Aggrey Siryoyi Awori (23 February 1939 – 5 July 2021) was a Ugandan economist, politician and Olympic hurdler, who served as Minister for Information and Communications Technology in the

Cabinet of Uganda There are 32 Cabinet ministers and 50 Ministers of State in the Cabinet of Uganda (2021 to 2026). According to Section 111 of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda, as amended in 2005, "There shall be a Cabinet which shall consist of the President, ...

from 16 February 2009 to 27 May 2011. Prior to that, he represented Samia-Bugwe North,

Busia District Busia District is a district in the Eastern region of Uganda. Location Busia District borders Tororo District to the north, Busia County, Kenya to the east, amyingoto the south, and to the south-west, and Bugiri District to the west. Busia, ...

in the Ugandan Parliament from 2001 until 2006. Awori was an outspoken opposition

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the Uganda People's Congress (UPC) political party. In 2007, he abandoned the UPC and joined the ruling

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement ( sw, Harakati za Upinzani za Kitaifa; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla ...

Background

Awori was born on 23 February 1939, in Budimo Village,

, near the Ugandan/Kenyan border as the tenth of seventeen children. His parents were Canon Jeremiah Musungu Awori, a pioneer African priest of the Anglican Church in East Africa and Mrs. Mariamu Odongo Awori, a nurse and community teacher. Aggrey's siblings include the ninth

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

n vice-president Arthur Moody Awori and Mary Okelo, the first woman in East Africa to head a

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

branch and the founder of the Kenya Women Finance Trust, Kenya's women only bank. Mary is also the founder of Makini Schools, a leading school chain in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...

. Awori owned an urban home in Busia Municipality and a country home in neighboring

Bugiri District Bugiri District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Bugiri, where the district headquarters are located. Location Bugiri District is bordered by Namutumba District and Butaleja ...

Education

Awori attended Nabumali High School in Mbale District and King's College Budo, in

Wakiso District Wakiso District is a district in the Central Region of Uganda that partly encircles Kampala, Uganda's capital city. The town of Wakiso is the site of the district headquarters. Kira, the country's second largest city and suburb of Kampala, is ...

, both in Uganda. He was the Canada House Prefect at King's College Budo. While at King's College Budo (1959 to 1961), Aggrey was selected among a few others for elite military officers training at Sandhurst Military College in the United Kingdom. His father Canon Awori, however, rejected the idea of his talented son joining the military. From 1961 to 1965, he studied at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

on a scholarship. The first year he took

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies t ...

, but then switched over to political economics. While at Harvard, Aggrey became the first person in heptagonal track history to win three events - the long jump, high hurdles, and 60-yard dash, tying the heptagonal record in the hurdles and setting the mark in the dash. He also ran on the victorious mile relay team that tied the heptagonal record. By the time he graduated from Harvard, Awori held three outdoor and five indoor school records. He also represented Uganda in the 110 metres hurdles at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

and the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this h ...

, but failed to win any medals. Awori has a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in economics from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in the U.S.

Career

In 1967, Awori was appointed the first local director of Uganda Television (UTV). In 1971 Awori was jailed for two months after

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

's coup, because during Amin's first coup attempt he didn't broadcast a speech Amin gave, lying to him by saying that they were live on air. He went into political exile in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, where he taught political journalism at the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a collegiate research university based in Nairobi. It is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent univer ...

until 1976 and then traveled around Africa visiting

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...

and

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

and returning to

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

in 1979. After Idi Amin was overthrown in 1979, Awori returned to Uganda. He ran for a seat in the

National Assembly of Uganda The parliament of Uganda is the country's legislative body. Unicameral, the most significant of the Ugandan parliament's functions is to pass laws that will provide good governance in the country. The government ministers are bound to answer ...

, but lost. He then became Ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, until being transferred by Tito Okello Lutwa in 1985. He served as Uganda's Ambassador to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

from 1985 until 1987, when he was dropped by

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...

. After a brief asylum in Nairobi, Awori started to build up a rebel group operating from eastern Uganda named Force Obote Back Again (FOBA). He stated that his reason for doing so was mainly anger at Museveni's

National Resistance Army The National Resistance Army (NRA), the military wing of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), was a rebel army that waged a guerrilla war, commonly referred to as the Ugandan Bush War or Luwero War, against the government of Milton Obote, and ...

, which had confiscated his property. In 1992, he dissolved his rebel group, which had consisted mainly of young fighters. In 1993, Awori met with Museveni in New York and then was elected to the Constituent Assembly to drawing up the country's new constitution and as a member of parliament. He came third in the 2001 presidential elections, polling 1.41% of the vote. He represented Samia-Bugwe North,

in the Ugandan 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

from 16 February 2009 to 27 May 2011. In the cabinet reshuffle of 27 May 2011, he was dropped from the cabinet and replaced by

Ruhakana Rugunda Ruhakana Rugunda (born 7 November 1947) is a Ugandan physician and politician who had been Prime Minister of Uganda from 2014 to 2021. He held a long series of cabinet posts under President Yoweri Museveni beginning in 1986. He served as Uganda's ...

. On account of his cabinet post, he was an ''ex officio'' Member of the Ugandan Parliament (MP).

Personal details

He was married to Thelma Awori, who worked as Director for Africa at the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

. Together they were the parents of six adult children. Aggrey Awori, at the age of 82, died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

on 5 July 2021, at a private hospital in Naalya, Kampala.

References

External links

Website of the Parliament of Uganda Full Ministerial Cabinet List, June 2006 Full Ministerial Cabinet List, February 2009Full Ministerial Cabinet List, May 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Awori, Aggrey 1939 births 2021 deaths People from Busia District, Uganda People from Eastern Region, Uganda Members of the Parliament of Uganda Government ministers of Uganda Uganda People's Congress politicians National Resistance Movement politicians Ugandan male hurdlers Ugandan male sprinters Ugandan sportsperson-politicians Harvard University alumni Syracuse University alumni Samia people Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Uganda Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda