Local defence secretary dies mysteriously

LIRA. The LC1 defence secretary of Akutu village, Barr Sub-County in Lira District has died under unclear circumstances.

The deceased identified as James Ogwal, 47, was found dead in his house on Monday morning.

Barr Sub-County LCIII chairman, Mr Tom Edward Lemu, confirmed the incident to this reporter on Tuesday, saying that the deceased was reportedly in “good health” at the time of his death.

Mr Jimmy Ogwang said his deceased brother, as usual, went to buy goats to slaughter at his butchery at Barr Trading Centre, and when he returned home, he changed his clothes and later went back to the trading centre to socialise with his friends before returning home later in the night.

“When my brother returned home at night, he told his wife that he did not want to eat food because he was not hungry,” Mr Ogwang said.

On the fateful day, the deceased’s wife tried to wake him up since he was breathing heavily but she noticed the husband was so weak. At this point, the woman invited neighbours to pray for the husband, but by the time they reached, he was already dead.

Although the area LC1 chairman Mr Gilbert Abura indicated that they are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death, the Sub-County chairman ruled out any such motive.

“We are mourning with the bereaved family, and often if there is no complaint after the death of a person, relatives go ahead with burial arrangements. So, since there is no medical report suggesting that Ogwal was murdered, we are going to give him a decent burial,” Mr Lemu said.
The North Kyoga regional police spokesperson, Mr David Ongom Mudong, said the police were not aware about the incident.

“There is nothing we can do a part from waiting for a technical recommendation from a medical doctor,” he said on phone on Tuesday.

The deceased left behind one wife and six children.
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