Several members of the public including fellow Members of Parliament have paid tribute to Kalangala Woman MP, Hellen Nakimuli who died on Sunday afternoon.
Nakimuli died after undergoing a surgery at Alexandria Medical Centre along Yusuf Lule Road.
The Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi, said he had spoken to Nakimuli earlier in the day, describing her as being in good spirits.
“This morning at about 9am, I spoke to Hon Hellen Nakimuli regarding a meeting of Opposition MPs that we were planning for tomorrow, which she was coordinating as Shadow Minister for Information. At the time, she was driving herself to hospital for what she described as a minor surgery. Unfortunately, she did not make it out of theatre,” Ssenyonyi said in a statement.
Cartoonist, Jimmy Spire Ssentongo shared a personal encounter that highlighted the late MP’s humility.
“A few days ago, when I attended the Alternative Budget reading function at Parliament, I sat behind, as I often prefer. She came to me, greeted me very respectfully in Luganda on bended knee, and asked to take me to sit in front. I politely chose to stay at the back. A few minutes later, she returned and urged me again, and I reluctantly accepted,” he recounted.
Ssentongo added that he later realised she was the event’s master of ceremonies.
“She returned a third time where I was seated in front and asked me to speak, which I turned down. That was the first time I got to know her, and I was so impressed by her humility—especially when I later learnt that she was an MP,” he said.
He described her death at 40 as deeply saddening, noting that “some things about life we might never understand; we simply carry on as we wait for our own hour.”
Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, expressed sorrow while announcing Nakimuli’s passing, saying the House was struggling to come to terms with the loss.
“Words are insufficient to convey the shock we are experiencing at this moment, and we pray that the Lord Almighty sustains her family, friends, and all of us during this challenging time,” she said.
National Unity Platform president, Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine hailed Nakimuli as a devoted party member, describing her death as “terrible and shocking.”
“Hellen Nakimuli was a devoted leader whose service to her people was marked by courage, humility, and unwavering commitment. Her passing is not only a loss to NUP but to Uganda as a whole,”Kyagulanyi said.
“May God strengthen all of us, and especially those closest to her, as we come to terms with this painful loss,” he said.
The Orthodox Church said in a statement that Nakimuli was the only Orthodox MP in the 12th parliament following her re-election.
