Museveni mourns “distinguished leader” Aggrey Awori

President Yoweri Museveni has hailed deceased former ICT minister Aggrey Awori as a distinguished leader.

Awori ,82, a former presidential candidate in the 2001 general elections succumbed to Covid-19 earlier this week.

In his condolence message, Museveni said he was saddened by the death of the  1960 and 1964 Olympian who represented the country in Rome, Italy and Tokyo , Japan respectively.

“He was a talented sportsman and a distinguished leader who joined me in the NRM to serve the country despite our prior political differences. My thoughts go out to the family, well-wishers, and the Samia Bagwe community. Mabi muno,”Museveni said.

Biography

Born in 1939 in Budimo village in Busia district, Awori represented Samia-Bugwe North in Busia District in parliament between 2001 and 2006  where he was an outspoken member of the opposition Uganda People’s Congress that he abandoned to join NRM in 2007.

Earlier in 1967, Awori had been appointed by then-president Milton Obote as the first local director of the Uganda Television(UTV) but in 1971 was jailed by the new president, Idi Amin for two months for refusing to broadcast the coup speech.

After release, he ran into exile and only returned after Amin was overthrown in 1979.

He served briefly as Uganda’s ambassador to Belgium between 1985 and 1987 before he was dropped by President Museveni.

Awori lived a double life, even though his siblings took the Kenyan roots, he instead wanted a Ugandan life, and even represented Uganda in the Rome Olympic hurdles in 1960 and Japan summer Olympics in 1964 but did not turn out a medallist, perhaps the explanation as to why he joined politics a few years later.

He was married to Thelma Awori, who worked as Director for Africa at the United Nations Development Program and the couple was blessed with six children.