The speaker of the Ugandan parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, is dead.
His death was announced by President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday at 1:07 pm through his official Twitter account.
“Countrymen and countrywomen. It is with a lot of sadness that I announce the death of the Rt. Hon. Jacob Oulanyah, the Speaker of Parliament,” Museveni’s Tweet read.
Oulanyah, 56, was referred abroad on 3 February for specialized healthcare by doctors at Mulago National Referral hospital where he was first admitted in January.
On Monday, the Democratic Party President Norbert Mao, alongside chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, deputy speaker Anita Among, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng the minister of health, and Oulanyah’s brother, Francis Emuna, hastily flew to Seattle in the United States of America to check on him where he was indisposed.
Oulanyah, an agricultural economist and lawyer, served as deputy speaker between 2006 and 2016 under Rebecca Kadaga before defeating her on 24 May 2021 to become Speaker of the 11th Parliament.
The leader of the opposition National Unity Party (NUP), Robert Kyangulanyi also known as Bobi Wine, extended his condolences to the family of the late speaker.
“On behalf of the National Unity Platform and on my own behalf, I extend deep condolences to his family, friends, and the people of Acholi Sub-region as well as all Ugandans on this tragic event. May his soul rest in peace,” Kyangulanyi wrote.
Jacob Oulanyah L’Okori was born on 23 March 1965. He only served for 9 months and 24 days.
While no date has been set yet for his burial, the Parliamentary Pensions Act, stipulates that the day the speaker or deputy speaker is buried is designated a public holiday, and a person who dies while holding the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall be accorded a state funeral.