Kampala, Uganda – Dr. Alele William Erasmus, a distinguished Russian-trained medical doctor, has been remembered by many prominent figures in Uganda and the diaspora as a courageous and brilliant scholar. Among those who honored his memory were Minister of Health Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero and Government Chief Whip Denis Hamson Obua.
Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, who is also the serving Lira City Woman MP, acknowledged Dr. Alele’s significant contributions to the health sector from the 1960s until his passing. She described him as a hardworking and dedicated professional. Dr. Aceng highlighted his tireless efforts to improve healthcare in Uganda.
On June 26, 2024, during a service at the Church of Resurrection C.O.U Bugolobi, Denis Hamson Obua appreciated Dr. Alele’s over 30 years of leadership within the National Resistance Movement (NRM). Dr. Alele served as chairman of the elders league for more than 15 years, a party financier, and an advisor to the NRM in the Lango sub-region. Obua expressed the NRM’s gratitude for Dr. Alele’s lifelong dedication, crediting him with significant contributions to the party under President Yoweri Museveni Kaguta’s leadership.
Former Northern Uganda NRM Vice Chairman Hon. Sam Engola praised Dr. Alele for his role in promoting the NRM in the Lango sub-region during difficult times. Engola told mourners that Dr. Alele was instrumental in motivating him to support and popularize the NRM when it was challenging to do so in Lango.
Dr. Alele was the eldest brother of NRM mobilizer and educationist Bonny Okello Alele, currently the Assistant RCC in Lira City. He was also a relative of former Lira District legislator Hon. Joy Ongom. Dr. Alele left behind his widow, Mrs. Margaret Alele, and seven children who hold strategic roles in Uganda and abroad. He will be laid to rest at his ancestral home in Barakalo, where he established a nursing school and a primary school.
Who Was Dr. William Erasmus Alele?
Dr. William Erasmus Alele was born on December 28, 1938, in Akalo (then Apac District) to James Ocen Olwa and Elizabeth Etap. He attended several junior schools in the 1940s, including Alebtong Primary School and Acul Banya Primary School in Aboke. He continued his education in Khartoum, Sudan, at Comboni College, and later in Cairo, Egypt. He then secured a scholarship to study medicine at the Second State Pirogov Medical Institute in Moscow, Russia.
Dr. Alele lived and studied in Moscow for nearly a decade before returning to Uganda in 1969 to complete his postgraduate training at Mulago Hospital. He worked as a medical officer in Jinja and Pallisa hospitals in the early 1970s. During the presidency of Idi Amin Dada, Dr. Alele fled to exile in Nairobi, Kenya, due to threats and upheavals. He returned to Uganda after Amin’s rule ended and maintained a private medical practice in Lira town until he retired.
In 2010, Dr. Alele founded the Doctor Alele Foundation (DAF) School of Nursing and Midwifery. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Colleen Alele; sons Paul, Andrew, Peter, David, and Solomon; daughters Stella and Alice; their spouses; sixteen grandchildren; several brothers and sisters; and an extensive extended family.
