By KT Reporter
The former Resident District Commissioner (RDC) for Arua District, Nahori Oya, has died. Muzee Oya, a senior National Resistance Movement-NRM cadre and a respected translator of President Museveni’s speeches during past elections in Arua, passed on Monday at Mulago National Referral Hospital due to complications from high blood pressure and blood sugar.
He had been referred from Arua Regional Referral Hospital two weeks earlier. Nahori Oya served as RDC of Arua before it was granted city status, after which he was appointed the first Resident City Commissioner (RCC) of Arua City in 2020. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as Chairperson of the Arua District COVID-19 Taskforce.
Recruited into the NRM as a cadre by President Museveni in the 1980s, Oya served in various capacities until his retirement, including as a member of the Presidential Protocol and later in special assignments in Jinja. Before retiring, he served in Kole, Kayunga, Adjumani, Maracha, and Arua City, where he concluded his career. According to Patricia Lenia, one of his daughters, Oya spent two weeks at Arua Regional Referral Hospital before being referred to Mulago, where he spent an additional two weeks but could not be saved.
Peter Debele, a former RDC of Arua and close friend, described Oya as a dedicated NRM cadre who played a pivotal role in the government from the 1980s until his retirement. John Tutu, a Lugbara-Madi cultural promoter in West Nile, who worked with Oya in documenting the history of the Lugbara and Madi people, said his passing is a significant loss to the cultural pride of West Nilers. Fadhil Lemeriga, Prime Minister of the Aringa Kingdom, said Oya will be remembered as a great man who served diligently as County Chief in Aringa during the 1980s and 1990s.
Bernard Atiku, former Member of Parliament for Ayivu, described Oya as a distinguished senior citizen whose service will be remembered as living history for the Lugbara people. Oya’s body will be conveyed to Arua on Tuesday and laid to rest at his ancestral home in Muni Cell, Ayivu East, Arua City.
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