OMORO
Mzee Nathan Okori Adiyo, the father of former Speaker of Parliament Rt Hon. Jacob Oulanyah, has died at the age of 97.
Okori passed away on Friday at St Mary’s Hospital, Lacor, where he had been hospitalised, family members confirmed.
Announcing the death, Omoro County MP Andrew Oulanyah said the family had lost its patriarch on a date that bears deep significance.
“Our patriarch, Mzee Nathan Okori Adiyo, has rested on the same day that his son rested,” he said in a brief statement on Friday evening. “May his soul rest in peace.”
Okori’s death comes exactly three years after the passing of his son, Jacob Oulanyah, who died on March 20, 2022, in Seattle, United States, where he had been receiving specialised treatment.
Oulanyah, who served as Speaker of Parliament, had been referred abroad in February 2022 following a prolonged illness. He died at the age of 56.
Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among mourned Okori, describing his death as a loss to both the family and the parliamentary fraternity.
“It is with a heavy heart that I inform our esteemed colleagues, the Parliament fraternity, and all who loved our brother, the late Rt Hon Jacob Oulanyah, that his father, Mzee Nathan Okori Adiyo, has passed away at the age of 97 at St Mary’s Hospital, Lacor,” Among said.
She added that funeral arrangements would be communicated in due course after consultations with the family.
“Our deepest condolences go out to his family and all his loved ones. We will share the funeral arrangements after consulting with the family,” she said.
Following the death of his son in 2022, Okori publicly questioned the circumstances surrounding Oulanyah’s demise, alleging that he had been poisoned. He made the claims during burial ceremonies but did not provide evidence or name any suspects.
Government officials, however, dismissed the allegations, maintaining that Oulanyah succumbed to cancer after a prolonged illness. Health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng said at the time that sufficient medical reports had been provided to both the public and the family regarding the cause of death.
Okori remained a respected elder in Omoro and is remembered as the patriarch of the Oulanyah family.
Funeral arrangements are yet to be announced.
