Government Under Scrutiny: Oulanyah House Pledge Needs Action

The Government of Uganda is facing renewed scrutiny over its failure to complete the country home of former Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah, more than four years after his death, despite repeated assurances that the project would be delivered.

The unfinished residence in Omoro District resurfaced in Parliament today after Speaker Jacob Oboth-Oboth questioned why the government had failed to honour its commitment to complete the house following Oulanyah’s death in March 2022.

Oboth-Oboth said he was disturbed by the state of the imposing but incomplete structure during a recent visit, describing the delay as a failure to honour the legacy of a former Speaker who died while serving the country.

Oboth-Oboth told Parliament that the failure to complete Oulanyah’s house suggested that leaders were only considered relevant while alive. He said Parliament had completed the late Speaker’s term in office but had forgotten to finish the house he had started.

State Minister for Public Service Lydia Wanyoto told Parliament that she would return within two weeks with a comprehensive update on the government’s position and proposed course of action.

Wanyoto said her ministry, working with the Speaker’s office, would prepare a report on outstanding government commitments to deceased and retired senior public figures and present it to Cabinet and Parliament. However, Oboth-Oboth warned that preparing a report would not amount to fulfilling the government’s commitment.

Bukooli County Central MP Solomon Silwany added that government representatives had reportedly made assurances on the house at least four times, repeatedly promising that its completion was imminent.

Oulanyah, a lawyer and agricultural economist, was elected Speaker of the 11th Parliament on May 24, 2021, succeeding Rebecca Kadaga. He died on March 20, 2022, aged 56, while receiving treatment in Seattle, United States.

Before his death, Oulanyah had been constructing a country residence in Ayomlony village, Lalogi Sub-county, Omoro District, intended as his family home and retirement residence.

The unfinished house became a focal point during preparations for his burial. In keeping with Acholi cultural traditions, his body was taken to the residence before he was buried at his ancestral home on April 8, 2022.

The funeral brought the property into the national spotlight, with government officials and political leaders making commitments to support Oulanyah’s family and complete projects associated with the former Speaker.

President Yoweri Museveni was publicly associated with a pledge to mobilise resources for the completion of the residence. However, more than four years later, the commitment remains unfulfilled.

In March 2023, the family reported that technical work, including plumbing, was progressing and expressed hope that the President’s pledge would be honoured. An eight-member committee had also been established to follow up on promises made after Oulanyah’s death.

In August 2024, then-Speaker Anita Among visited the family in Omoro District, where Oulanyah’s father, Nathan Okori, appealed for government assistance, saying the house and other projects initiated by his son had ground to a halt.

Among assured the family that Parliament and the government remained committed to supporting them, promising that the matter would be addressed during Parliament’s regional sitting in Gulu. The delay drew further criticism in April 2026 during the burial of Oulanyah’s father, Nathan Okori Adiyo.

Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao publicly expressed embarrassment over the government’s failure to honour the President’s pledge, while Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa acknowledged the delay and said consultations with the President and Speaker would be necessary to establish a way forward.