NBL, friends toast to Onapito’s 17 years of selling happiness

One of the rarest events in the corporate world is befitting send-off parties for long-serving staff who leave legacies and lasting impact in companies.

Even when it happens, the attendance is usually limited to existing staff, a couple of family members and a few close associates. However, last Friday, Nile Breweries Limited somehow changed the narrative as Onapito Francis Ekomoloit, the former head of legal and corporate affairs, handed over that baton to Emmanuel Njuki as he ascended to chair the board.

According to the invitation card to the party, guests were invited to celebrate the legacy and excellence of One and Ona-ly Onapito Ekomoloit, who sold happiness for 17 incredible years.

Adu Rando, the managing director of Nile Breweries Limited, attested that when people mention Nile Breweries, the first thing that comes to mind is Onapito. In other words, he is the face of Nile Breweries and probably the reason the company decided to brew for him a special beer - Ona Special.

Amelia Kyambadde, who worked with Onapito at State House when she was the President’s principal private secretary, described him as an incredible and diligent individual.

“Despite the absence of technology at that time, Ona consistently managed to deliver news updates whenever we were in remote areas. Ona is a reserved person who does not engage in idle chatter. When approached with a question, he takes the time to evaluate before providing any response,” she noted.

State Minister for Primary HealthCare Margaret Muhanga told the guests that her and Onapito were instrumental in setting up the current government media centre. She also revealed that when she worked at the New Vision as an editor and Onapito at The Crusader, they would gossip that if any one picked up a quarrel with Ona, it was that person to fault because he is too calm, meek and too cool and never raises his voice at anyone.

Musa Ecweru, the state minister for Works and also MP for Amuria County that Onapito also once represented in Parliament, seemed to have cold feet about Ona’s departure from selling happiness, asking Kyambadde who is also a special presidential advisor on Trade, to request the President to find Ona something else to do so that he does not develop ideas of contesting against him in the constituency.

Political ambitions?

Ecweru said one time out of choice, Onapito installed lightning arrestors in schools in Amuria District, which caused a bit of panic in the constituency as the electorate thought he was plotting to contest.

He, however, noted that through Onapito, close to 30,000 jobs have been created in Teso, translating into supporting 30,000 families and households, which has enhanced their livelihoods.

Moses Byaruhanga, a senior presidential advisor, who also had a hand in Ona’s appointment as the presidential press secretary, clarified to guests that Ona was not sacked from State House as held by the public court of opinion but he walked out to find something more challenging.

As if to validate what other speakers said, Juliana Kaggwa, the corporate relations director Diageo, said since she joined Uganda Breweries Ltd, she had never crossed into the premises of Nile Breweries until last Friday to toast to Ona’s exit because she is his vice chairperson at the Uganda Alcohol Industry Association.

The event also doubled as a book launch for Onapito. In the book, Tears & Triumph, his biography of sorts, Ona told guests how he deliberately chose the cover photo which was taken with him and President Museveni in northern Uganda after surviving gun shots 30 minutes later from rebels.

Onapito chronicles the story of a young boy raised in Asala Atap, a struggling village in Teso region, who later achieves national prominence, despite numerous challenges from an early age, that included the sudden death of his mother, but Onapito overcomes adversity and achieves remarkable success in his later life.

The book leaves the reader yearning for more as it showcases the power of perseverance and determination in the face of overwhelming odds.

As if to ‘ona’ his contribution to the development of the media in the country, the Friday Panel of Journalists, a programme that runs every Friday at KFM at 7pm to 8pm, where Ona is among the panelists, decided to dedicate the Friday show to him and it was hosted at the Nile Breweries headquarters in Luzira Port Bell alongside the partying and drinking that lasted almost 12 hours.

Some of the panelists revealed that Ona used to give them a crate of beer every month and they were worried this may come to an end. Another one said during his wedding at Serena Hotel, Ona asked him how many of his guests drink beer and when he told him the number, Ona delivered a truck full of beer. He was left with a load of beer and wondered what to do with the remaining beer. However, there was a Sudanese national wedding at Serena Hotel the next weekend, so he donated the beer to him.

Adu Rando installed Francis Onapito Ekomoloit as the Nile Breweries Board Chairman.