The year 2022 has not been an easy one; It has claimed lives of many Ugandans.
Since death is unavoidable and does not discriminate people regardless of their economic or social status, a number of famous figures have also lost their lives this year.
Here are some of the notable Ugandans who have passed on since the beginning of 2022:
1.Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile
Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile was the Governor of the Bank of Uganda who died on 23rd January 2022 from Nairobi Hospita due to complications related to diabetes.
Prof. Mutebile was a professional economist who served as Governor and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Uganda since 2001 and had just started a new term of office for which he was reappointed in 2021. He served as secretary to the treasury from 1992 to 2001, when he was appointed governor.
2. Former Speaker Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah
Just a few weeks after the demise of Governor Mutebile, Uganda was again drained in another shock when the former Speaker of the 11th Parliament Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah died on 20th March in Seattle, USA.
Oulanyah, 56, was an agricultural economist, and lawyer, who served as Deputy Speaker of 2006 – 2016 under Rebecca Kadaga before defeating her on 24 May 2021 to become Speaker of the 11th Parliament. He served for 9 months and 24 days.
He joined politics in 2001 by successfully contesting for the parliamentary seat of Omoro County, in the then Gulu District under the no-party system also known as the Movement Political System. He was however a cardholder of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC). He also participated in the peace talks between the government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels. In 2006, standing as a UPC candidate, he lost his re-election bid. In July 2006, he quit the UPC and joined the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
In March 2011, Oulanyah was again elected to represent Omoro County in Gulu District, in the Ninth Parliament, this time on the NRM ticket. He was elected as Deputy Speaker of Parliament on May 19, 2011. Following the February 2016 general election, Oulanyah was re-elected as Deputy Speaker of Parliament on May 19, 2016. On May 24, 2021, Oulanyah was voted Speaker of Parliament in a race against his former boss, Kadaga and Kira Municipality MP, Ibrahim Ssemujju.
3.General Elly Tumwine
On 25th August 2022, Uganda again was shocked by the death of the four-star general Elly Tumwine. The bush-war general died at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, where he had been airlifted two weeks before his demise.
Tumwine was born on April 12, 1954, in Burunga, Mbarara District. He attended Burunga Primary School, Mbarara High School and St. Henry’s College Kitovu, before joining Makerere University, where he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art in 1977.
In 1980, he joined President Museveni and was the one who shot the first bullet that ignited the five-year Bush War and was the NRA’s first army commander, who had taken charge after the demise of commander Ahmed Sseguya. NRA toppled the Tito Okello Lutwa government in January 1986.
Gen Tumwine was also the longest-serving army representative in Parliament from 1996 to 2021. He served in several capacities in the NRM government with his last assignment being as Security Minister from 2018 to 2021. He was a senior presidential adviser at the time of his death.
4.Lt Col (rtd) Ahmed Kashillingi
The bush war hero was a key NRA commander during the five-year NRA Bush was. He died on November 3rd 2022.
Lt. Col. Kashilingi, RO 040 is believed to have played a greater role that saved the life of President Museveni however by the time of his death he was no longer in the serving government.
5.Dr Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere
The former presidential candidate and pro-democracy icon Dr Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere died on 18th November 2022 at his home in Rubaga.
Dr Ssemogerere whom many political leaders praised as a true icon of democracy in Uganda was born on 11th February 1932, at Bumangi, Buggala Island, in the Ssese.
He took over leadership of the Democratic Party in 1972 when parties were under prescription by the military government, and officially became it’s president-general after the fall of Idi Amin in 1979. Ssemogerere contested for president in December 1980, in the disputed election that led to the Luwero bush war as many believed he had been robbed of his victory. But he did not join the armed rebellion and went to Parliament to lead the opposition.
After the fall of the Obote 2 government, Ssemogerere served as minister in the subsequent governments, until 1995 when he resigned in readiness to contest for presidency in the 1996 polls that were won by Yoweri Museveni.
6.Supreme Court Judge Ruby Opio Aweri
On 7th December 2022, the Judiciary, the legal fraternity and the country at large lost an icon of justice, Justice Ruby Opio Aweri.
The news of the demise of justice Aweri shocked the Judiciary and because of his meritorious four-decade service, Supreme Court Judge Aweri had left a trail of impeccable character, sound output and inherent commitment that every judicial officer would desire to follow.
He joined the Judiciary as a Magistrate Grade One in 1983 and rose through the ranks until he was appointed Judge of the High Court in 1998. He was later elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2013 and to the Supreme Court in 2015; at the time of his death.
7.Bishop Patrick Okabe (Serere MP)
Serere County Member of Parliament Bishop Patrick Okabe and his wife Christine Okabe died on 19th December 2022 in a road accident at Naboa town council along the Mbale Tirinyi road in Budaka District. He was a very influential man in the Soroti region and was also the founder of Faith FM, a Christian radio in Mbale city, and Rhema High school in Soroti.
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