By Wilson Akiiki Kaija
A senior politician from Acholi has died
Youthful, charming, eloquent, an excellent debater
With a track record as a Legislator
A top leader in his political party
His name among the most recognizable in the country.
Secrecy surrounds his health and sickness
Information about trips in and out of hospital strictly censured
To know what’s going on depends on who is talking.
This death strikes like an arrow
At a time the country is highly polarised
There’s political tension
And reports of human rights violations
In the middle of a fallout
Between a Kingdom and a Central Government.
Conspiracy theories cloud the death
His family allege foul play
At the highest centres of power
He’s been poisoned, relatives say
He leaves behind young children.
Some individuals open up
One by one
To claim they knew about the ‘poison’
The deceased told them
So they say.
The country is gripped
By this poison talk
People ask questions
With no answers coming forth.
Top government officials dismiss the ‘poison’
Unfounded allegations, they say
The police threatens to arrest those making the claims
The Legislator died of multiple organ failure, they explain
The liver failed, the lungs failed, the kidneys failed and, finally, the heart failed
The deceased Legislator had cancer.
This is not March-April Twenty Twenty-Two
And the Legislator is not Jacob Oulanyah L’Okori, recently departed Speaker of Parliament
The political party is not NRM.
This is June Nineteen Sixty-Six
The Legislator is Daudi Ocheng, 41-year-old Member of Parliament for Mityana
And Secretary General of Kabaka Yekka.
©️ Wilson Akiiki Kaija
