President Yoweri Museveni has confirmed the demise of Uganda’s Speaker Jacob Oulanyah, who has been in hospital for over a month in Seattle, USA.
“It is with a lot of sadness that I announce the death of the Jacob Oulanyah, the Speaker of Parliament. I got information of this sad news at 10:30am, East African time from people that have been with him and the doctor that was caring for him in the intensive care unit,” said Museveni in a tweet.
“He was a good Cadre. I delayed the announcement so that his children would be informed first.”
Oulanyah was last seen in Parliament in December 2021 and by that time, he had only chaired a few sessions including the passing of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Bill, which permitted the mid-term access to members’ savings. He was elected into the speakership position in May 2021.
Oulanyah was voted Speaker of Parliament in a race against his former boss, Kadaga and Kira Municipality MP, Ibrahim Ssemujju. Jacob obtained 310 votes against Kadaga’s 197 and Ssemujju’s 15.