Karooro to receive official burial
Babalanda described the deceased as "a gifted and patriotic citizen who met her fate in the line of serving the motherland."
Babalanda described the deceased as "a gifted and patriotic citizen who met her fate in the line of serving the motherland."
By Admin .
Journalists @New Vision
KAMPALA - Former minister Mary Karooro Busingye Okurut, who died on August 11, 2025, at the Aga Khan Hospital in Kenya will be accorded an official burial as granted by President Yoweri Museveni.
An official burial means that the Government will cover all expenses and accord a gun salute to the former minister, described by many as a kind and motherly woman.
The last honours were announced on Wednesday, August 13th, by the minister for Presidency, Milly Babalanda.
Babalanda, in a post on social media X, stated that the National Organising Committee will discuss with the family on the final arrangements.
She also commiserated with the family, relatives, in-laws, people of Bushenyi/Teso, Government, Church of Uganda, NRM party, and Ugandans at the passing of Karoro.
Babalanda described the deceased as "a gifted and patriotic citizen who met her fate in the line of serving the motherland."
An academician and Author, Karooro served in different government offices, including her tenure as President Museveni’s Private Press Secretary from 2001 to 2004.
Fatal injuries
A prominent political leader, scholar, and advocate for women’s empowerment, Karooro, 70, suffered injuries in a road crash last month as she returned from a consultative meeting in Nebbi district, where she had declared her intention to contest for the position of MP for the Elderly in Uganda’s Parliament.
The crash left her with a broken pelvic bone.
She was initially treated at Nakasero Hospital in Kampala before being airlifted to Nairobi for specialised medical care. In a WhatsApp conversation with New Vision on July 14, 2025, Karooro said the “nerve pain was still persistent.”
Karooro was born on July, 8,1954, in Bwatogo cell, Central division in Bushenyi-Ishaka municipality.
Political Career
• 1993 – Press Secretary to the Vice-President
• 1996-2000 – Commissioner at the Education Service Commission.
• 2004- 2021 Woman MP Bushenyi District between 2004-2021.
• 2011-2012 – Minister of Information and National Guidance
• 2015-2016 – Minister for Security
• 2012-2015 – Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development
• 2016–2021 – Minister in Charge of General Duties, Office of the Prime Minister