Concern is mounting over the health of veteran politician and retired military officer Gen. (Rtd) Moses Ali, who remains admitted at Nakasero Hospital after being hospitalized earlier this week. The 87-year-old former Second Deputy Prime Minister has been receiving treatment at the private health facility since the beginning of the week, according to sources familiar with the matter.
On Friday morning, members of Gen. Ali’s family held a closed-door meeting at the hospital. Several of his children, including some who travelled from outside Uganda, were seen arriving at the facility throughout the day.
Among those at the hospital was his son, Ali Siraj, the Minister of State for Works. When approached by Uganda Radio Network after the family meeting to provide an update on his father’s condition, Siraj declined to comment, saying only: “Please don’t write it.”
Later in the afternoon, one of Gen. Ali’s daughters, who had arrived from Sudan, told URN that her father’s condition “was not good,” but did not elaborate.
Government has, however, confirmed that the veteran statesman remains under medical care. When asked about the condition of Gen. Ali at at the Government Media Centre on Friday, the Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Justine Kasule Lumumba, said he was receiving treatment but did not provide further details about his illness or prognosis.
The developments come amid growing public concern and widespread speculation on social media regarding the condition of one of Uganda’s longest-serving political figures.
Gen. Moses Ali, born on April 5, 1939, has played a central role in Uganda’s political and military history for more than five decades. He served as a senior military commander and minister during the Idi Amin administration before leading the Uganda National Rescue Front (UNRF) rebellion in the early 1980s.
Following a peace agreement with President Yoweri Museveni’s government in 1986, he and his fighters were integrated into the National Resistance Army, where he was commissioned as a Major General.
He subsequently served in several senior Cabinet positions, including Minister of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Third Deputy Prime Minister, First Deputy Prime Minister, and most recently Second Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of Government Business in Parliament from 2021 to 2026.
Although he was not reappointed to Cabinet following the 2026 General Elections, Gen. Ali retained his parliamentary seat as Member of Parliament for Adjumani West Constituency, extending a political career that has made him one of Uganda’s longest-serving legislators.
As of Friday evening, neither Nakasero Hospital nor Gen. Ali’s family had issued an official statement detailing his medical condition, and no further information had been released regarding his treatment-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
