The long-speculated death of Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, has finally been confirmed by President Yoweri Museveni, via his twitter account. Museveni explained that he learnt about Oulanyah’s demise on Sunday morning to be exact at 10:30am but chose to delay for over three hours so that the deceased’s family is informed first.
Oulanyah was rushed to Seattle hospital in United States in critical condition over a month ago. Early this week, it emerged that deputy Speaker Anita Among, Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny Dollo, Democratic Party president Nobert Mao and deceased’s brother had swiftly rushed to US after being informed by the medical team that his condition had deteriorated.
Ugandans took to twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp group declaring Oulanyah dead as soon as he was rushed to US. Nevertheless, the government and other officials described the rumours as baseless and malicious. Some people insisted that they had authoritatively been informed that Oulanyah had passed on.
But when Museveni announced Oulanyah’s demised at 1pm on Sunday, many people perceived the news as confirming what was already known. Oulanyah took over the mantle of Speakership on May 24, last year replacing Rebecca Kadaga after defeating her in an election.
Oulanyah a former member of Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) crossed to the ruling party the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in 2006 after he lost his MP seat in an election. In 2011, he bounced back as an MP and was voted as deputy to Speaker to Kadaga. The dup did not cordial working relationship as their rivalry emerged in 2016 when he attempted to challenge her on Speakership slot.
In the 10 months Oulanyah has been Speaker and 10 years of service as deputy Speaker, he is credited for being a good time manager, ever smart and driving parliament on rules of procedure. The government is yet to announce the date when his body will be repatriated back home.