Neighbours’ account of Allimadi’s last moments

The sudden death of popular human rights activist Barbara Allimadi spread like wildfire on various social platforms at daybreak yesterday, with friends and family pouring out their grief.

The police in its early morning statement said they had started investigations into what could have caused the death of Allimadi and that her body had been taken to Mulago mortuary for a postmortem.

Daily Monitor visited Kiwatule, a Kmpala suburb, where the deceased lived, and spoke to neighbours who recounted her last moments.

Mr Harry Wakibra, 23, a house help, who has lived and worked in Allimadi’s home for the last seven years, said his boss woke up earlier than usual on Monday morning and thereafter, kept indoors for the rest of the day until he saw her lifeless body at around 8pm.

Mr Wakibra, who lives with two other girls in the boys-quarters, both students of Kyambogo University, added that Ms Allimadi had not complained of any illness and had been going about her business until Sunday night.

“She normally calls me to light for her the charcoal stove but on Monday, she did not. She just entered the house and started working. I could hear her phone ringing but she couldn’t answer,” he narrated.

The bad news
When he suspected that his boss had not opened the house nor moved out, he started calling her and tried to access the house.

“I asked the tenants whether they had seen her. I moved behind and peeped through the bedroom window. She was not on her bed, I then went to the kitchen door and luckily it was open. The house was dark but I could see that someone was lying on the floor. I switched on the lights and there lay her body in the corridor to her bedroom, lifeless. I can’t tell what time she died,” Mr Wakibra said.

Ms Princess Atukunda, a tenant of Allimadi, said she met her landlady on Monday morning but could not suspect any illness.

“She just greeted me and entered her house,” she recalled.
Another neighbour and shopkeeper this newspaper talked to, Ms Lydia Nassiwa, said she last saw Allimadi on Sunday when the deceased went to buy food.

“I last saw her on Sunday at around 10am. She came here, bought sweet bananas, mukene (silver fish) and cabbage. Her bill was Shs6,500 and she gave me a note of Shs20,000. I did not have change, so she left the food and walked to the roadside,” she narrated.

Ms Nassiwa added: “I have known her for being a calm woman who minds her business. She never talks much but on Sunday, I could tell she was frail. She almost tripped as she approached my shop.”

Police detectives visited the scene yesterday. “The scene was visited by a team of detectives, who examined the area and recorded statements from the witnesses around. Police preliminary findings indicate that the deceased lived alone in her own house,” a police statement signed by Mr Patrick Onyango, the spokesperson for Kampala Metropolitan Area, read in part.

“The findings indicate that the deceased was found lying straight on her stomach with straight legs. The lying body shows she could have been in pain during her last breath. There is no sign of struggle or injuries on the body,” the police statement further read.
Announcing her demise on various social media platforms on Monday night, her brother, Mr Milton Allimadi, wrote:

“Family and friends, it is with a very heavy heart that we announce the sudden passing of our sister Barbara Allimadi. Barbara was a much loved sister, aunt and cousin. She was also an activist, a champion of justice and democracy in Uganda. She will be greatly missed. The family ask that the public respect our privacy as we mourn our beloved sister.”

Ms Allimadi will be buried in Bungatira Village near Gulu Municipality on a date yet-to-be announced by the immediate family.

Compiled by Anthony Wesaka, Derrick Wandera & Stephen Otage.

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