Nathan L’Okori Adiyo is dead. He was 97.
The elder, widely known in northern Uganda as the father of Jacob Oulanyah, died Friday at St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Gulu City. Family members said he had been admitted two days earlier with respiratory complications.
His death falls on a familiar date. It comes exactly four years after his son died on March 20, 2022, in the United States, an event that drew national mourning and reshaped parliamentary leadership at the time.
Nathan L’Okori Adiyo lived largely out of the public eye in recent years, residing at his late son’s home in Ayom Lony village, Lalogi sub-county, Omoro district. His name, however, remained closely tied to the political legacy of his son, who rose from deputy speaker to become Uganda’s 11th Speaker of Parliament.
Then came the official response.
Anita Annet Among confirmed the death in a condolence message posted on X, addressing what she called “our esteemed colleagues” and the wider “parliamentary fraternity.” She wrote that it was with a “heavy heart” that she informed those who “loved our brother” that “his father… has passed away.”
She signaled that details would follow. Funeral arrangements, she said, would be communicated after consultations with the family.
The loss reconnects two moments. One marks the passing of a national figure in 2022. The other closes a chapter for the family four years later, on the same date, under quieter circumstances in Gulu.
