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Striking teachers in Kenya demanding for a salary increase ordered by the Supreme Court in August, have led to the forced closure of all public and private schools in the country.

According to media reports, the decision by the Kenyan government will, beginning Monday September 21, affect pupils from Standard One to Standard Seven and students from Form One to Form Three.

Kenya follows an 8-4-4 system of education, meaning the pupils and students in candidate classes of Standard 8 and Form 4 awaiting their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations respectively, are not affected.

Schools re-opened for the third term on August 31, but midway the Ministry of Education, in a circular, said they should close on September 21.

The closure follows three weeks of persistent non-teaching by the striking teachers, who got a reprieve from highest court, ordering government to pay them a 60% increase in salary. This means that the decision is incontestable, a development that might have galvanized the teachers into recalcitrance.

It is not clear what the teachers, who coalesce under the powerful Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) will do, but last week some of the teachers took the strike to the streets of Nairobi, demanding that government honours the court ruling.

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Tens of thousands have today thronged the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds for prayers held in tribute to the late General Robert Aronda Nyakairima who died of acute heart failure last Saturday as he returned from a working visit to South Korea.

The prayers led by the Anglican Archbishop Stanley Ntagali were attended by President Yoweri Museveni, the widow and relatives, several senior army officers including service commanders from armies in the region, staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and people from other walks of life.

The chief mourner President Yoweri Museveni said he was annoyed that Aronda died of a medical condition which was poorly handled.

“Actually Aronda complained of dizziness. He said ‘I am feeling dizzy’. That was in South Korea before entering the plane,” Museveni said before calling up the government officials who travelled with Aronda to South Korea’s capital Seoul before the latter’s death last Saturday.

The President explained that he investigated Aronda’s death and interviewed the officials in the Minister’s entourage to South Korea because “I never leave anything to chance.”

Museveni then narrated: “Aronda said ‘I am feeling dizzy’. They tried to go to the hospital but South Koreans said that they cannot allow someone to go to the hospital without insurance.”

“That’s nonsense. Surely, they must have emergencies. They must have treated him and see whether he will not pay,” a peeved Museveni said. The President further said there was “a gap of medical checkup. Even when we did the post mortem he had had previous heart attacks – small ones.”

“The body is carbon paper. Whatever happens will be recorded. He had two heart attacks before. This one was very big he couldn’t survive.”

“Apparently, they had not told me and he had not told me that he had some sort of mild hypertension for many years,” Museveni added.

On his part Archbishop Ntagali said he knew Gen Aronda as a man of integrity and God fearing with high morals. He lauded Gen Aronda for successfully spearheading the national ID project, which had previously failed to take off under his predecessors.

Other speakers at the service also extolled Gen Aronda, with the Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) General Katumba Wamala describing the deceased as an exemplary officer who served his country diligently. Comforting the bereaved family, Gen Katumba Wamala, who succeeded Gen Aronda as CDF, said the deceased had left a legacy that would ensure a good future for them.

James Baba, the State Minister for Internal Affairs described Gen

Aronda as a very hardworking and dedicated man, who knew almost all his subordinate staff and the challenges or opportunities each faced.

“He took interest in almost everyone under him,” Mr Baba said.

Meanwhile, in a brief speech Gen Aronda’s widow Linda said her husband had never suffered from any ailment known to her in the past.

“This heart disease they are talking about might have been there but for the twenty years I have been with my husband, I did not know him to have such an ailment,” she said and added that the deceased ‘was always full of energy’.

She praised her late husband for being caring, loving a dedicated public servant.

Gen Aronda died at the age of 56 and is survived by the widow Linda Kahoza Nyakairima, and two children. His burial will take place on Sunday, September 20 at his ancestral home in Rukungiri.

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