Shock as two senior officers die at OWC retreat in Kyankwanzi

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Shock has engulfed the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi after the sudden deaths of two senior officers attending a week-long retreat.

On September 8, 2025, Dr Albode Kojo, a director at the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) secretariat, collapsed after lunch and died while being rushed to Hoima Hospital.

Before participants could come to terms with his death, tragedy struck again on Thursday (September 11) when Lt Col James Ochung, the OWC coordinator for Serere district, was found dead in his bed at the institute.

“It’s a dark week in Kyankwanzi following the death of our two comrades. Dr Kojo collapsed on Monday after lunch and, as they rushed him to the hospital in Hoima, he died,” OWC spokesperson Capt Wilson Kato Agaba said.

Capt. Agaba confirmed Ochung’s death in the early hours of Thursday but noted that the cause could not be determined until medical experts released an autopsy report.

“We are equally confused about what could have happened to them. Both officers arrived at the retreat looking healthy, but sadly, they died. Let us wait for the autopsy reports to establish the cause,” he added.

The retreat, which is scheduled to end on Saturday, September 13, 2025, has been overshadowed by the tragedy.

Serere district LC5 chairperson Stephen Ochola expressed his shock at Ochung’s death, describing him as a calm, friendly, and dedicated officer.

“We were together on Thursday (September 4) in a meeting with the Vice President Jessica Alupo, and we talked. He never looked like a sick person,” Ochola said, noting that despite being in opposition politics, he had never clashed with Ocuka in the four years he has led the district.

Lt Col Ochung hailed from Angole-Kyere in Serere district.