President Yoweri Museveni has said that cultural leaders in Uganda

The burial was widely attended by a diverse number of dignitaries namely the Vice President, Jesca Alupo, Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny Dollo and several cabinet ministers as the mass was presided over by Msgr. Gerard Kalumba of Christ the King Church, Kampala.

Addressing the assembled mourners, Museveni saluted the role of Teso Cultural Institution and other cultural institutions in Uganda for being vessels through which unity and culture may be promoted in the direction of the growth and development of Uganda.

“I am here to say goodbye to Mzee Osuban, but most importantly, to bear testimony to his contribution, which others can emulate. Do not form an alternative government; your role is to add value to Uganda, which is coming up,” Museveni said.

Expanding on the issue of authority, the president said Africa’s problems spring from poor governance and as long as such governance remains a fixture of African politics the continent will continue to spiral into multidimensional problems.

He added that Uganda is on the long and arduous journey towards development and whatever the government does is premediated, patriotic and purposeful.

“If you are going to help us in the three areas, we are going to work with you. When we restored the cultural institutions, our analysis was, if they are used properly, they can play a contributory role,” he said.

On the subject of culture and the role it plays in social cohesion, the President saluted the cultural institutions for promoting culture and language as well as a distinctive Ugandan personality which may serve as a connecting thread to stylised living of other countries.

“These cultural institutions can help us connect with our other people in different countries. This is why we restored these cultural institutions,” he said.

The President commended the late Emorimor Osuban for uniting the people of Teso in Uganda and others living in countries like Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

“He played his roles very well. He united his people the Iteso, not only the Iteso of Uganda but also the ones in Pallisa, Bukedi, Tororo, and even in Kenya, Ethiopia, etc,” he said.

Museveni also saluted the late Emorimor for working towards the development of not only Teso but also Uganda as a whole by adding material value to Uganda’s story of self-discovery.

“I have never heard that Mzee Osuban was meddling in these issues of politics, legislation, etc. I express my condolence to the family, the Iteso community and all Ugandans and wish him eternal rest in the afterlife,” the president noted.

The vice president commended the president for restoring cultural institutions which she said have played a primordial role in the development of the country.

She appealed to cultural leaders to further expand on that role by promoting the government’s programmes geared towards the socio-economic transformation of Uganda.

Betty Amongi, the minister of gender, labour and social development, said Osuban worked closely with her ministry on ending child marriages, child pregnancies, gender-based violence as well as female genital mutilation.

Emorimor, 88, was installed as the Cultural Head in April, 2000.

On behalf of his siblings, Francis Osuban thanked the president for according their father a state burial.

“Daddy was the humblest and intelligent down to earth father. The home was open to anyone and everyone. He was a good listener who accorded everyone a listening ear. He had a great sense of humour that relaxed everyone, and he always emphasized the importance of family and its structures as fundamental units for growth,” he said.