Teso mourns Eperu, Ngora’s girl who spoke with stamina

The death of Sarah Tino Eperu, an Opposition politician, has left hundreds of people in Ngora District and Teso Sub-region in mourning. 

Her unwavering commitment to political activism, characterised by her courage to speak truth, endeared her to many.

Eperu, a former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) spokesperson, died on Sunday evening at Life Link Hospital in Kampala. She was also undergoing dialysis treatment at Mulago National Referral Hospital.

Friends and her fellow party members describe the late as a brave and vocal political activist, who was outspoken in the face of injustice.

Mr Ben Ocan, the FDC member from Ngora, described Eperu as a women activist, who was very generous and always willing to invest her resources into political mobilisation activities.

“She was a feminist, who was very passionate about women. This was evidenced by her programme of distributing mama kits to the pregnant women of Ngora District,” Mr Ocan told the Daily Monitor, adding that her death leaves a big gap in the fight for a just society.

To Mr Daniel Eigu, the former FDC candidate for Soroti County, Eperu passionately advocated for improvement in education and health service delivery in Teso.

“The energy with which she advanced her opinion and ideas was immense, she was a confident and straightforward woman leader who never disappointed,” Mr Eigu hinted.

Ms Stella Isodo, the FDC woman MP for Ngora, characterised Eperu as a politician deeply devoted to her constituents and the FDC party.

According to Ms Isodo, Eperu spearheaded the distribution of nama kits, a recent initiative embraced by MPs in Teso. She was moved by the poverty experienced by rural women, prompting her to utilise her resources to support pregnant mothers in various health facilities.

“In the politics of our FDC party in Ngora District, we often contested against each other in party primaries but we always remained in a talking position, that was the person of Eperu. She never harboured bad blood against anyone,” she said.

Despite identifying herself with the Katonga faction, Ms Isodo said her sister participated in the recent FDC party elections organised by the Najjanankumbi group, adding that the late was a person of good judgement that the party had lost.

According to Mr Simon Olupot, the FDC chairperson for Koloin, Kapir Sub-county, their sister Eperu was a darling to hundreds of children.

“Whenever she showed in to the village, it was always merrymaking, kids would converge to partake of the candies she always loved to carry,” he said of Eperu.

Mr Olupot, a cousin to the late Eperu, said as part of the clan of Itengor, they have lost a unifying factor who loved her relatives and mothers of Ngora District beyond herself, adding that the boldness with which she spoke truth to the powers that be, was an indication of how brave she was when faced with injustice.

Mr Vincent Amuriat, the uncle to the late Eperu, told this paper that their daughter was born in 1963  to the late Michael Eperu a former staff at UBC, and to Elizabeth Nabede who hailed from Bugisu but got married to Koloin village in Ngora.

He said in the family lineage, Eperu was the third born, who left behind 4 children, 2 boys, and 2 girls.

Mr Amuriat said that the late attended Naguru Primary School in Kampala before relocating to Koloin Primary School where she completed her Primary Seven.

She later enrolled at St Elizabeth Girls Kidetok, a catholic founded school in the present-day Serere district, formally under the mother Soroti district.

After St Elizabeth Girls Kidetok, Mr Amuriat said their daughter did a course in journalism, a feat that her late father enjoyed while at UBC, later becoming one of the journalists before quitting for other greener pastures.

“Our daughter was so friendly and her political activism was one anchored in her passion for a just society,” Mr Amuriat explained.

Also in Ngora, Eperu served as the FDC general secretary in Kapir County, a position which automatically made her a national FDC delegate as per the 2023 election structures.

From 2015 to 2022, the late was district FDC chairperson for Ngora, also serving the party national spokesperson women’s league.

In her attempt to join national politics, Eperu contested in 2011 as the FDC candidate for Ngora but lost out to the NRM candidate Jacqueline Amongin. 

Similarly in 2016 and 2021, she aspired for the FDC ticket but lost to the incumbent Woman MP of Ngora Stella Isodo. Eperu will be laid to rest in their ancestral village in Koloin, Kapir Sub-county in Ngora on Saturday.

Road to burial
1. The body will arrive at her Kireka home today. 
2. Tomorrow at 9am, mass at St Jude Catholic Church, Naguru.At 12pm on the same day, the body will be taken to FDC Katonga offices for activists to pay their last respects.
4. At 4PM, the body will depart to Koloin Village, Mukura, Ngora District.
5. On Saturday at 10am, Mass will start at her home and burial will be at 2pm.