NGORA, Uganda — Nearly 40 years after Capt. Meshy Aburek Douglas Ongodia was killed, his family is still fighting to preserve the legacy of a man they say helped mobilise support for the National Resistance Army (NRA) in Teso. The former soldier’s once-thriving farm in Ngora now stands in ruins, while his relatives say their efforts to secure lasting recognition, restore the property and resolve outstanding survivor-benefit concerns remain unfinished.
The contrast is stark: a man remembered by former associates as an early organiser of the NRA in Teso, a trained soldier and a commercial farmer whose enterprise employed local people, yet whose family says it is still struggling to protect what he left behind.
At the farm, many buildings have lost their roofs, the paddocks have deteriorated and a fish pond has filled with sand. The family says livestock and other property were looted after Ongodia’s death in January 1986, contributing to the collapse of an enterprise that once supported workers and dependants.
For Okalebo Joseph, the decline is personal. He remembers Ongodia as the man who paid his school fees and supported him. When he heard of the captain’s death, Joseph says he walked from Soroti to Ngora to mourn him.
Now, as Uganda marks 64 years of independence, the family is calling for the property to be secured and restored, a monument to be erected in Ongodia’s honour, and clarity on pension, gratuity and survivor-benefit concerns it says have remained unresolved for decades.
Their appeal goes beyond compensation. Family members and former associates want Ongodia’s place in the country’s history documented and recognised, arguing that his contribution to the NRA mobilisation in Teso—and the suffering experienced by some of those who joined it—should not be forgotten.
A soldier trained at Sandhurst
Ongodia was born in 1940 in Koosim Village, Atoot Sub-county, in present-day Ngora District, according to his family.
The family says he joined the Uganda Army in 1962 and was among the early Ugandan officers trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom.
His military career unfolded during a period of considerable political instability. One documented episode in his history is the East African Court of Appeal case Ongodia and Erima v Uganda, associated with the political and military crisis of 1966.
The case records Ongodia’s involvement in proceedings connected to the confrontation at Mbuya Army Headquarters and a proposed roadblock intended to intercept then-Prime Minister Milton Obote.
His family says he was subsequently arrested over alleged coup plotting and detained at Luzira Upper Prison until 1970.
The family also says he later worked in the East African Community’s Department of Finance and Administration, giving 1967 as the year he joined. His military service, detention and subsequent employment form part of a longer history that the family wants preserved.
Ongodia’s history therefore reaches beyond his later association with the NRA. It includes the political upheavals that shaped Uganda’s military establishment and the careers of officers who served during the early years after independence.
For his family, that history is an important part of the case for recognising his contribution to the country.
From soldier to politician and commercial farmer
Ongodia also pursued political and business interests.
His family says he contested for Parliament in Kumi District in the 1980 general elections on the Democratic Party ticket. He later became known in his home area as a commercial farmer, with a dairy operation that former associates remember as one of the notable agricultural enterprises in Teso.
Okalebo Joseph estimates that the farm kept about 100 dairy cattle, produced nearly 20 cans of milk and employed approximately 50 workers. These are Joseph’s recollections of the enterprise at its height.
The farm also had poultry, pigs and exotic goats, alongside fenced paddocks and other facilities.
Francis Okim, who also remembers the enterprise, summarises its importance to the surrounding community.
“He had set up a farm here which employed the locals,” Okim said.
For Joseph, the farm’s significance was personal as well as economic. He says Ongodia paid his school fees and supported him, assistance that left a lasting impression.
Joseph’s decision to walk from Soroti to Ngora after hearing of Ongodia’s death illustrates the depth of that attachment. His account offers a human dimension to the history of a man often remembered primarily through military and political events.
The farm’s present condition makes those memories especially poignant. Buildings once associated with a productive agricultural enterprise now stand damaged and exposed to the elements.
For the family and former workers, restoring the property would mean more than repairing buildings. It would help preserve a part of Ongodia’s legacy rooted in employment, agriculture and community support.
Organising support for the NRA in Teso
Ongodia’s family and former associates say he played a leading role in mobilising support for the NRA in Teso in 1985, when Uganda was entering another period of military and political upheaval.
The NRA, led by Yoweri Museveni, captured Kampala on January 26, 1986, after the government of President Tito Okello Lutwa had taken power following the July 1985 coup that overthrew Milton Obote.
The claim that Ongodia was the first person to bring the NRA to Teso comes from his family and former associates. Their accounts describe a local mobilisation network that brought together young recruits and men with previous military experience.
Okurut John Michael, a former soldier who identifies himself as secretary-general and administrator of Ongodia’s mobilisation group, provides an account from inside that network.
He recalls recruits coming from areas including Mukura, Kobwin and Ngora. The group included young men as well as former soldiers who had served during Idi Amin’s government.
John Michael estimates that about 250 people were recruited through the network. He remembers Ongodia as the group’s leader and Pascali Ekellot as his deputy.
According to John Michael, meetings took place at Ongodia’s farm in Koile Village. The farm therefore served not only as an agricultural enterprise but also, in his account, as a gathering point for people involved in the mobilisation.
John Michael recalls that the recruits planned to travel by train from Kumi towards Buwenge, but the plan was interrupted before they could complete the journey.
Some members of the group were arrested and taken to Mbale, where detainees were held at Maluku Prison. John Michael says he escaped and sought refuge in Agu Swamp.
He also recalls efforts by Ongodia to help secure the release of people who had been detained. His account presents the captain as someone who remained involved with the group even after some of its members had been arrested.
The number of recruits remains part of the witnesses’ recollections. While John Michael puts the figure at about 250, Ongodia’s family separately refers to approximately 300 people connected to the mobilisation who were captured or detained.
The two figures reflect different accounts of the scale of the mobilisation and arrests.
Okurut Silvester remembers the detainees
Okurut Silvester, an NRM cadre, offers another perspective, focusing on the experiences of recruits caught up in the crackdown.
Silvester recalls joining the group in October 1985, when he was about 22 years old. He says recruitment activities took place at Ongodia’s home and that recruits were intercepted near Kumi Railway Station before being taken to Mbale.
He remembers detention conditions as harsh and says recruits experienced beatings and degrading treatment.
Silvester also recalls a fellow recruit, Eliliam, who he says died while the group was caught up in the detention crisis.
His testimony brings attention to the people who participated in the mobilisation but whose experiences may not feature prominently in accounts of the NRA’s rise to power.
Silvester says efforts were made to secure the release of detainees through discussions involving political figures, including Museveni and representatives of the Tito Okello government. He recalls that 137 detainees were eventually released.
The figure of 137 refers to the people Silvester says were released, not the total number of recruits mobilised by Ongodia.
His recollections also include allegations of torture and other abuses against detainees. His account adds to the testimony of former associates who say the mobilisation came at a considerable personal cost.
Together, the accounts of John Michael and Silvester describe both the organisation of the mobilisation and the consequences for people who joined it. One recalls the recruitment network and its leadership; the other remembers the arrests, detention and suffering experienced by recruits.
Their testimonies add to the appeal by Ongodia’s family and associates for the history of the mobilisation to be documented and recognised.
His final days and the circumstances of his death
Ongodia’s family says his life ended violently on January 27, 1986, one day after the NRA captured Kampala.
According to the family’s account, soldiers associated with the outgoing military authorities took him from his residence in Soroti and killed him in Mbale.
Okalebo Joseph has described an alleged killing in which Ongodia was tied to a military vehicle and dragged along a tarmac road. Other accounts from the family and former associates allege that he was tortured and that detainees faced threats of being buried in a mass grave.
The family says Ongodia’s body was taken to the Mbale Military Police area and buried near Mbale Mosque. Family accounts identify Imam Abous Shafe as the imam involved in the burial and describe the Muslim community’s involvement in the arrangements.
The family has also described the subsequent recovery of his remains and their reburial in Ngora on August 1, 1986.
His death was followed, the family says, by the looting of livestock and other property at the farm. The enterprise that had employed local people and supported Ongodia’s family gradually declined.
The loss marked both a personal tragedy and the beginning of a prolonged struggle over the future of his property and the preservation of his history.
A medal, but a family still waiting
Ongodia’s family says he received the Luweero Triangle Medal in 2015 and that President Museveni later recognised him as a hero.
The family also recalls government visits and the collection of information about Ongodia during the 2009 presidential campaign, after Museveni reportedly asked about him. Those visits raised hopes that the family’s concerns would be addressed.
According to the family, Ongodia had four wives, two of whom are now deceased, and 12 children. The family also identifies five other dependants.
Family members say they petitioned the government over pension, gratuity and survivor benefits. They maintain that a presidential directive was issued to address the matter, but say the benefits they believe are due have not been received.
For the family, the issue remains unresolved. They want an explanation of what support, if any, is payable to the surviving dependants and what steps can be taken to protect the property.
The medal and reported recognition have not, in the family’s view, resolved its practical concerns about the farm, the children and the outstanding benefits.
The family left behind
Otim Francis Ajore, a member of the family, says the former farm should be restored, the property secured and a monument erected in Ongodia’s honour.
Aisu Ivan Allan, Ongodia’s son, says the family continues to face difficulties and wants the farm revived, improvements made to the property and support extended to the children.
The family says some assistance was provided over the years, including renovation work on the house and scholarship offers for some of the children. However, some were already too old to benefit from the education support.
The family’s concerns also include a legal matter that appeared on the Soroti High Court cause list in 2022. The entry reportedly involved an administration case naming Ongodia Mersy Abukek Douglas and Kedi Ronald.
The case is part of the wider history surrounding the administration of Ongodia’s affairs. The family wants the property protected against further deterioration and hopes that restoring the farm could help preserve its history for younger generations.
For the family, the problem is not simply that the farm has deteriorated. It is that the property, the history associated with it and the welfare of the surviving dependants remain unresolved decades after Ongodia’s death.
From a thriving farm to roofless buildings
During a visit to the former farm in Ngora, the physical evidence of its decline was visible in deteriorating buildings, missing roofs, neglected paddocks and a fish pond filled with sand.
The site is a striking contrast to the farm described by Joseph and Okim. Their memories are of an enterprise that kept livestock, produced milk and provided employment.
The family says looting after Ongodia’s death contributed to the decline. It wants the land and remaining structures secured before further deterioration erases more of the farm’s history.
Restoration would require more than public recognition. It would involve assessing the condition of the buildings, protecting the property and determining whether any part of the former agricultural operation could be revived.
For former associates, preserving the site would also help retain a physical link to the people and events associated with the mobilisation in Teso.
Did Uganda forget an early NRA organiser in Teso?
The question of Ongodia’s legacy extends beyond the family’s immediate concerns.
John Michael and Silvester believe his contribution and the experiences of the recruits deserve greater recognition. The family wants a monument and has called for a public institution, such as a school or hospital, to be named in his honour.
Such recognition, they argue, would help preserve the history of the mobilisation and acknowledge the people who took part in it.
The testimonies gathered for this story provide several strands of that history. Joseph remembers the school fees and support that shaped his life. Okim remembers the farm’s employment opportunities. John Michael describes the mobilisation network and its leadership, while Silvester recalls the arrests, detention and suffering experienced by recruits.
Ongodia’s family adds another dimension through its account of his military training, political career, death and the challenges facing his dependants.
Together, the accounts describe a man whose life crossed several important periods in Uganda’s history: the early years of the national army, the political crisis of 1966, the 1980 elections and the NRA’s advance to power in 1986.
For the family and former associates, preserving that history is part of the recognition they seek.
Forty years later
As Uganda reflects on 64 years of independence, the condition of Ongodia’s former farm and the family’s continuing appeal raise questions about how the country preserves the stories of people who contributed to its political history.
For Joseph, remembering Ongodia means remembering the man who paid his school fees and whose death prompted him to walk from Soroti to Ngora to mourn.
For former associates, it means documenting a mobilisation they say helped bring the NRA into Teso and acknowledging the people who were detained or suffered during that period.
For the family, it means ensuring that the captain’s life is not reduced to the circumstances of his death or the ruins of the farm he left behind.
At the former farm, the roofless buildings remain a reminder of what has been lost. The family wants the property secured and restored where possible, the question of survivor benefits addressed and Ongodia’s role in Uganda’s history more widely recognised.
Nearly four decades after his death, the family is still waiting for those requests to be addressed.
Its appeal is not only for a monument or the restoration of an old farm. It is for the preservation of a life story that the family and former associates believe deserves a lasting place in Uganda’s national memory.
