{UAH} Uganda will never forget legendary Gaspari Oda and colleagues!

We all read with admiration the story on the ceremonies to remember the 

fallen heroic nationalist, the great legendary Parliamentarian Hon Mr Gaspari Oda.

It was indeed very thoughtful of Ugandans to recall the meory of such a very dedicated

son of the nation who was one of the most prominent heroes of our struggle for independence.

Oda deserves all glories that can be attributed to eminent fathers of the nation. And I personally thank

all those  who rolled to West Nile to grace the occasion with their heavy presence. And I express

warmly thanks to Bishop Sabino Odoki of Arua for having accepted to preside over the solemn religious service.

All this was a tribute that befits a person in Oda's wonderful profile to receive and bank so honourably. 

President Museveni was there for Uganda, a country which benefitted so much from Oda's political action.

Hon Dr P.K. Ssemogerere and others were there for DP, a party whose fame and prestige Oda contributed to

so graceously. If the DP still remains number one political party in seeing correct vision on everything and in 

continuing to be the nation's most respected political institution and solid patriotic pillar it's because its foundation is

cemented in the very fabulous legend of heroes and celebrities who include many of Uganda's greatest

political martyrs among whom we can count persons like the Great Benedicto Kiwanuka, Hon Latim Alexander the Great, 

Hon Gino Obonyo, Hon Okello of West Nile, Hon Zakaria Babukika of Kigezi, etc...We add all these heroes to Oda Gaspari.

And the DP foundation isn't at all an isolated loner, it's backed by a very highly respected calibre of famous political gurus who through

unmatched courage came to the frontline to help the nation witness DP's ecumenical set-out. We can think of persons like

Hon Boniface Byanyima,Hon Mr Balaam Mukasa, Hon Mr Stanley Bemba, Hon Mr John Ssebaana Kizito, Hon Mr Ssonko, Hon Mr C.Muliira,

Hon P.J. Wilkinson, Hon D.A. Patel, and without forgetting notables like Sheikh Mugenyasooka, Sheikh Mbogo, Mr Asumani Makubayi, Mr Solomon Mutenyo, Prof William Ssenteza Kajubi, Dr Ssewaali, etc.. All these very smart impeccable personalities add to the legend of the party's founders

and eminent founder presidents general such as Eng J. Kasolo and Hon Mr Matayo Mugwanya who dug good ground for the arrival of Benedicto Kiwanuka. DP was then set to become Uganda's most dynamic party with an unshakeable image embraced by the entire nation!

I remember that time when many had crossed to the other side thinking DP will die, the party became ever stronger in spite

of the fewer numbers of MP's it had in Parliament! The celebrated fearless seven ( Oda, Byanyima, Latim, Obonyo, Okello, Kangwamu, D.A. Patel)

were even the real lungs of Parliament and they had won the sympathy of Ugandans in general. I recall the time when I was on political detention 

in Luzira Maximum Upper Prison where the majority of detainees were Kabaka Yekka people, the persons we all considered as our MP's

were these DP Parliamentarians who fought against detention laws and battled for the improvement of conditions for detainees! Their action

was crowned with glory in Buganda where practically all these famous Kabaka Yekka detainees ended by landing in the DP camp!

If Buganda is basically DP it's because, among other things, these courageous MP's succeeded to show how a good heart knew no boundary!

And they won the confidence of the Baganda! No wonder why Hon Mr Norbert Mao is now trhe popularly respected DP leader because thru him

Providence has wanted to reward his native region for the very excellent work it has done for DP, and since time immemorial! Ben Kiwanuka had

some of his most trusted confidants in all of these notable politicians to whom we may add Mr Tiberio Okeny, Mr Banya, Mr Vuciri, Hon Nicolas Opio,etc..These real ancients whose work for the party in the North, for example, enabled the DP to win nine of the seventeen seats at stake

in the 1961 general election, a good majority seats that contributed to the party's victory and enabled Ben Kiwanuka to form a very great government

whose very brilliant pragmatic action has refused to quit Uganda's memory! And Oda was part of this brain, first as a formidable campaigner who

contributed so much to DP's victory in West Nile and Madi region where the party took 4 of the 5 seats, and second, as a a very intelligent Parliamentarian, Parliamentary Secretary, and eventuallu full Minister in a governrnment that was so devoted to the service of the nation and its

people. It was indeed a real government composed of respected minds wiyh a lot of experience on terrain! And it did wonders and its record of paramount achievements continues to stand as a call for another DP government! And it will one day come since DP is the party for the future!

Will anyone in the country ever create a political philosophy to sincerely outshine the political dynamics the nation owes to Ben, Ssemo, Ssebaana and Mao? DP is a natural party that sees things very quickly and is sure of itself, that's why it's feared on the ground!!

And its big shots have always been respected persons wearing a true presidential profile! Look at all DP names including those many that haven't been mentioned in the article, and try to count the number of wonderful presidents the party could offer to the country! DP has political energy and real muscle, and that's why it's the only political party thjat has a capacity to create remarkeable leaders! Gaspari Oda was one of those! He was a real king

in his West Nile region where he hjad never been beaten in an election, always winning with a clashing majority! He even told a very mammoth cheering DP rally in Kampala that he would one day propose Ben Kiwanuka to stand in his constituency in Arua to enable him come to Parliament for the nation's sake! The proposal was received with deafening cheers and ululations from the tens of thousands of people present!

Oda was a very pleasant politician with a very strong charisma, and he was an orator who could move his listeners. The first time to hear his voice was

at Entebbe when he was chosen to be among the speakers to welcome Benedicto Kiwanuka from the famous London Conference. Oda spoke!  And his oratorical gestures won the attention of the very big crowd assembled in an open ground near Benedicto Kiwanuka's official Prime Minister's residence. I was again to witness his charisma and popularity the day when Pope Paul VI addressed Uganda's Parliament ( 01.08.1969). We were in our countless thousands lining all streets and spaces around Parliament. At the end of the Pope's address VIPs and all kinds of dignitaries quit the premises. And there was a very noisy uproar when the crowds saw Hon Gaspari Oda walking with Hon Alexander Latim and moving towards Baumann Building. The great statesmen were surrounded with a special enthusiasm exhibited by the thousands of people around. And everyone confirmed to the real greatness of Oda and Latim. A couple of years later the two legends were to meet a sad fate this time, murder which made them greater and real national martyrs who really deserve a national commemoration in their favour as great national heroes Uganda has to honour! Aren't they the ones who through their principle showed how Parliament can be a platform for promoting unity and fraternal national cohesion benficial to all Ugandans?

Oda was once dubbed in Buganda  " Jjajja wa DP" ( roughly DP's grandfather ). in appreciation for his very outstanding service in Parliament. In fact, one can easily point out that those courageous DP Parliamentarians from the North thru their dynamic patriotic action contributed a lot in averting the nation from a North-South divide which would prove detrimental to national unity. Hon Alexander Latim even went on to send a very touching message of deep condolences to Buganda's royal family on the death of Sir Edward Muteesa II. Buganda very strongly appreciated this very brotherly gesture!

Oda and team have shown us the way to political maturity and they should always be praised for this exemplary patriotism!

May the Most Bountiful Almighty God bless their humble souls and grant them the well-deserved eternal heavenly rest! This will always be the only way to help the nation wipe away all the tears to which it was moved by the very criminal murders of our gallant statesmen !

G.H.K.