There is heightened security deployment in Omoro district ahead of the arrival of the body of the fallen speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah. Oulanyah’s body is expected to arrive by chopper in Omoro County this afternoon, nearly 18 days since his demise at a hospital in Seattle, United States of America.
The chopper will land at Lalogi Primary school in Lalogi Sub-county where the deceased had his childhood education. Mourners will move with the body in a procession to his home village of Ayom Lony.
Omoro Resident District Commissioner, Andrew Onyuk told Uganda Radio Network in an interview that they are not taking chances with security and have deployed a joint force comprising personnel from the Uganda Police Force and Uganda People’s Defense Forces-UPDF. Onyuk says with many people expected to attend the burial, terrorist networks could take chance to wreak havoc.
He cited the incident during the burial of former Deputy Inspector General of Police Lt. Gen Paul Lokech in Pader District in August last year where security nabbed a suspected suicide bomber with explosives targeting mourners. According to Onyuk, the police have combed the area and are using drones to monitor any suspicious activities.
Already, security has cordoned off Lalogi Primary School where the chopper containing Oulanyah’s body will land. Access to the venue has also been restricted to a few individuals. The deceased’s home is a beehive of activities in preparation to receive his body.
Several mourners including close friends, family members, clergies, political leaders, and community members have already gathered. The arrival of Oulanyah’s body today will trigger a series of events at the home before his final sendoff on Friday.
Local government councils from Acholi, Lango and West Nile are expected to eulogize Oulanyah on Thursday during a Joint Full Council meeting at his ancestral home. The 56-year-old former Omoro County legislator succumbed to cancer in the USA, according to a postmortem report released by the government at the state on Tuesday.
