Members of Parliament on Thursday eulogized the late Bishop Patrick Okabe, the former Serere County member of Parliament as a unifier and God-fearing servant.
Bishop Okabe, 64, died alongside his wife Christine Okabe, and his driver during a road crash after a vehicle they were traveling in collided with a Kenyan-bound truck at Naboa in Budaka District along Mbale-Tirinyi highway on Monday 19, 2022.
The casket containing remains of the deceased arrived at Parliament around 9:45 am draped in the black-yellow-red color of the national flag and received by the Speaker Anita Among accompanied by the Clerk to Parliament before being wheeled into the lobby and later evacuated to the chambers for a tribute that kicked off at 12:00 pm that lasted for 3 hours and 40 minutes.
The special plenary sitting to pay tribute was attended by dozens of Members of Parliament, Government Ministers, religious leaders, friends, relatives, and family members.
Robinah Nabbanja, the Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business moved a motion to pay tribute and described the late Okabe as a diligent leader who promoted women empowerment and upheld Christian values to transform the lives of ordinary Ugandans.
In his tribute, the Leader of Opposition Mathias Mpuuga lauded Bishop Okabe for upholding the power of his constituents in Serere County and rallied the Government to reflect on current narrow road designs that have become a death trap amid the growing volume of traffic flows in the country.