Blood clot caused Prof Nsibambi’s death, says Rugunda

PARLIAMENT- Government has revealed the cause of death of former Prime Minister Prof Apolo Nsibambi who died on Tuesday evening.

The longest serving prime minister died at his home in Bulange Zone, Rubaga Division in Kampala but since then, the country did not know the cause of the death of the retired politician.

During a special sitting of Parliament in which Members of Parliament paid tribute to the deceased on Friday, Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda said that Prof Nsibambi succumbed pulmonary embolism.

“The cause of death according to the post-mortem report by doctors is pulmonary embolism which is a clot in the lungs,” Dr Rugunda said.

Different medical books define pulmonary embolism as a blockage in one of the pulmonary arteries in the lungs.

In most cases, pulmonary embolism is caused by blood clots that travel to the lungs from the legs or, rarely, other parts of the body known as deep vein thrombosis.

Some of the common signs and symptoms include; shortness of breath, chest pain which feels like a heart attack, and a cough that may produce bloody or blood-streaked sputum.

During a special sitting that was chaired by Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, the motion seeking Parliament to pay tribute to the late Prof Nsibambi was moved by Prime Minister Rugunda who described the deceased as a man who lived a “distinguished career”.

“We recognise that Prof Apolo Robin Nsibambi served Uganda with distinction. We are here to pay tribute to a great man who lives of many people in our country and beyond” he said.

He said that Prof Nsibambi who easily transited from academia to political leadership greatly contributed to in shaping the destiny of Uganda when he served as Minister for Public Service (1996-98), Minister of Education and Sports (1998-99) and then as prime minister for 12 years.

Rukungiri Woman MP Betty Muzanira who represented the Leader of Opposition in Parliament described the deceased as a “disciplinarian, devoted Christian and fearless personality”.

She said the people in government need to reflect on Prof Nsibambi’s last media interviews especially when he told NTV that he was not in support of the amendment of the Constitution to remove the 75 year upper cap and the 35 years lower cap for Presidential candidates.

“In an interview on NTV, he was unequivocal as he called on MPs to respect the Constitution and leave it intact. He asked President Museveni to retire when he clocks 75. I don’t understand the desire of many leaders who look to collapse in office,” she said.

Prof Nsibambi will be laid to rest at Buloba in Wakiso District on Tuesday next week.

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