By Lydia Wanyoto-Mutende
With a heavy heart, I mourn the passing of Rt. Hon. Jacob Oulanyah. In life, our paths crossed many times yet we were not contemporaries at high school or university.
‘Yakobo,’ as we fondly referred to him in our circles, was a brother, a friend, an in-law, and a colleague in the profession and politics.
Those of us who entered the imposing gates of Makerere University as students in the 1990s, Jacob was a household name having left a benchmark as Guild Speaker in Norbert Mao’s cabinet.
Other notable individuals included the late Noble Mayombo, Dr. Sam Lyomoki and Kenneth Wanyoto who was Deputy Guild Speaker.
I was introduced to Makerere University Politics through Kenneth, before I joined the university, he joined Makerere from Busoga College Mwiri where he had been Head Prefect and hooked up with the Jacobs to form the Mao Government. Jacob spent 7 years in Makerere to accomplish two degrees:- Agricultural Economics and Law. In those years I managed to win elections as Chairperson Mary Stuart Hall, Dorothy contested for Guild President.
First Forward, Oulanyah kept closer in my circles when he married one of us, a Gayaza High School contemporary and home girl, Dorothy Nangwale. Like Oulanyah, Dorothy was fiercely independent minded and an articulate debater.
I was close to both Jacob and Dorothy, and actively participated in preparations for their wedding. When Dorothy passed away, Jacob honoured me to speak during her funeral in Kampala and Lalogi in Omoro. This bond has kept us going over the years, watching our children grow and strive to achieve their aspirations.
I wish to honour him for keeping us in the loop with the children and ensuring we played our role in their lives.
By nature, Jacob has been a stoic person and an eternal optimist. To a section of Ugandans, it’s easier to consider the last eleven years of Jacob’s life where he served as Deputy Speaker and Speaker of Parliament to surmise that the son of L’Okori has had smooth sailing all his life. Jacob faced travails in life and it’s fair to say these challenges shaped his general outlook to life.
In 2006, Jacob faced a number of setbacks in quick succession. In the wake of his election loss in the 2006 Parliamentary race, his wife Dorothy fell sick and died. His daughter also passed away, so did his mum.
These were truly trying times for Jacob and it’s a testament to his enduring spirit that he weathered the storm with the help of his friends like Gen. Kahinda Otafiire who featured visibly in those tough times and gotten himself title of Chief Mourner to which he lightened our tough times with his signature jokes.
As a politician, Jacob spent his formative years as a member of Uganda People’s Congress (UPC). However, despite our political differences then, Jacob’s ability to disagree with someone on political issues without becoming personally disagreeable was amazing. And that is not to say he pulled punches during political debates. Never. Yet to him political differences were never a reason to fray relations with individuals he had known all his life.
Perhaps this explains his seamless transition to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) where he had risen to its top most organ, the Central Executive Committee (CEC) as a representative for northern Uganda.
Jacob had an enduring belief that this country we all call home is large enough for all of us to co-exist happily regardless of our divergent political beliefs. He abhorred extremes, well in the knowledge that extreme positions in life or politics have never proffered meaningful solutions to problems afflicting society.
It’s a tragedy that the Eleventh Parliament has missed his calm persona, intellect and the willingness to meet those he disagreed with politically in the middle. In his first speech after his election as Speaker in June last year, Jacob reminded those occupying public offices that they do so in trust for the people of Uganda. That the sole reason for occupying public office (be it political or otherwise) is to serve the public. In his stewardship of the Eleventh Parliament, Jacob was willing to walk the talk and live by example.
To you Chairman Mao, while as Guild President, the arrival at the freedom square, Main Hall or any Assembly had the typical protocol arrives: in their red gown:-it was Kenneth Wanyoto (Deputy Speaker), then Jacob Oulanyah (speaker), then you Mr. President, we laid Kenneth to rest in June 2021 and we will be laying Yakobo to rest this April 2022, hardly a year, in their arrival order to their resting peace. We stand with you in this difficult time of emptiness.
Regarding death, renowned American author and abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe once noted: “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.” True, the pain of losing Jacob at 56 years is as incalculable to those privileged to have known him closely, and numbing to his immediate family members. But in the words of Harriet Beecher Stowe, we take solace from his good deeds and meritorious service that have touched the lives of many. So long, Jacob.
NOTE: Lydia Wanyoto – Mutende is a Lawyer & National Chairperson- NRM Women League