By Spy Uganda
The former presidential candidate, also former-ICT minister Aggrey Awori has died aged 82, TheSpy Uganda reports exclusively.
According to a family close friend Peter Oguttu, former UPC die hard Awori passed away at a private hospital in Nalya, Kampala on Monday afternoon.
“He has been sick for about a month and I have been in touch with him until today when his wife, Thelma broke the bad news,” said Oguttu.
Still according to Ogutu, Awori is suspected to have succumbed to COVID-19.
Who Is Aggrey Awori?
Awori was born on 23 February 1939, in Budimo Village, Busia District, near the Ugandan/Kenyan border as the 10th of 17 children. His parents were Canon Jeremiah Musungu Awori, a pioneer African priest of the Anglican Church in East Africa and Ms Mariamu Odongo Awori, a nurse and community teacher.
Aggrey’s siblings include the ninth Kenyan vice-president Arthur Moody Awori and Mary Okelo, the first woman in East Africa to head a Barclays Bank branch and the founder of Kenya’s women-only bank; the Kenya Women Finance Trust. Mary is also the founder of Makini Schools, a leading school chain in East Africa. He owned an urban home in Busia Municipality and a country home in neighbouring Bugiri District.
In the 2001 Presidential elections, Awori came third, polling 1.41 per cent of the vote.
He represented Samia-Bugwe North, Busia District in Parliament from 2001 until 2006. Awori was an outspoken opposition member of parliament for the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) political party. In 2007, he abandoned the UPC and joined the ruling National Resistance Movement political party.
He was the Minister for Information & Communications Technology in the Cabinet of Uganda from 16 February 2009 to May 27, 2011. In the cabinet reshuffle of May 27, 2011, he was dropped from the cabinet and replaced by Ruhakana Rugunda.
He was married to Thelma Awori, who worked as Director for Africa at the United Nations Development Programme. Together they are the parents of six adult children.
Awori who was voted the best legislator in the sixth Parliament lost to Stephen Mugeni Wasike in the subsequent election.
He later crossed to the ruling (NRM) party from his childhood Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) party, and in 2011 took a shot at the Busia Municipality seat which he also lost to Ms. Kevinah Taaka Wanaha, a Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) leaning candidate.
