Remembering Hon. Onapito Francis Ekomoloit: A Legacy of Journalism, Leadership, and Service
On September 27, 2024, Uganda lost one of its most versatile sons, Hon. Onapito Francis Ekomoloit, a journalist extraordinaire who embodied the values of dexterous journalism: curiosity, courage, adaptability, and service. As CMIS Africa marks the first anniversary of his passing, we pause to celebrate a life that reminds us of what good journalism and the men and women who practice it can truly become.
As You Like It is one of William Shakespeare’s most quoted speeches that features the Seven Ages of Man in Act II, Scene VII, which opens with these famous lines,
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
Every entrance is followed by an exit, only that we are never used to exits. They are a faraway concept that we prefer never to think of. In most cases, departures are painful. Every man has his entrances and exits. Onapito Ekomoloit made many entrances and exits in his life. His entrance into the lives of those he crisscrossed will live on to be remembered for a lifetime. To many, he was Ona, simply that. He was a man who distanced himself from titles, yet he had many of those.
When the news broke of his passing on that September morning, many people were caught off guard, as few knew he was unwell. The announcement that he had stage four cancer of the lungs was the last piece of news anyone expected, I guess, himself included. He had recently retired to devote himself to promoting health and education in his home area of Teso, a dream cut short.
The Making of a Media Guru
In his tribute to his lifetime friend, Dismas Nkunda, who had an opportunity to be a housemate, classmate, and workmate to Ona, in a memoriam published in the Makerere University Endowment Fund magazine, said, “Ona was a calm person, almost to a fault except when you ventured into challenging his academic standing and beliefs.”
The two met in 1989 as part of the second cohort of the Mass Communication class of Makerere University. The same class had media luminaries like Adonia Ayebare, Uganda’s permanent Representative to the United Nations, and Susan Nsibirwa, the Managing Director of Nation Media Group in Uganda. A lovely class taught by Charles Onyango Obbo and David Ouma Balikowa, who later became some of the founders of The Monitor, a newspaper that employed Ona and Dismas. Tabu Butagira, in his eulogy, noted, “Ona…eclipsed his cohort at Makerere University and, in 1991, won the coveted Best Journalism Student award then sponsored by Spear Motors Ltd.”
At the birth of The Monitor newspaper in 1992, the two lecturers reached out to Ona, Susan Nsibirwa, Martin Mpungu and Dismas Nkunda and hired them. That is how they all entered the newsroom for the first time, a place that remained home to all of them, including Ona, till his last breath.
Ona had served as the Guild minister of information, representing Nkrumah Hall. He was known to keep to himself, reading so many books. Another of his lecturers, Mary Karooro Okurut, now also deceased, singled him out as “a sober, balanced and fine gentleman with a versatile brain that could engage and speak to many fields of life. He’d no attitude, no superiority complex.”
Mr Ekomoloit would later return to Makerere University as an assistant lecturer for a short time. In his eulogy, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Vice Chancellor of Makerere University, noted, “In 1994, through our Staff Development Programme, we awarded him a [Fulbright] scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree in the United States of America.”
However, upon his return, Ona preferred to be more in the newsroom than in the classroom, dedicating a lot of his efforts to The Monitor.
Dismas notes that in 1995, due to differences known between the leadership of The Monitor and staff, “Ona led an exodus of about 10 journalists from The Monitor and founded The Crusader newspaper.”
He poured his all into The Crusader, where he served as Editor-in-Chief, which quickly became the home of young, vibrant, and ambitious journalists. Another exit soon quickly called. In 1998, the president appointed Jeje Odongo the army commander, prompting him to resign his parliamentary seat.
The Politician
Writing in the Daily Monitor, Isaac Mufumba, in his article Ona’s pen runs out of ink, his legend lives on, says, “The opportunity came in 1998 when Gen Jeje Odongo resigned his parliamentary seat and position in the cabinet and was named Army Commander, taking on from Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu.” Ona was approached by several people from his land asking him to run for the office. Something he did, an election he won.
Ona was a man who gave his all to whatever he did. When he joined politics as a lawmaker, he gave it his all. The parliament became his second home, stealing away his attention from The Crusader. With his pronounced absence and the closure of their financial Greenland Bank, the newspaper struggled and finally folded.
While in parliament, he presented a private member’s bill in February 2000 seeking to bar ministers from being legislators. This bill was not well received, as 97 members voted against it while 72 members were in favour.
The following year, in the 2001 general elections, Ona did not make it back to parliament. He lost the election. In an article titled Take a bow to some of the greatest names in Uganda’s journalism, seasoned journalist and lawyer Gawaya Tegulle highlights Onapito as one of the greatest names, arguing, “That voters in Amuria refused to return Ona to parliament two decades ago is evidence that maybe not every adult in Uganda should be allowed to vote.”
The President’s Pressman
It was after this experience that Ona was named the deputy president’s press secretary at a time when the president needed media presence. As he was known to be, he did not disappoint. Butagira recalls, “[Ona] later became her [Karooro] understudy as deputy presidential press secretary before succeeding her.”
“That was the time when Mr Museveni seemed to be consumed with using the electronic media to maintain a good public image,” says Isaac Mufumba. It was his idea that the president’s press team, then known as the Presidential Press Unit (PPU), follow him around on his campaigns, which were brewing up in 2006. He would later become a panellist on several radio talk shows, a role he maintained until his last days. He was a regular panellist on KFM and the Forth Estate show on NTV before it closed.
Redefining Corporate Leadership
He resigned from his tour of duty at the state house to join the corporate space at Nile Breweries, a place that he would call home for 17 years, only to transition to become the chairman of the board.
While at Nile Breweries, he mentored many young professionals who got an opportunity to work under him. One of them is Sumin Namaganda, who currently works as the senior manager of corporate affairs at the Uganda Development Bank. Sumin, in a eulogy she published on her LinkedIn profile, recounted, “He instilled in me the values of respect, integrity, resilience, and hard work. He understood the word ‘ubuntu’. If anybody in the brewing industry excelled in deal-making, it was him. He negotiated anything: tax regimes, farm gate prices, etc. Majorly, Ona championed many corporate social investments that have created the desired impact in communities.”
Moving On
When he was retiring from his role as the Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs, Mr Ekomoloit interviewed the potential candidates who would replace him. Among them was Emmanuel Njuki, who later emerged as the successful candidate.
“I met Ona for the first time in 2023 when he interviewed me for his former role at Nile Breweries, my current one, as he prepared to retire. We would then work together for about a year as he served as board chairman until his death. He was a measured man who chose his words and arguments carefully.” Emmanuel reminisces.
Whereas he has since departed from this life, like the celebrated poet Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you did for them, but they will always remember how you made them feel.” Onapito’s presence in the lives of those he touched remains as fresh today as it was when they each first met. He made them feel he was only present to them alone. He immersed his whole presence in the moment. A feeling many will live with for a lifetime. Flora Aduk worked under Onapito in his department, one dominated by ladies. She holds, “He knew how to draw in people … he was that manager whom you never wanted to disappoint by falling short on your work.”
Speaking about his generosity, Jimmy Odoki Acellam, a fellow panellist on KFM Hotseat, said, “He was generous to a fault and supported many students in need to access good education through the Equality Scholarship under Nile Breweries. He initiated the scholarship because he understood the challenges of many students and the value of education as a game-changer.
At the time of his retirement, Ona wanted to spend more time working with the people of Teso to promote health and education.
Background
Mr Ekomoloit was born on April 26, 1966, to John and Faith Nora Onapito John in Asalatap, Wera, Amuria District, Eastern Uganda.
He went to Angole Wera Primary School and later attended St. Edward’s Secondary School, Bukuumi, Gulu Secondary School, and St. Peter’s College, Tororo.
He held a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from Makerere University and a Master of Arts in Communication, Journalism, and Public Affairs from American University, Washington, D.C.
The Memory Lives On
As one of his close friends, Hon Elly Karuhanga said, “Onapito was a man whose spirit touched people across Uganda through his work in journalism, politics, corporate leadership, and most significantly, through his love for community.”
To Njuki, Ona will always be that teacher who was always “…deliberate in speech and action,” one who taught him, “… that sometimes the best form of communication is silence.”
As Onapito exited the world stage for the last time, in the condolence words of Hon Karuhanga, “Ona was generous in life and even in his death, he gave us his book, Tears & Triumph, his parting gift to us.”
Hon. Onapito Francis Ekomoloit passed away on September 27, 2024. He was married to Catherine for 20 years and together they had three children, Ivan, Imalaika and Epogare.
Why CMIS Africa Remembers Him
Onapito’s life was a masterclass in the dexterity of journalism. He demonstrated that a journalist is not confined to the newsroom, but can evolve into a legislator, a spokesperson, a corporate leader, and a cultural icon without ever losing the integrity and curiosity that define the craft.
For CMIS Africa, which stands for innovation, sustainability, and independence in media, his story is a reminder that good journalism is nation-building. It prepares leaders, shapes governance, inspires enterprise, and creates lasting impact.
