Another Ministry of Internal Affairs official dies on plane

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has lost yet another official aboard a plane.

CP Okello Wilfred Makmot, Commissioner National Focal Point for Small Arms and Light Weapons at the Ministry of Internal Affairs passed on at Dubai International Airport while in transit from New York on his way to Entebbe.

According to a statement from the ministry, Makmot’s cause of death is yet to be established, however, the ministry is in touch with the family as well as the Embassy in Abu Dhabi for postmortem, embalmment and repatriation of the remains.

“Further arrangements will be communicated. Meanwhile members are encouraged to call on the family of the late Makmot at his residence in Kirinya,” the statement reads.

Foreign Affairs Ministry Permanent Secretly Aggrey Wunyi, in a letter to the IGP Martinis Okoth Ochola said preparations were underway to have the body repatriated.

Wunyi said that that the embassy (Uganda to Abu Dhabi) already attached correspondences with request to make arrangements to repatriate Makmot’s body and inform his family of the demise.

Makmot graduated from Makerere University in 1986 with a Bachelor's degree in political science and sociology, 2nd class honours

In 2006, he was appointed the Regional Police Commander for West Nile, a position he served in for one year before being appointed commandant for Anti Stock Theft Unit based in Katakwi district.

While at the Anti Stock Unit, Makmot’s role was fighting cattle rustlers and force disarmament of armed rustlers, a role he held for two years.

In 2009, Makmot was made commissioner of police in charge of private security organisations and firearms. This position was based at the Police Headquarters and being the head of the department, Makmot was in charge of supervision of all private security organizations in the country, control of firearms, vetting individuals who applied for civilian firearms and investigation of misuse of firearms.

In 2010, he was appointed Commissioner National Focal Point for Small Arms and Light Weapons at the Ministry of Internal Affairs a position he has held till his death.

In an effort to reduce the amount of illicit arms, Makmot led a destruction of 6000 small arms and weapons collected by police in a nationwide exercise in 2016. According to Makmot these guns had been collected from Kotido, Moroto, and Kasese among others.

He will be remembered for advocating for Fire Arms Bill to increase the eligible age for those seeking to own guns.

Meanwhile Makmot becomes the third official to die aboard a plane in just three years.

In September 2015, then Internal Affairs minister, Gen Aronda Nyakairima died on an Emirates plane enroute to Uganda from South Korea.

A year later in September 2016, another official from the same ministry, Ambassador Najuna Njuneki, who was in charge of Special Duties at ministry of Foreign Affairs also passed on aboard a plane in London on his return journey from a conference in Sweden.