Ugly scenes rocked the funeral of former FDC Party Senior Mobilizer Sarah Eperu.
Eperu was laid to rest in her home in Ngora District amidst a funeral marked by the deep crisis within the party.
Eperu, who dedicated her life to the FDC, was honored in her ancestral home in Koloin village, Kapir sub-county, Ngora district.
The ceremony was attended by several senior FDC officials from both factions, namely the FDC Najjanankumbi faction led by Party President Patrick Oboi Amuriat and the FDC Katonga group led by former Party President Dr. Kizza Besigye.
The event, however, was not without tension. Trouble began early as the FDC Katonga faction deployed a security team, Team Katonga Mamba group, to conduct physical checks on all mourners.
Despite initial apprehension, attendees from both factions and other mourners agreed to the checks before the proceedings commenced.
During the Mass, a disagreement arose over the order of speakers. The area parish priest Fr. John Eriau called for only two speeches after the Mass, but due to the disagreement over who should speak first, both FDC President Amuriat and Dr. Besigye, the chief mourner, declined to speak.
Consequently, the burial proceedings continued without the customary laying of wreaths, and Eperu was laid to rest in her grave. FDC President Amuriat later commented on the situation, expressing regret over the disruptions during the funeral.
Dr. Besigye, leader of the FDC Katonga faction to which Eperu was affiliated, also shared his thoughts on the events that transpired.
According to Ronald Muhinda, an aid to Dr. Kiiza Besigye said
Sara Eperu was humiliated by Najjanankumbi in life, she has been humiliated in Death as detailed in a statement below.
_At her burial in Koloin, Ngora district, Amuriat Oboi fetched goons from Kampala who disrupted the funeral mass and antagonized speeches.
Sara Eperu’s family were eulogizing their mother and sister, and then, Amuriat’s goons stormed the stage to grab microphones.
The Presiding Priest unsuccessfully tried to intervene calling for calm. His pleas that the church was still in charge were defied and when he called Amuriat three times to call his gang to order, Amuriat refused to heed the calls.
Amuriat is a catholic and wears a rosary but has neither respect for Priests nor understanding of the importance of prayer for soul of a departed person.
The Priest, angry at the ugly scenes, he ordered that Sara Eperu be buried without final salute she so deserved.
Today, I have come to understand why Sara Eperu and entire Teso leadership were so fiercely opposed to Amuriat._
