The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Major Akorimo Kanuti, the man who lowered the Union Jack and hoisted the Ugandan Flag on Independence Day in 1962 has died. Akorimo, 89 died at Atutur Hospital in Kumi district on Wednesday morning.
Dr Isaac Omare of Atutur hospital says that Maj. Akorimo succumbed to respiratory pneumonia caused by a stroke he suffered in August 2019.
“He had a stroke and has been in and out of the hospital for some time. But this time around, he was admitted last Friday with difficulty in breathing, unconscious and all that. We put him on oxygen but his condition deteriorated until he passed on this morning”, Dr Omare said.
Christine Apolot, the LCV chairperson Kumi says Maj. Akorimo’s death is a big blow to the district, Teso and the country. She wants the government to meet the burial expenses of the person she described as a hero in the land.
Maj. Akorimo, a man who carries accolade of national hero has been living a quiet life in Omatenga village in Kumi district. He attended a commercial course in Nairobi, Kenya and later trained in a short service commission in Britain where he returned as a senior officer in the army.
Maj. Akorimo has also served as the chairperson of Kumi Association of Ex-servicemen. Akorimo served the British government for more than 20 years and retired as a major in 1968 at the age of 37.
In 2014, Akorimo rejected a house President Museveni promised him in 2009 on grounds that he didn’t have much time left to live.
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