President Museveni has hailed the deceased Speaker of Parliament as a good cadre of the ruling NRM party.
“It is with a lot of sadness that I announce the death of the Rt. Hon. Jacob Oulanyah, the Speaker of Parliament. He was a good Cadre, ”Museveni said in a tweet.
According to the president, Oulanyah died at around 10:30am East African time but the announcement was delayed so that his children are informed first.
“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.”
Oulanyah’s death comes barely a year after his election as Speaker of Parliament in May 2021 after trouncing his closest rival and previous Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga in a hotly contested election.
Before the election, the top NRM organ, the Central Executive Committee supported Oulanyah against Kadaga prompting the latter to storm out of a meeting at State House in Entebbe.
She consequently declared that she would stand as an independent against the NRM flagbearer, Jacob Oulanyah.
During the election at Kololo, Oulanyah polled 310 votes against Kadaga’s 197 for the former to win the seat.
“Together we should build relationships, mend the bridges and work together. Utmost due diligence will be the catch phrase. We should agree that no view shall be suppressed and work with tolerance. We should act in a harmonious way and have collective responsibility,”Oulanyah said.
However, following his election as speaker, he chaired a few parliamentary sittings due to his ill health.