Revealed: The four people who flew with Oulanyah to Seattle
The remains of the late Speaker Jacob Oulanyah arrive at Parliament yesterday. PHOTO/DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Health minister Jane Ruth Aceng says the four were tasked to ensure the well-being of the fallen Speaker.
Deceased Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah was accompanied by four people on the February chartered flight to the United States of America where he was rushed for medical care.
Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Health minister, told mourners at Oulanyah’s home in Muyenga, Kampala on Monday night, that the flight had Dr Jackson Orem, the executive director of Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI), Ms Patricia Lakidi, Ms Christine Awor and his personal guard, only identified as Ocheng.
“Dr Orem’s responsibility was to ensure that he is stable during the flight, well-rehydrated, picked up quickly on arrival, taken to hospital, settled down and stay with him to make sure he is well taken care of,” she said.
The minister said Dr Orem negotiated with the hospital in Seattle, Washington, United States to allow Ms Lakidi to be in the ward with Oulanyah so that he could have somebody to talk to in the local language but also to reach out to a few people.
Dr Orem declined to talk yesterday about the trip when Daily Monitor contacted him, saying the minister has already spoken on the issue.
“We had Patricia who was to take care of him. Then we had Christine Awor, a very lovely girl, whose responsibility was to ensure that he had his meals and he was well taken care of,” Dr Aceng said.
The death of Oulanyah, 56, was announced by President Museveni on March 20.
Previously, reports indicated that Uganda Airlines Bus A330-800 neo with the registration code 5X-NIL, was chartered to take the late Oulanyah to Seattle in the United States for specialised treatment, at a cost of $500,000 (about Shs1.7b).
The flight was protested by some Ugandans, who said government should improve the quality of healthcare in the country to avoid such expensive trips.
But Information minister Chris Baryomunsi challenged the reasoning, saying medical referral is unavoidable because a hospital may not have everything.
Dr Aceng said: “Myself, Rt Hon Anita Among [the Speaker of Parliament] and Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, [would always meet] to talk and to plan on when to send our brother [Oulanyah abroad] for better treatment. Not better because we are not good enough but better in that the technology and the service that he required was not available in Uganda.”
