{UAH} Could Tororo's Ochwo, 112, be the oldest living man in Uganda?

Folks;

I have a new hero, and I think Gook will love hear this too! 

What has sustained Mzee Ocwho? ""He feeds on kwon kal, (millet bread), matooke, peas, potatoes, cassava, ground nuts, eggs, meat and wild fruits. His favourite flavor in food is ghee," she says. He also relishes the local alcoholic brew.

Pojim

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/659413-could-tororo-s-ochwo-be-the-oldest-living-man-in-uganda.html

Could Tororo's Ochwo be the oldest living man in Uganda?
Publish Date: Sep 04, 2014

At 112 years, Ochwo is thought to be the oldest man in Uganda

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newvision

By Cecilia Okoth 

In the little known village of Katajula, Nagongera sub-county, Tororo district, lives Pascal Ochwo, arguably one of Uganda's oldest men.

Alleged to be 112 years old, Ochwo bubbles with energy not akin to people his age. On a hot afternoon, I find him in his compound seated in a reclining wooden chair.


For a man his age, he is neat and kempt – his short grey hair trimmed and brushed, nails seemingly manicured and his shirt straight and buttoned to the top. His only weaknesses are his failing eyesight and hearing.


I amplify my voice to be heard and introduce myself as his grandchild, news that electrifies him as he quickly grabs my hand, the tinge of excitement palpable. I greet him and tell him the purpose of my visit which adds to his pleasure and we instantly launch into the interview.

When I ask him about his age, he seems baffled. Giggling, he says: "Do I really remember?" 
His predicament is understandable given that he was born when birth dates were only associated by events.


However, Plasido Oboth Ochwo, 81, his oldest son, says his father was born in 1902. That puts him at 112 years old. With more than a dozen children, Oboth is one of the five still living.


Married to his long-time sweetheart in 1933, Ochwo had 16 children with his late wife Thereza Akongo who passed away in 1995. Among those still alive are Jennifer Nyaketcho, 80, Dismus Olowo, 64 and Justine Nyadoi, 54.

The centenarian has seen it all. Apart from being around to raise his family, he has seen times change, like the erosion of the African traditional life by modernity.


He says unlike in the past during his heyday when the youth spent most of their time farming and retired later in the day to take part in the famous Tongoli dance, things are not the same anymore. 


The local entertainment scene is polluted with Western vibes. Having progressed with studies up to seminary level, Ochwo has served as a catechist, witnessed the construction of the East African Railway by the Indian coolies, was once engaged in forced labour and taught at Achilet and Sesera girls' schools.
 

Going down memory lane, Ochwo remembers with nostalgia how railway tax evaders were arrested, beaten up and jailed or killed. "It was very frightening," he says. At a time when the young are dying before 50, it baffles one to imagine how Ochwo has lived to this age.


Nyaketcho, who has spent a greater part of her time taking care of Ochwo, seems to know the secret.


"He feeds on kwon kal, (millet bread), matooke, peas, potatoes, cassava, ground nuts, eggs, meat and wild fruits. 
His favourite flavor in food is ghee," she says. He also relishes the local alcoholic brew.

"When he falls sick, we treat him. He prefers tablets to injections," Nyaketcho says.
Ochwo reminiscences about how people lived very healthy lives; malaria was unheard of in the past.
 

"We would eat burnt leaves and wild fruits famously called gugu. Chicken pox was common, though death was unheard of. People lived to be very old," he says.

Once married and with only one child, Nyaketcho opted to return home and look after her aging father. His son, Oboth, speaks fondly of his father. "I was the big-headed one in the family. I was a drunkard and smoker and this made me wake up late everyday.

 

But father often pulled me out of bed with a cane to go and graze cattle," says
Oboth, who served as a chief for 16 years. Ochwo spends most of his time at home.
"I wake up when the sun rises and stay here unless I need to go for a short call."

He once ventured into smoking cigarettes for the weekend but quit. "I did not like the after effects that it brought me. Whenever I smoked, I lost appetite," he recalls.


His drinking of alcohol was a result of peer pressure.


Having embraced Christianity in 1914, even in his advanced age, Ochwo religiously goes to church every Sunday.


Even though many things have become better with modern times, Ochwo believes life in the past was golden.


"Old life was great. There was a lot of food. The only things that thieves stole were food stuffs and birds," he says.