Paramount Chief Speaks on Speaker Jacob Oulanyah Poisoning Claims: Why Do All Powerful Acholi Die After Promotions?

Rwot David Onen Acana II, the Paramount Chief of Acholi, where former Speaker of Parliament Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah hailed from, has eulogized the former Omoro County MP for his great contribution to the region, but demanded answers on the cause of his death.

Speaking almost a day after President Museveni announced the sad news of the death of Speaker Oulanyah, Rwot Acana II described the late speaker as a great son of the soil. The Paramount Chief said he had been preparing to lead a delegation to check on Oulanyah in Seattle, US, where he had been hospitalized since February 2022, only to learn of the unfortunate news of the passing of the speaker.

Acana also raised questions on the death of Oulanyah, asking government to come out and clearly explain what exactly killed the speaker. Oulanyah’s father Nathan Okori has been quoted as saying that he believed his son did not die of natural causes, pointing to the possibility that the man from Omoro could have been poisoned.

Chief Acana II demanded answers on who was responsible for alleged poisonings in the country.

He made it clear that there was no need for him to pretend that all was well in Acholi since him and his people have “more questions than answers.” He wondered why “our children” [sons and daughters of Acholi] die immediately after elevation to positions of power.

Oulanyah had barely spent a year in office as speaker by the time he passed on. Furthermore, for some of the time he was in office, he was in hospital, making his deputy Anita Annet Among, the Bukedea District Woman MP, to preside over most of the parliamentary sittings.

Another Acholi who passed on barely a year in office was Lt Gen Paul Lokech, the former Deputy Inspector General of Police.

Rwot Acana now says government must give the people of Acholi and the whole of Uganda answers as to why some people just die after, as they say, falling into big things.

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