Uganda Peoples Congress
National Secretariat
Party Headquarters, Uganda House,
Plot 8-10 Kampala Road, P. O. Box 9206, Kampala
phone/Fax:+256-41-236748

Mama Miria's speech at the first anniversary

10 Oct 2006

A Speech By Mama Miria Kalule Obote, President Of Uganda Peoples Congress On The First Anniversary Of The Death Of Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, Father Of The Nation

Your Excellency the President of Uganda ;
Your Lordship the Chief Justice;
Rt. Honorable Speaker,
Honorable Ministers;
Your Excellencies the Ambassadors and High Commissioners;
Honorable Members of Parliament;
Your worship the Mayor;
Your Lordships and Your Eminencies The Religious Leaders;
Traditional Leaders;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;

It is now one full year since we bade farewell to Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, the founder President of Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) and the father of the nation. To-day we are here to remember and celebrate the life of a man who dedicated himself to the service of humanity, particularly his people and country, Uganda.

From the outset, I would like, on behalf of the UPC fraternity and my family, to express our sincere gratitude and thanks to everyone who assisted in giving him a befitting send off. In particular I would like to thank:

• The government and people of Zambia who hosted and looked after Dr. Obote and other displaced Ugandans who found themselves in Zambia for two decades; and for according him a state funeral service and a public holiday;
• The medical team in South Africa who struggled to save his life and our nephew and niece Albert and Florence Ogwal who looked after us at that critical time;
• The government and people of South Africa who readily stepped in to assist the family in time of need and honored him with a memorial service;
• The government and people of Kenya who kindly assisted the family for two decades to live in that country;
• The government and people of Tanzania who for nearly a decade hosted and looked after us, (Ugandans) during the regime of murder and terror of Idd Amin, and helped in the ouster;
• Colleagues and friends in the Diaspora who assisted and worked with him at various levels and fora;
• The government of Uganda for according him a state-funeral;
• Finally, the UPC fraternity and the entire people of Uganda for a memorable send off.

As we celebrate the eventful life of Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, we recall with fond memories thousands of Ugandans who interacted and worked closely with him, many of whom are well known to us, but have since passed away through wars and natural causes. We pay tribute to them for their contribution towards the development of this country.

Dr. Obote served this country in several capacities: as a member of District Council, member of LEGCO, member of Parliament, Prime Minister and twice President of The Republic of Uganda. The older generation who has known him are acquainted with his attributes. However, the younger generation hardly knew him. It is unfortunate that death denied them the opportunity to do so.

The Obote I knew had many attributes.

This is the man I was married to and lived with for over forty years and raised a responsible family with. We worked closely and got educated by him in the art of management of public affairs. Dr, Obote had certain qualities that stood out and made him a natural leader and ardent nationalist who worked tirelessly to build a united Uganda. The merger of Uganda National Congress (UNC) and Uganda Peoples Union (UPU) was the result of his efforts towards unity.

When Uganda was faced with secession, Dr. Obote stepped in and convinced Mengo to abandon the idea in the interest of unity and independence.

Likewise, he was influential in the Constitutional Conference in Lancaster House, London, leading to a successful outcome. His belief and commitment to national unity led him to build UPC as a national Party devoid of sectarianism, tribalism and religious connotations. For example, his cabinet always consisted of people from various tribes and religions. He developed an amicable working relationship with people of differing political beliefs both in and outside councils and Parliament.

Dr. Obote was pro- people and all his policies, programmes and projects reflected this quality. He set out to provide social services to meet the needs of the people adequately. In education, he built and expanded schools and colleges at all levels spread throughout the country. His government introduced a deliberate policy of mixing students of different regions and religious beliefs to foster unity.

In the health sector, he built and equipped 23 new one hundred bed hospitals throughout the country and health centers in every sub-county, manned by trained personnel. His government established local training facilities for both education and health workers. Drugs and scholastic materials were readily availed by the government, at no cost to the user. Business people, traders, workers and farmers were encouraged to organize themselves into cooperatives so that government can assist with inputs and in finding markets for their products and produce.

Dr. Obote had a soft heart for the youth. He interacted easily and freely with and cherished them. He designed and developed youth programmes like the National Youth Service, National Union of Youth Organization (NUYO), Young Farmers, and the National Union of Students of Uganda (NUSU). These programmes were intended to make the youth of Uganda effective and responsible citizens. A number of leaders of to-day were the beneficiaries of Dr. Obote's Youth programmes.

Dr. Obote also recognized from the outset how Ugandan women had been marginalized during the colonial government for decades such that at independence there were hardly any educated women. To redress this scenario the post independence UPC government put in place specific programmes to enhance the education of the girl child. It is those programmes that have made it possible for educated women to be available to-day to take up positions of responsibility in government and other public institutions. It was under Dr. Obote's leadership that UPC planted the roots for the development of women in this country.

On the African scene Dr. Obote was a fervent believer of international cooperation particularly in the area of African emancipation and integration. Together with other leaders in the region, Dr. Obote was able to develop and nurture good neighborly relations with Kenya. Tanzania and Zambia , culminating in the establishment of the East African Community and the Mulungushi club. Under the leadership of Dr. Obote, Uganda was at the forefront of African Liberation. His government rendered invaluable support to the African liberation movements in South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe , Angola, Namibia to mention but a few. Dr. Obote was a founder member of OAU.

Uganda was an active member of OAU Liberation Committee.

On the global front, UPC government under the leadership of Dr. Obote supported the activities of the United Nations (UN) and its agencies, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Commonwealth. As a result of Dr. Obote's strong belief and commitment to liberation movements and international cooperation, some of the powers that were became overtly hostile to the UPC governments.

The issue of Uganda 's support for the liberation of Southern Africa and the dismantling of the apartheid system in South Africa became the bone of contention against Uganda. His government was overthrown in absentia while spearheading the cause of liberation of Southern Africa during the Commonwealth leaders meeting in Singapore.

Dr. Obote has been demonized by his detractors for many alleged short-comings. I would like to say the following about him. Dr. Obote was an avowed workaholic with tenacity and resilience to work for long hours. Most of the time, he worked for eighteen hours a day. He had an incredible memory of an elephant. He could recall and recognize names, faces and associate them with events.

He was a clean and honest God fearing person who led governments devoid of nepotism and corruption. He lived according to Godly principles which made him never to discriminate on either religious or ethnic grounds. His strong belief in God must have been instrumental in the decision to enshrine "For God and My Country" as the national motto for Uganda.

Dr. Obote was a strong believer in democratic principles and respect of the rule of law as a basis for good governance. He worked tirelessly to ensure that Uganda embraced multi-party democracy.

He was a born politician and a man of the people. He was always readily accessible to his colleagues, friends and the people he led. He patiently listened to whoever had something to say despite his heavy schedule and personally ensured that decisions were taken and acted upon.

He was a very well informed person because he was an avid reader. In office he always insisted that all state matters, plans, programmes and decisions are documented and read. He was equally a good listener who never took any story for the truth until cross checked. He was a prolific reader of books and other printed matter. His love of books was well known among his colleagues and friends. Consequently, whenever anyone felt like giving him a present he or she bought him a book knowing well that the gift will be read and appreciated. He was not only able to develop himself intellectually but encouraged colleagues to acquire reading habits so as to improve their service delivery. In order to inculcate this noble habit among Ugandans, UPC proposes, in due course, to establish a public library to his memory.

As we remember and celebrate the life of Dr. Obote, specific challenges become evident for our political leaders, the youth, women and citizens of Uganda as a whole. The bottom line is can the people of Uganda live to the ideals that he lived and died for?

Finally, I would like to thank the chief celebrant, all of you who have come and honoured the memory of Dr. A.M Obote and the organizers for all the work they put in to make the occasion a success.

For God and my Country

Miria Kalule Obote

PRESIDENT