In a statement following the death of former Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, the government declared he died of multi-organ failure.
Following the death of the former Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, the government has revealed he succumbed to multi-organ failure.
Oulanyah died last month in Seattle, United States. While reading a highlight of a post mortem report from the US-based hospital, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng the health minister said he died after some of his organs including the heart, kidney, liver and lungs stopped working.
“The immediate cause of death was multi-organ failure. The heart failed, the lungs failed, the liver failed and the kidney failed,” Dr Aceng disclosed.
“The kidney and heart failed while in Seatle. He also had multiple bacterial infections while still here and viral infections while in Seattle. The treatment for viral infections further suppressed the bone marrow.”
She, however, told Parliament that the whole issue started in 2019 when he (Oulanyah) after a series of medical checkups in Uganda discovered that he had a swelling in the neck.
Aceng revealed that the late also sought medical attention in Germany at that time after which he was told it was cancer that would clear with a long time of medication.
“It was a relatively big swelling and he took it upon himself to seek medical attention in Germany. The swelling was removed, and analysed and he was told it was cancer. He was started on treatment which he finished at the Uganda cancer institute,” Aceng said.
She raised that since then Oulanyah has been visiting a number of other hospitals in a bid to acquire treatment for the same illness but kept on facing challenges more so when the outbreak of the Covid 19 stepped in and the 2021 election campaigns that he didn’t get time to go for treatment abroad.
The health minister, however, noted that during this, time, Oulanyah was being prepared to be flown abroad by getting in touch with hospitals to provide treatment that didn’t require multiple chemotherapies which had already been done on him had suppressed his bone marrow.
Aceng noted that by the time he was flown out of the country, the situation was beyond control.
“This suppressed his bone marrow and his body could not produce white and red blood cells whereas he had also developed multi-drug resistant bacteria which he had acquired due to staying in hospital for too long,” Aceng added.
