Former Ayivu MP Nyai passes on
“When you leave Parliament, people tend to forget you. But my principle has been that you have to work for the common good of the people who gave you the powers.” Dick Nyai, former ayivu Constituency member of parliament
Arua. Former Constituent Assembly member and ex-Member of Parliament for Ayivu Constituency, in Arua District, Dick Nyai has passed on.
Nyai, 76, a vocal and astute politician, passed on yesterday at 1pm at Arua Regional Referral Hospital after a long illness.
Mr Samson Mademaga, his young brother, said: “We arrived at the hospital on Tuesday at 5:30pm and he was attended to very well. He was then admitted to a private room but throughout the night he could not sleep because he was in pain.”
“Hardly had I put my foot on the medical ward, my other brother called me that Nyai has passed on. It is a big loss because he was our remaining main elder brother.”
Nyai helped draft the 1995 Constitution as a member of the Constituent Assembly. He served for two terms as Member of Parliament of Ayivu Constituency.
Before passing on, he had an exclusive interview with Daily Monitor on his life after Parliament where he said: “When you leave Parliament, people tend to forget you. But my principle has been that you have to work for the common good of the people who gave you the powers.”
He added: “Life after Parliament is never smooth because you have to spend the little money you saved for rent, electricity and water. Unfortunately, when you are living positively like me, it is never easy but with the help of God, I am alive.”
After politics
Nyai failed to get a third term in office in 2001 after losing to former Minister of Gender, Ms Zoe Bakoko Bakoru.
After Parliament, he worked with Centre for Basic Research. Unforgettable about him is that in 1979, he announced the overthrow of Idi Amin while working for Radio Tanzania in Dar es salaam.
One of his great friends, Mr Martin Andua, the assistant chief administrative officer, said: “He was very brilliant, articulate and highly respected politician. He was one of the finest debaters, one of the best in Parliament in Uganda. He would show great love and respect for others.”
“He was courageous and expressed his opinion with honesty. He was one of the greatest sons of West Nile. We need to emulate the ideals of honesty for which he stood. We should be able to accord him a decent burial.”
Mr Innocent Acidri, a resident of Arua, said: “The demise is so heartbreaking because he has been fighting stigma among people living HIV/Aids. Other people should continue to advocate for the same so that we can wipe out the disease.”
