Oulanyah failed to fully chair Parliament as Deputy Speaker
The former Speaker of the 10th parliament Rt. Hon Rebbeca Kadaga says her former subordinate and fallen Speaker Oulanyah secretly travelled for treatment abroad.
While paying tribute ti the deceased Speaker of the 11th Parliament in a special sitting on Tuesday, Kadaga revealed that Oulanyah fell ill during his term as Deputy Speaker but refused to divulge information to anyone.
“Hon Oulanyah wouldn’t stay for long in the country. He was always in and out (for treatment). He was struggling, but he was always trying to fulfill his obligation regardless, It was in 2019 when I accidentally realised that he was not well,” “ Kadaga said
Kadaga says she found out about his condition in 2019 when she approached him over a motion passing a motion on new cities before recess to Christmas. She explained to Mp’s in the house that the deceased informed her he was unwell and had just undergone an appendix operation.
“When I found him, I asked if he had malaria , he said he was not well and had an appendix operation,” Kadaga said
According to Kadaga , three days later, o, she received an official communication from the late Oulanyah that he needed to travel abroad without a clear explanation.
“In that letter, he told me he would return on December 28th. On December 29, I received another letter telling me that he had returned but needed to travel again, I agreed because we were still in recess,” she said
Oulanyah failed to fully chair Parliament as Deputy Speaker
Kadaga says upon his return, he worked for only three days before he asked for another leave from office to Germany for six weeks , to visit states.
“I wondered but why should a Ugandan official spend six weeks in Germany? I asked him not to travel because we had a budget meeting but he didn’t respond, this ties with what the health Minister said, said Kadaga
Despite being the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Oulanyah did not chair plenary sessions for more than a year in what his then boss Kadaga described as an abdication of his official duty.
Health Minister on Oulanyah health
The Minister for Health Dr Jane Ruth Aceng has revealed that the fallen Speaker of Parliament succumbed to cancer he had been battling since 2019.
Aceng was presenting the medical report on the cause of death of the fallen Speaker at a special sitting happening in Parliament on Tuesday.
Aceng informed 528 members of the August House, present, that the immediate cause of his death was multiple organ failure where his vital organs including the Heart , Liver , Kidney and lungs all shut down. She says that prior to his departure abroad for treatment, Hon Oulanyah had a failing liver and lungs filled with fluids.
“The immediate cause of death was multi organ failure. The heart failed, the lungs failed, the liver failed and the kidney failed,” Dr.Aceng said
Oulanyah as Deputy Speaker
He last chaired the house on February 4, 2020 as he remained in his office and constituency.
Oulanyah told journalists that there was no problem not having chaired the house since February saying he is usually delegated in the absence of the Speaker of Parliament.
He insisted there was no rift between him and the Speaker Kadaga, except for the last incidence when he had to walk to the floor of Parliament to rectify a matter of rules of procedure.
Both Kadaga and Oulanyah had for many years been in a cold war that was visible in 2013 when the the latter claimed on a radio talk show that he his boss always left him to oversee debates on controversial matters.
Oulanyah had also insisted it was time for him to steer affairs in the August House as the Speaker.
Oulanyah started underground work to reach out to the newly elected MPs ahead of the election set for May 20, which he won.
The casket with remains of the deceased lies in Parliament to pay tribute to him for his contribution and cognizance of the excellent and patriotic service to Uganda, the Acholi region and the people of Uganda.
