The Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Jacob Oulanyah commended the late Hunter Wacha Olwol for his committed and diligent service towards Uganda.
Oulanyah during the chairing of a special sitting convened to pay tribute to Wacha Olwol, a former member of the Presidential Commission, who died on Tuesday at Victoria Hospital. The Special Sitting took place on Thursday 4th May, 2017, at Parliament.
Oulanyah said that Wacha Olwol served this nation selflessly and with distinction.
“He has joined his other fallen colleagues like the late Hon. Mayanja Nkangi, Ignatius Musaazi and all the others that have gone before him. These men exhibited high humility and the love for their nation, patriotism and selflessness,” he said.
The Deputy Speaker added that Wacha Olwol was a tall, well-built gentleman, of dark complexion and exhibited dignity, humour and honour of a true gentleman, nurtured as a son of a chief and educated at King’s College Buddo.
“On behalf of Parliament and on my own behalf, I wish to convey my heartfelt condolences to the family, the Lango Community and indeed the whole nation, for the passing of a true leader and elder in this country, the Deputy added.
The Deputy Speaker said that, “The passing of Wacha Olwol closes the chapter that the kin of this country should not forget; Uganda had become unmanageable and they had to seek the guidance of three people because of divided interests. We should not lose sight of that; let us celebrate how far we came because of such people.”
The Minister for Public Service, Hon. Wilson Muruli Mukasa (Budyebo County) added that there were strong interests of the Uganda National Liberation Front; the deliberating fighting groups; old and new political parties at that time; ordinary Ugandan people; and there were the interests of the government of Tanzania which was the patron of the liberation of this country. However, all these interests were not at par and the new Presidential Commission was tasked with catering for these interests.
“It was that exceptional skill that Wacha-Olwol brought into play as a member of the Presidential Commission that was able to tactfully harness these interests. A lesser mortal than Wacha-Olwol would have not even dared to risk his life to serve on the Commission, yet Uganda at that time needed his skills. Wacha-Olwol had the skills and he never spared himself,” Mukasa said.
The Minister added that at Uganda’s hour of need, Wacha stood up boldly to serve Uganda’s interest and steered Uganda at that time through an election that saw Uganda usher in 1980 on the 10th December with a President.
Wacha Olwol served Uganda in various capacities, among others as a teacher, an administrator, rising to the ranks of a Permanent Secretary, a delegate to the Constitutional Conference in 1961, a Deputy Chairperson of the Public Service Commission and ultimately as a member of the tripartite Presidential Commission in 1980. The other members of the presidential commission were Justices Saulo Musoke and Polycarp Nyamuchoncho.
Wacha-Olwol was born in November 1923 to Erieza Olwol and Cakaya Akulo in Loro Sub-county in the present day Oyam district. He will be buried in Lira on Sunday.
