Jacob Oulanyah

The Right Honourable Jacob Oulanyah
Oulanyah in 2018
Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda
In office 24 May 2021 – 20 March 2022
President	Yoweri Museveni
Preceded by	Rebecca Kadaga
Succeeded by	Anita Among
Personal details
Born	Jacob L'Okori Oulanyah (1965-03-23)23 March 1965 Gulu,Uganda
Died	20 March 2022(2022-03-20)(aged 56) Seattle,Washington,U.S.
Alma mater	Makerere University (Bachelor of Arts) (Bachelor of Laws) Law Development Centre (Diploma in Legal Practice)
Occupation	Lawyer/Politician
Known for	Politics

Jacob L'Okori Oulanyah(23 March 1965 – 20 March 2022) was a Ugandanagricultural economist,lawyer, and politician, who served as theSpeakerof the 11thParliament of Ugandafrom 2021 to 2022. He was elected to that position on 24 May 2021, after defeating his tenacious rival the then incumbent SpeakerRebecca Alitwala Kadaga.He served as Deputy Speaker of the Ugandan parliament, from May 2011 until May 2021.Oulanyah was also the member of parliament representing the Omoro County constituency,Omoro District,Acholi sub-region,in the Uganda'sNorthern Region.

Background and education

Oulanyah was born in the thenGulu District,on 23 March 1965 to Nathan L'okori and Karen Atwon.He attendedSt. Joseph's College Layibi,Dr. Obote College Boroboro,andKololo Senior Secondary Schoolfor his O-Level and A-Level education. In 1988, he joinedMakerere University,the oldest university in theEast African Community,where he studied agricultural economics. He graduated in 1991 with aBachelor of Artsin that subject. That same year, he entered law school, also at Makerere University, graduating in 1994 with aBachelor of Lawsdegree. He served as speaker of the university students' guild during his stay at Makerere. In 1995, he attended theLaw Development Centre(LDC), where he obtained apostgraduate diploma in legal practice.

Career

Following his graduation from the LDC, Oulanyah worked as a lecturer at the centre. During the same timeframe, he began private law practice at the law firm of Oulanyah, Onoria & Company Advocates.In 2001, he entered mainstream politics by successfully contesting the parliamentary seat of Omoro County, in the then Gulu District under the no-party system also known as theMovement Political System.He was however a cardholder of theUganda People's Congress(UPC). He also participated in the peace talks between thegovernment of Ugandaand theLord's Resistance Armyrebels.In 2006, standing as a UPC candidate, he lost his re-election bid. In July 2006, he quit the UPC and joined the rulingNational Resistance Movement(NRM). In 2008, he served as the chairman of the commission of inquiry into the controversial sub-lease of Kisekka Market, one of the municipal markets in the city ofKampala.In March 2011, Oulanyah was elected to represent Omoro County then in Gulu District, in the Ninth Parliament, this time on the NRM ticket. He was elected as Deputy Speaker of Parliament on 19 May 2011.

Following theFebruary 2016 general election,Oulanyah was re-elected as Deputy Speaker of Parliament on 19 May 2016. In the vote, conducted by secret ballot, he received 300 votes, whileMuhammad Nserekoreceived 115. On 13 July 2019, Oulanyah was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Divinity by Zoe Life Theological College USA and acquired the title, Doctor enabling him to be called Rt. Hon. Dr. Jacob L. Oulanyah.

On 24 May 2021, Jacob Oulanyah was voted Speaker ofParliamentin a race against his former Boss,Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadagaand Kira Municipality MP,Ibrahim Ssemujju.Jacob obtained 310 votes against Kadaga's 197 and Ssemujju's 15.

Oulanyah Jacob L’okori.jpg

Parliamentary duties

Oulanyah was the national speaker of parliament sitting on the followingparliamentary committees:

• Appointments Committee – The Committee reviews all Cabinet appointments by thePresidentand may approve or reject an appointment: TheDeputy Speakeris the vice chairperson of that committee.

Illness and death

Shortly after his election as Speaker, Oulanyah went to the United Kingdom for over a month. There were reports that he had contractedCOVID-19,and flown to the UK for treatment. Officially, however, he was stated to have been visiting one of his children.

Subsequently, most of Oulanyah's duties were handled by Deputy SpeakerAnita Among,fuelling further speculation about Oulanyah's health. He last presided over Parliament on 21 December 2021. On 4 February 2022, he was flown via Iceland toSeattle,in the United States, for treatment of an unspecified illness.AnAirbus A330-800was chartered fromUganda Airlinesfor the purpose, at a cost to the Ugandan taxpayer ofUSh1.7 billion (US$460,000,€390,000).

It later emerged that Among had checked on Oulanyah at his home on 29 January after she and other associates of his had been unable to contact him by telephone for three days. She found him in bed, having difficulty speaking; he had not eaten in the previous three days. He was taken toMulago National Referral Hospital,where his doctors recommended that he be flown out of Uganda for treatment.On 15 March, Among,Democratic PartyPresidentNorbert Mao– longtime friend and associate of Oulanyah, and three others flew to Seattle to check on Oulanyah.Around this time, theWikipediaarticle of Oulanyah was changed to indicate that he had died. Chris Obore, director communication and public affairs for the Ugandan Parliament, subsequently claimed onTwitterthat "hackers" using avirtual private networkhad altered the article.

Oulanyah died on 20 March 2022, in Seattle. His death was announced by Ugandan PresidentYoweri Museveni,on Museveni's Twitter account.His father Nathan L'okori subsequently claimed that Oulanyah "did not die of natural causes, he was poisoned". According to him, the speaker had told him of the poisoning following his appointment. Information ministerChris Baryomunsidenied this allegation, requesting the public to "ignore" it.

External links

• Official website
• Website of the Parliament of Uganda
• Who was Jacob Oulanyah? Job, Net worth, wife, family, kids, etc.