World War Veteran in 40-year search for pension

Sgt.Okumu Olwenyi, a world war veteran makes ropes to raise income to cater for his grandchildren. Photo by Asuman Musobya 

By Asuman Musobya

Sergeant Okumu Olwenyi was only 20 when he joined the army. Sixteen years of his life were spent in the wilderness wielding the gun to protect lives. However, the war veteran has tried to
get his pension arrears cleared in vain.

Sgt.Okumu has threatened to demonstrate at the Bugiri District RDC’s office so that government can finally pay his gratuity and pension arrears.

The 103-year-old resident of Kyaiku village, Muterere Sub-county in Bugiri District, was born in
Molo village, Molo Sub-county, Tororo District.

A son of Patrice Olwenyi Okiroli and Teresa Nyabonyo, sgt.Okumu migrated from Tororo to Bugiri after retiring from the army.

“I grew up in Molo village and studied from primary one to primary two and later, I was convinced by one of my friends identified as John Majore to join the forces. The recruitment of the Kings African Rifles army were held in Tororo town in 1930.”

he adds: “After the recruitment, we were ordered to board a train that transported us to Kinyanyuki Military Training School for a training and we were under the instructions of our commander, Captain Wilberforce Johnson, and were using Kiswahili during the training because most of us were illiterate.”

After the training, Sgt.Okumu was deployed in Somalia, while others were transferred to Nairobi, Kenya.

It is from here that he went to Cairo, Egypt to serve as a weapons’ store keeper before being transferred to Libya.

“The biggest battle during my life while I was in the forces, was in Libya where I fought German rebels and killed more than 30 by a bomb and this forced my commander to promote me from private to the rank of sergeant,” he narrates.

He adds: “I was among the best Ugandan fighters in Libya and I was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and this encouraged me do a lot of work.”

After fighting the German rebels, Okumu and the rest of the crew were discharged from the army on January 1, 1946.

They moved back from Libya to Sudan by a military bus, and then by passenger boat from Sudan to Uganda, where they disembarked in Gulu District.

“When I returned back from the forces, I found all my relatives, including my wife, all alive and they were very happy to see me back but unfortunately, my wife died after I returned and I’m currently alone at home,” he reminisces.

He says all the regimes that came in after his return from the war, including those of Obote, Amin and the current National Resistance Movement (NRM) promised to pay his pension but nothing has been done about it. Sgt.Okumu now makes ropes out of old clothes to cater for himself and his orphaned grandchildren.

“I’m kindly requesting our beloved ruling National Resistance Movement government to pay my pension arrears so that I can use the funds to cater for my problems,” Sgt. Okumu says.
Sgt.Okumu’s four children died 10 years ago and he only gets help from his grandchildren and neighbours.