{"id":10062,"date":"2021-05-10T18:14:48","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T18:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?p=10062"},"modified":"2021-05-10T15:22:01","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T15:22:01","slug":"joy-as-obote-bodyguard-returns-home-after-51-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/joy-as-obote-bodyguard-returns-home-after-51-years","title":{"rendered":"Joy as Obote bodyguard returns home after 51 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Uganda<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>Emotions run high in Agora Village in Soroti District on Friday afternoon as two wives were reunited with their husband, assumed dead for the past 51 years.Mr Vincent Obodo, the personal overseer of late president Milton Obote\u2019s security and family, went into exile in January 1971 after the late Idi Amin toppled his boss while in Singapore.<\/p>\n

That was the last time his wives Josephine Ariamo, 76, and Anna Loyce Ideta, 71, set eyes on their husband.The duo, their children, relatives, and Obodo\u2019s agemates sobbed and yelled as the UNHCR staff vehicle strolled through Agora to bring back a man, who was struggling in Tanzania after failing to come to terms with the overthrow of his former boss.<\/p>\n

Ms Ariamo, the elder wife, says they thought their husband was dead because there had never been any communication nor any clue of his whereabouts since 1971.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the earlier days when he went missing, we consulted with other UPC (Uganda Peoples Congress) stalwarts, but to no avail until last month when we received a call from the Soroti City West MP-elect (Jonathan Ebwalu) that our husband is alive, and United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) was making arrangements of settling him home,\u201d she told Daily Monitor at their home in Agora.<\/p>\n

Ms Ariamo says when UNHCR communicated, it raised their anxiety when they remembered a man, who in his youthful days, was a breadwinner, a companion and a comforter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe equally loved us, he was a jolly man and passionately spoke great things about his former boss Obote. I believe coming to terms with the overthrow of his boss broke him, we thank God he is back,\u201d she says. Obodo,81, is one of late Obote\u2019s strongmen to return home alive.<\/p>\n

Ms Ideta, his second wife, says the reunion brings back the memories of their heydays as a young couple.\u201cIt is hard to believe, but he is here, we thank those who have enabled him to arrive home,\u201d Ms Ideta says.<\/p>\n

She adds that while he was away, they produced other children with other men but never moved out of the marital home.\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t have been so if those political dynamics, which set our husband to flee for his life, had never happened,\u201d Ms Ideta says.<\/p>\n

Mr John Ekoyu, his son, says when he was contacted about the arrangements, he sought help in Tanzania since he knew his father had already died.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe call came on April 14 when I broke the news to my mothers, brothers and sisters, they never took me seriously, they claimed I was reawakening the bad memories of my father\u2019s death,\u201d the 56-year-old recalls.<\/p>\n

Mr Ekoyu says after the government okayed the UN flight for Obodo to return home, he recognised his father.\u201cHis colour complexion, the eyes and head resembled those of his cousins, so I knew that the person I was receiving was my biological father,\u201d Mr Ekoyu says.<\/p>\n

He adds that his father\u2019s absence has been tormenting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started being the head of the home at 10 years, building on resilience and undertaking the role of being a breadwinner for both my mothers during the most difficult times of insurgency in Teso. I thank the Almighty Lord for His grace that has enabled us see our father,\u201d Mr Ekoyu says. Mr Ebwalu says it is a day of joy that one of the former Teso greats has returned home alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving served as an assistant commissioner under Bukedi District, it is our request that government advances him some support for his resettlement,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Recalling how he ended up in Tanzania, Mr Obodo says Obote never heeded to intelligence reports about the coup plot, and insisted on proceeding with his flight to Singapore. The next day, the government was toppled.<\/p>\n

Mr Obodo says he ensured his boss landed safely in Kenya before president Julius Nyerere of Tanzania called his counterpart to immediately leave, citing security threats to Obote\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI arranged to whisk my boss to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for asylum in Tanzania. That is how I found myself in Tanzania,\u201d he says.Mr Obodo says when Obote regained power, he remained his emissary in Tanzania until he was overthrown.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife in exile has been a thicket of thorns,\u201d he says, adding that it denied him the opportunity to do things that he should have had he been home.The reunion was marked with a thanksgiving ceremony.<\/p>\n

UNHCR says<\/b><\/p>\n

Ms Carol Kibuka Musoke, UNHCR Protection Associate, says the resettlement was made possible after work by both the government of Uganda and Tanzania. She says UNHCR continues to carry out voluntary repatriation of refugees to their countries of origin.<\/p>\n

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Emotions run high in Agora Village in Soroti District on Friday afternoon as two wives were reunited with their husband, assumed dead for the past 51 years.Mr Vincent Obodo, the personal overseer of late president Milton Obote\u2019s security and family, went into exile in January 1971 after the late Idi Amin toppled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":10061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,8],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-10062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nJoy as Obote bodyguard returns home after 51 years - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Emotions run high in Agora Village in Soroti District on Friday afternoon as two wives were reunited with their husband, ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/joy-as-obote-bodyguard-returns-home-after-51-years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Joy as Obote bodyguard returns home after 51 years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Emotions run high in Agora Village in Soroti District on Friday afternoon as two wives were reunited with their husband, ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/joy-as-obote-bodyguard-returns-home-after-51-years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-10T18:14:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2021\/05\/img-60994f7fa054f.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/joy-as-obote-bodyguard-returns-home-after-51-years#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/joy-as-obote-bodyguard-returns-home-after-51-years\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Joy as Obote bodyguard returns home after 51 years\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-10T18:14:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/joy-as-obote-bodyguard-returns-home-after-51-years\"},\"wordCount\":795,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/joy-as-obote-bodyguard-returns-home-after-51-years#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2021\/05\/img-60994f7fa054f.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"homepage-english\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/joy-as-obote-bodyguard-returns-home-after-51-years#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/joy-as-obote-bodyguard-returns-home-after-51-years\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/joy-as-obote-bodyguard-returns-home-after-51-years\",\"name\":\"Joy as Obote bodyguard returns home after 51 years - 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