The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Amuria, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & URN | The day of burial for former presidential press secretary Onapito Ekomoloit is expected to be a public holiday in his home town. A member of the burial organizing committee has disclosed that there will be no work in Wera Town Council on November 30th. The day happens to be a Saturday.
Onapito will be buried in Asalatap Village, Wera Town Council in Amuria district. He died in Kampala on September 27, 2024, where he had been admitted after a short illness. His burial has been scheduled for November 30, more than two months since he was pronounced dead. The unusual burial arrangements have left some of the community members in awe and disbelief to imagine that the remains can be preserved for months before burial.
The others are amazed at the burial site construction expected to be complete in a few days, according to the site engineer, Joseph Andrew Mukola. The engineer says that the works are at 10 percent to completion.
Michael Opolon, the LC3 Chairman of Wera Town Council says that some of the community members have been wondering whether Ona’s burial was done secretly. “I receive concerns from the community every day, seeking explanations on burial arrangements. Some don’t believe that the dead can stay for months before burial. Others think that the man could have been buried in Kampala,” he says.
He says that Ona – as w he was popularly called – impacted the lives of many people in Wera and Teso, especially through education, making them keep checking on the progress of the burial program in the village.
Opolon notes that Ona has touched many people through his generosity which he notes has written history and continues to write more history even at his burial.
Caroline Amulen, a neighbor and one of the elderly women who saw Ona grow up from the village says the village has lost a kind-hearted person who cared for the well-being of others in the community. She says that Ona introduced the village to the health savings scheme, provided seed capital to savings groups, and educated many children in the area.
“Whenever he came home, he would invite us for lunch as he enjoyed the company of the people in the neighborhood,” Amuge recounted amid tears.. “That boy loved telling stories and would enjoy listening and sharing stories with the elders here. The last time he came home, he took a photo with my husband and…We have lost a pillar in Wera; our hero. We used to call him Ocusi, the name he was fondly given for his hunting skills when he was still young, here in the village.”
At Ona’s home, located along the Soroti- Moroto highway, approximately 30 kilometers away from the heart of Soroti City, mourners from far and within keep visiting the family daily. Those who travel from very distant places sometimes sleep for a night or two.
Ona’s sister, Dr. Joyce Nyeko Onapito says the family has received tremendous support from different people and organizations to help take care of the visitors at home. “We are very grateful for the support rendered by different people and organizations. At home, Teju (Soroti Fruit Factory) is providing food for the site constructors and visitors coming in and out of the family,” she said.
She told our reporter that all the family members, except for the widow and another sister who has been living overseas, have been able to return to their various duty stations including the children of the late at school.
Edward Ejoku, another neighbor and an elder in the clan says that they have lost a humble man whose good virtues will remain fresh in the minds of many people in Wera. Ejoku says that his family is enjoying the tap water that Onapito extended from his compound to the neighbors.
“We are mourning and the pain will continue to be fresh as long as his body is still out,” he said. “It’s a very huge loss to us as the people of Wera, but I am sure that Ona has touched the lives of many people in this country.”
Emmanuel Enyasu, a member of the burial organizing committee and a neighbor to Ona in Asalatap village says that the committee has prepared the ground to host at least 10,000 mourners with a parking space that can accommodate more than 500 vehicles.
He says that Ona’s burial will be a public holiday in Wera Town Council and Amuria, his home district.
According to Ona’s sister, the burial will be conducted according to the will of the deceased which was written down. She notes that Ona’s demise coincided with the preparation of the family’s mausoleum in Wera.
Ona’s tomb has been constructed as an extension of the family’s mausoleum. Ona, as fondly remembered by his peers, was serving as a board chairman for the Uganda Nile Breweries, the same company he served as a director of communication and legal affairs for 17 years. His career started in the newsroom as a journalist who later joined politics and became an MP for Amuria County before serving as the Presidential Press secretary.
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