Gulu RDC Col. Walter Ochora is dead

Mar 03, 2011

COL. Walter Ochora Odoch, the cheerful Gulu Resident District Commissioner known for his straight talk, is dead. Ochora died yesterday at 6:00pm at Kampala International Hospital of respiratory failure.

By Barbara Among      

COL. Walter Ochora Odoch, the cheerful Gulu Resident District Commissioner known for his straight talk, is dead. Ochora died yesterday at 6:00pm at Kampala International Hospital of respiratory failure.

According to the proprietor of the hospital, Dr. Ian Clarke, Ochora had a lung condition.

“He has been on treatment for lung diseases and has been in and out of hospital. When he was brought in yesterday (Wednesday), he was put on a life-support machine but he never recovered,” Clarke said.

Jimmy Odongo, a relative, said the retired colonel was rushed to the hospital after developing difficult breathing on Wednesday night.

“This morning, he was said to be responding well but we were not allowed to see him. At 4:00pm, we were informed that he had died.”
Last evening, a grave mood engulfed Acholi sub-region following the news of Ochora’s death. 

Ochora, who was defeated in last week’s race for the post of Gulu LC5 chairman by FDC’s Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, had conceded defeat and called for unity.

The death cut short celebrations by NRM supporters for winning the Gulu mayoral seat.

The shouts of joy and ululation quickly turned into grief and wails at the district NRM office as the party supporters gathered around to mourn the peacemaker.

Ochora was appointed Gulu district resident commissioner in 2006, after he lost to Norbert Mao in the race for Gulu LC5 chairman.

Before, he had held the position of Gulu LC5 for over 10 years and had been instrumental in promoting NRM activities in the district.

The jolly colonel is considered one of the greatest peace-makers to ever come out of Acholi and is described as “one of Uganda’s unsung heroes” by his associates.

He made a mark as a peace-marker right from 1987, but his greatest contribution came in 2005, when he led Acholi leaders to meet the then LRA commander, Sam Kolo, in Lamwo.

He continued to pressure both the Government and rebel leader Joseph Kony until 2006, when the Juba peace talks started.

“If there is one thing Ochora will be remembered for, it’s the humble patriot he was and the final torchbearer for the memory of the fading northern conflict,” a Kampala journalist observed.

He was also at the forefront of encouraging Acholi residents to settle on their lands and do developmental activities.

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