Mao's father dies aged 74

The father of Democratic Party president general Norbert Mao has died after battling hypertension.

Dusman Okee, 74, breathed his last at Jinja hospital early Sunday where he was admitted with high blood pressure, according to his third-born son, Dusman Okee junior.

He said their father's passing shocked them, adding that he had eaten his dinner well Saturday evening. Okee's health then started to deteriorate moments later.

He is understood to have fathered seven children: four boys and three girls.

 "My father was a military man [in the colonial army] and a cereal chemist who was a custodian of discipline and loved education," said Okee junior.

"My father was our mentor because he educated us and told us to serve the community," he added.

DP's Mao announced the passing of his father on social media (Facebook): "With great sorrow I announce the death of my father Dusman Okee (Jan 5, 1942 - Jan 3, 2016). Father, teacher, mentor, soldier and cereal chemist. To me he was both father and mother. We called him the lion."

Funeral arrangements are under way.

A funeral service will be held in Jinja on Monday where he lived. His remains will then be transported to Gulu for burial in Lacor.