In Summary: President Museveni called and spoke to Norah Owori, the widow of the fallen Rotarian Sam Owori. On behalf of Ugandans, he  expresses his condolences to the family on the sudden death of the Rotary icon that was on the verge of assuming the highest office in the organization.

Dallas, Texas—President Yoweri Museveni last Saturday called and spoke to Norah Owori, the widow of the late President elect of Rotary International Samuel Frobisher Owori to offer his condolences, the EADM has learned.  “Yes, President Museveni called and spoke to me on Saturday to express his condolences to my family and I following the unexpected death of my husband,” Norah Owori, widow to the fallen Rotary icon confirmed to the  EADM in an interview in Plano, near Dallas, Texas on Tuesday. “The president conveyed sympathies of all Ugandans to our family especially at such a tragic time when my husband was on the verge of assuming the highest position of Rotary International,” Mrs. Norah Owori told the EADM. She was  speaking at the residence of Deborah Christi, sister to the deceased where some family members had gathered days before the surgery to remove a tumor from Mr. Owori’s left thigh on Tuesday July 11, 2017.

Since the sudden death of Samuel Frobisher Owori  following post-operative complications at the Medical City of Dallas Hospital last Friday July 14, 2014,  some family members, relatives, and friends have kept vigil at his sisters’ home in Plano near Dallas as they await the repatriation of the body to Uganda for burial.  Meanwhile, the EADM also learned that after Sam Owori was nominated Rotary International President last October, President Museveni later invited him to State House Entebbe to congratulate him upon attaining the highest position of Rotary International and making Uganda proud. The late Sam Owori was accompanied by former Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Past Governor of Rotary District 9211 Henry Kyemba and the current Governor Ken Mugisha.

The EADM has learned that during the meeting, President Museveni asked Sam Owori whether he had already been  given a diplomatic passport to which the late Owori answered no. “The president then directed that a diplomatic (red) passport be issued to Sam Owori  immediately and he received it in two days,” a close family source in Kampala told the EADM in a phone interview last week. An apolitical figure, Sam Owori always stayed clear of politics and only pursued his banking profession and Rotary vocation with a passion that won him respect, admiration,  and millions of friends around the world. But the distance he kept away from politics could have also won him some foes and detractors. Perhaps that may explain why he returned from the African Development Bank (EADB) where he had served as the Executive Director and was never considered again for appointment to a public office despite his impeccable banking expertise and experience at the highest level on the continent.

Meanwhile, the Ugandan community in the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) area has organized a viewing schedule and a funeral service to pay their last respects to the Ugandan Rotary icon this Friday July 21, 2017. Currently, the body of the fallen President elect Samuel Owori is lying at Bedford Memorial Funeral Home in Bedford, Texas where  the viewing has been scheduled to take place  this Friday  afternoon on July 21 from 12:00PM to 5:30PM. The Funeral Home is located at 524 Bedford Road,  Bedford, TX 76022.

Later in the evening, viewing and the funeral service will take place at the St. Vincent Cathedral in Bedford . Viewing the body at the  St. Vincent Cathedral is scheduled to start from 6:00PM-7:00PM. The Funeral service, to be led by Rev. John Sebalugga Kalimi,  will start immediately thereafter until 9:00PM. St. Vincent Cathedral is located at 1300 Forest Ridge Dr, Bedford, TX 76022. The family of the late Sam Owori and the funeral organizing committee in DFW area invites all Ugandans, Rotarians, and friends of Ugandans and Rotary to come and pay their last respects and tributes to this fallen gallant son of Uganda, Africa, and an icon of Rotary International who dedicated over half of his lifetime to serving humanity above self.

The remains of Samuel Owori will be repatriated to Uganda  the following day Saturday July 22 and expected to arrive at Entebbe airport on Monday July 24. The late Sam Owori will be accorded a state funeral.  Past District Governor-PDG Stephen Mwanje was appointed by incumbent Governor  of District 9211 Ken Mugisha  to chair the burial committee to send off the fallen Rotary icon. Mwanje is deputized by Rotarian Fred Kamya, the president of Rotary Club of Kampala, the home club of the late Sam Owori. The family of the late Sam Owori appointed Prof Charles Olweny of Martyrs University Nkozi as their spokesperson. The EADM has learned that on Tuesday July 25, a Rotary day has been organized  by the Rotary fraternity in Uganda at Lugogo Indoor Stadium to honor the fallen humanitarian, according to a provisional burial program released by the funeral committee. The Rotary fellowship  was arranged so that Rotarians, Rotaracters, and Interactors pay their last respects to their fellow Rotarian, friend, leader, and mentor.

According to the tentative program, on July 26, the remains of  the late Sam Owori will lie in state at the parliamentary building for public viewing before a Resolution of Parliament is presented to the House by the leader of government business honoring the deceased. The legislators will then eulogize the deceased. Thereafter, the body will be taken to the family residence in Munyonyo, Kampala for an overnight vigil. The following day, there will be a funeral service at Namirembe Cathedral for the deceased, the provisional program shows. The body will then embark on its final leg to Kidera, Tororo district, the ancestral home of the late Samuel Frobisher Owori on July 28 and burial is expected to take place on July 29.