GULU | Dr Morrish Ojok, the director of Amref Health Africa in South Sudan, has died suddenly after collapsing in Gulu City, shortly after returning from a work trip to Juba.
According to a close friend who responded to a distress call from Ojok’s wife, he had gone to relax at Bomah Hotel in Gulu.
He reportedly collapsed there and was rushed to IMC Clinic, where he was pronounced dead shortly before 8pm on the evening of April 8, 2025.
“I was called around 7pm on Tuesday evening,” the friend told the Nile Post. “When I arrived at IMC Clinic, he was lying helplessly. We thought he would make it, but around 7:40pm, it was confirmed he had passed on.
He had even driven himself to Bomah Hotel earlier in his personal car.”
While it remains unclear whether Ojok had a known medical condition, close associates revealed that he had previously collapsed in Juba and was flown to Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi for treatment in December 2024.
The family has not yet shared further details about his health.
On April 9, Amref Health Africa released a statement confirming his passing and honoring his contribution to global health.
The organization described Ojok as a visionary leader, a compassionate colleague, and a tireless advocate for health equity. His decade-long service, they said, significantly shaped Amref’s impact in South Sudan.
Ojok’s humanitarian journey began at GUSCO (Gulu Support the Children Organisation), a key rehabilitation center for children formerly abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
There, he supported the reintegration of returnees—an experience that grounded his lifelong commitment to social justice and healing.
His work took him across the globe, including stints with VSO in Bangladesh and the Norwegian Refugee Council, before joining Amref.
As country director, he led programs that strengthened health systems and improved outcomes in South Sudan and across the East African region.
Beyond his formal roles, Dr. Ojok was remembered as a mentor and movement-builder. Friends and former colleagues recalled his role in shaping Uganda’s first multiparty youth leadership forum—an initiative that nurtured today’s Members of Parliament, diplomats, and civil society leaders.
“We called him ‘Kabila’ because of his boldness and resemblance to the former Congolese president,” said Simon Opoka, a long-time friend.
“He was a true leader—calm, smart, and full of purpose.”
Stephen Ocaya, a former classmate, recalled his deep sense of accountability and passion for ethical leadership.
“He avoided politics, but was always committed to integrity and empowering his community,” he said.
In Kampala, Dr. Ojok helped create a circle of Acholi professionals who met regularly—not for formal meetings, but to laugh, support one another, and share life.
He hosted often, with no airs—just warmth, humility, and generosity.
A postmortem was conducted on April 9, and results are expected to be shared with the family. Funeral arrangements are underway at the family home in Pece Prisons, with burial planned at his ancestral home in Koro, outside Gulu City.
Dr Morrish Ojok is mourned deeply by his family, colleagues, friends, and the wider humanitarian community.
His legacy will live on in the lives he touched, the systems he helped build, and the enduring example of leadership he leaves behind.
