The fallen Aggrey Awori had a lot he left on earth, and here is his updated biography, early life, net worth, cause of his death and family, education.
Biography
He was born on 23rd February 1939 in Budimo village, Busia district to Canon Jeremiah
Musungu Awori and Mariamu Odongo Awori a nurse and community teacher as a tenth born
out of seventeen children.
Some of his siblings include the ninth Kenyan vice-president Arthur Moody Awori and Mary
Okelo who was the first woman in East To head a Barclays bank branch as well as the founder
of Kenya’s first women only bank, the Kenya Women Finance Trust.
Education background
Aggrey Owori attended Nabumali High School in Mbale district before he transferred to King’s College
Buddo in Wakiso district where he finished his secondary level examinations from.
After his secondary school, Aggrey was among the selected students to attain elite military
training at Sandhurst Military College in United Kingdom although his father declined it saying
his talented son could not join the army.
Hence in between 1961 and 1965, he studied nuclear physics initially before switching to
Political Economics at Harvard University where he had attained a scholarship to study.
During his Harvard days, Aggrey Awori went down in history as the first person in heptagonal track to
win three events of long jump, high hurdles and 60-yard dash tying the heps record in the
hurdles setting the mark in the dash.
By the time of his graduation, Aggrey held eight records in total which includes three outdoor
school records as well as five indoor records. Although he represented Uganda in the 110
metres hurdles in both the 1960 Summer Olympics and the 1964 Summer Olympics, he did not
win a single medal.
Later on, Aggrey Awori went ahead to attain a Master’s of Arts Degree in Economics from
Syracuse University located in the United States.
Career Path
In 1967, he became the first ever local director of Uganda Television (UTV) a role that landed
him two months in jail after Idi Amin’s 1971 coup since he did not broadcast Amin’s speech yet he laid that Amin was live on air.
After his release, Aggrey Awori fled to neighboring Kenya for exile and during his time there, he taught political journalism at the University of Nairobi until the year of 1976 after which he traveled around different African countries including Tanzania, Liberia and Senegal before returning to Kenya in 1979.
Political journey
After the overthrow of Idi Amin, Awori returned to Uganda where he ran for office in the
National Assembly of Uganda but unfortunately he lost. However, he landed office as the
Ambassador to the United States although he was transferred by Tito Okello in 1985 to be an
ambassador to Belgium a position he held till 1987.
President Museveni had dropped him from the position which sparked Awori’s anger as he
formed a rebel group Force Obote Back Again (FOBA) meant to anger Museveni’s National
Resistance Army government.
In 1992, when the two went into talks in New York, the rebel group was resolved and Awori
was elected to the Constituent Assembly to make the Uganda Constitution that was enacted on
1995 and also a member of Parliament.
Aggrey Awori’s political ambitious drove on as he belonged to the Uganda People’s Congress
through which he represented Samia-Bugwe North, Busia district during the 2001 to 2006 term
in the Ugandan parliament.
Although in 2007, he abandon his initial party the Uganda People's Congress to join leading
party the National Resistance Movement Party under President Museveni.
Aggrey Awori was appointed as Minister for Information and Communications Technology in a
position he held in between 16th February 2009 until 27th May 2011 during a cabinet reshuffle
in which he was replaced by Ruhakana Rugunda.
ALSO, READ
Gen. Katumba Edward Wamala – Biography, Education, Family and Net Worth
Family
Aggrey Awori married Thelma Awori who was the Director for Africa at the United Nations
Development Program and the couple was blessed with six children as well as a number of
grandchildren.
Net worth
Overtime, Aggrey Awori has been able to accumulate a lot of wealth which is currently
estimated to be in between a good $3 million and $ 4 million. By the time of his death, he also
had a resident urban house in Busia district and another home next to Bugiri district.
Cause of death
On Monday 5th March, at a private health facility in Naalya, Kampala, Aggrey Awori breathed
his last after battling illness for close to one month. Basing on the family’s close friend Mr.
Oguttu, the deceased had been battling with pressure alongside many other diseases.
May his soul rest in Peace.
