With Cecilia Ogwal, we have lost a role model – Speaker Among

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has this morning condoled with the family of the late Dokolo Woman MP Cecilia Ogwal, describing her as a mentor who helped improve new entrants in Parliament.

“It is a pity that she has passed on. We condole with the family, people of Lango and Uganda. Some of us the young ladies joined Parliament because we used to admire Hon. Cecilia Ogwal; the way she was articulate and the way she would discuss issues concerning this country. We have lost a role model,” Among said.

Speaker Among visited the bereaved family in the company of Commissioner, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga, and other Members of Parliament.

Hon. Ogwal, 77, breathed her last in India on Thursday morning after a short illness.

Among passed her condolences to Mzee Lameck Ogwal, the husband of the late Ogwal and urged him to remain strong and faithful to God. She eulogised the late Ogwal as a role model to many.

The Secretary General of Lango Parliamentary Group, Hon. Samuel Opio Acuti (Indep, Kole North County), also a family relative eulogised the late Ogwal who was fondly referred to as Atat, as the “barometer and compass of Lango.”

“Atat is someone of seniority. When I was going to stand for Kole North Constituency, it was in this sitting room that she gave me the blessings. I last talked to her about two weeks ago. We have lost an iron lady, a vocal and strong-hearted woman,” he said.

Bugweri County Member of Parliament, Hon. Abdu Katuntu acknowledged that it is in Ogwal’s sitting room in Bugolobi that his political journey started 30 years ago.

” I wouldn’t be a politician but this sitting room changed me from being a lawyer to a politician… Hon. Cecilia was a great woman who would assert her authority,” Katuntu said.
Parliamentary Commissioner, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga remembers Ogwal as a rare breed of politician.

“Cecilia was a household name. Every time she picked a microphone, she was speaking country and people. A rare breed of politician because you would not be ashamed of what she would speak,” he said.

Ogwal was one of the longest-serving legislators, having served since 1996. At the time of her death, she was a member of the Committee on Physical Infrastructure and the Committee on Budget.

She also served as Uganda’s representative to the Pan African Parliament (PAP) and Parliamentary Commissioner.

Details of the funeral arrangements will be announced later.