Mayuge LC5 contestant laid to rest

It was a sombre mood at Igamba village in Mayuge town council as hundreds turned up for the burial of Mayuge LC5 contestant Anthony Ngobi alias Rasta.

Ngobi, who contested for the LC5 seat in 2016 passed away after he was knocked dead by a speeding motorcycle in Igamba last week. He passed away in Mulago Hospital in Kampala from his injuries.

There were moving testimonies and eulogies, all praising the late Ngobi as a peaceful man who always had his district at heart.

"He was a Rasta but very different. He had developmental ideas and preached peace," Omar Bongo, the Mayuge LC5 chairperson said. He asked the youth to emulate Ngobi.

"You have demonstrated unity. Truly Ngobi was calm and a unifying factor. He associated with almost every one" Bongo said.

Fr. Anthony Musana said Ngobi loved God. "He could hardly miss mass on Sunday," he said adding that Ngobi was his personal friend who had even pledged to paint portraits of St. Matia Mulumba Church in Kyebando Parish.

"He was an artisan and the day before he met his death, he came to the parish and pledged to paint portraits of St. Matia Mulumba," Musana said. Ngobi had a diploma in Industrial Art and Design.

The Mayuge District Police Commander, Denis Odoch, said Police has opened up a case against a man only identified as Waiswa who knocked Ngobi.

Waiswa is currently admitted at Jinja Hospital after sustaining injuries in the same accident.

Ngobi's family decried the poor state of health services in hospitals.

"From Jinja Hospital we were referred to Mulago Hospital for intensive care. The hospital ambulance had no fuel. We had to pay sh150,000," a family member said adding that although they paid some money, it took them about five hours to secure the ambulance.

Ngobi died at the age of 41 and had no wife or children.