The Late Dr. William Obote: The Dedicated Servant

By Benson Obua-Ogwal, MP/ Secretary Lango Parliamentary Group (LPG)

It is a year since the Late Dr. William Obote went to be with the Lord. He was a very dedicated, humble and hard-working physician who by the time of his passing had earned a place in the medical fraternity as one of the best Surgeons in this country, his youthful age notwithstanding.

The late Dr. Obote is remembered variously by various people. To those whom he treated or operated on, Dr. Obote was this special doctor who puts one at ease on the operating theater bed, even if things were visibly not so good. He had this miracle touch that almost always saw his patients coming out of very complicated situations. Our people had developed so much confidence in Dr. Obote to the extent of believing that if he performed an operation on you, your medical problem was as good as solved. This kind of confidence and belief alone was good for patients and I am sure many of his patients got their healing that way.

Dr. Obote tempered everything he did, including his medical practice, with his faith in Jesus Christ. As a practicing born-again Christian belonging to many Christian and non-Christian organizations, Dr. Obote touched many lives in many ways. One wonders how he found time for everything of import and still be as effective and efficient as he was in all of them! He was always available to friends in times of need and in times of rejoicing. He was as active in wedding arrangements of his friends as he was in their times of bereavement.

In case of the death of any of his patients, Dr. Obote would take time to attend the funeral service and give the medical history so clearly that all mourners would be clear in their minds that everything that was humanly possible was done to save their loved one.

Besides his time-consuming medical practice, Dr. Obote still found time to reach out to our population in Lango through whatever means, including the radio to preach the gospel, teach our people the most basic health issues as plainly as he can, and to organize medical teams from abroad to perform specialized operations free of charge. It gratifying to learn that his medical friends at home and abroad with whom he worked have resolved to continue with the this initiative annually in memory of William.

Dr. Obote was brilliant yet very humble. Besides, he was never selfish with his knowledge, something not very common in Africa. Often times, whenever my friends and I had a meeting with him, he would receive phone calls asking him to give advice on an on-going surgical operation or a treatment, and he would it right there on phone. If he felt the situation warranted his physical presence, he would excuse himself to dash to the theatre to save a complicated situation and rejoin the meeting.

Dr. Obote was extremely honest in all his dealings. Since his passing, I believe no one has showed up to claim that Dr. Obote defrauded him or her in anyway. He led a clean life, with clean hands and heart. Above all he had a passion for Christ which compelled him to attend to other people’s problems anytime, anywhere. His kindness, love and generosity knew no tribe, race, creed, etc. He lived the Hippocratic Oath that he took to the letter. This is the kind of life that Jesus Christ must be proud of, and I strongly believe that Christ has received him into eternal bliss.

It remains for us to emulate this great Ugandan who unfortunately passed away in the prime of his life. We have to ensure that his legacy does not disappear.

May the memories of the late Dr. William Obote and his impacting good deeds live for ever and ever.

Benson Obua-Ogwal, MP
MP Moroto County, Lira District & Secretary Lango Parliamentary Group
15th Feb. 2008