President Yoweri Museveni will tomorrow join Members of Parliament for a special sitting to honour the late Gen. (Rtd) Moses Ali, as Uganda prepares to give the veteran statesman his final send-off. The special parliamentary sitting will bring together MPs and national leaders to pay tribute to a man whose political journey stretched for more […]
President Yoweri Museveni will tomorrow join Members of Parliament for a special sitting to honour the late Gen. (Rtd) Moses Ali, as Uganda prepares to give the veteran statesman his final send-off.
The special parliamentary sitting will bring together MPs and national leaders to pay tribute to a man whose political journey stretched for more than five decades.
Government Chief Whip Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng announced that President Museveni would attend the sitting on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at 9:00am.
She called on legislators to report early to complete security checks before the President’s arrival.
“Members are requested to come early by 8:00am and conclude security checks on time,” Dr. Aceng said.
After Parliament pays tribute to Gen. Ali, his body will be flown to Adjumani District, where family, friends and residents will receive him before his burial on Wednesday at his ancestral home.
Gen. Ali died on Saturday at Nakasero Hospital, closing the chapter on one of Uganda’s most remarkable political careers.
The former First Deputy Prime Minister served the country as a soldier, Cabinet minister, Member of Parliament and senior government leader, earning recognition as one of the longest-serving figures in Uganda’s political history.
Few Ugandan leaders have lived a life as dramatic or served as long as Gen. Moses Ali.
By the time he died on July 18, 2026, aged 87, the veteran politician had worn almost every hat imaginable: soldier, Cabinet minister, rebel commander, peace negotiator, Member of Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister, lawyer and farmer.
Born in Adjumani in 1939, Moses Ali first rose to prominence as a military officer before becoming one of Idi Amin’s senior ministers in the 1970s. After Amin’s government collapsed, West Nile descended into turmoil, and Ali became leader of the Uganda National Rescue Front (UNRF), a rebel movement formed by many former soldiers from the region.
The rebellion eventually gave way to peace, and in one of Uganda’s most remarkable political comebacks, Ali reconciled with President Yoweri Museveni’s government after 1986 and joined the very administration he would help serve for the next four decades.
His journey was not always smooth. In 1990, he was arrested on security-related charges and spent more than two years in prison before being acquitted. Instead of disappearing from public life, he returned stronger, gradually reclaiming his place at the centre of government.
Over the years, he became one of President Museveni’s most trusted lieutenants, serving in several powerful ministries before rising to First Deputy Prime Minister and later Second Deputy Prime Minister. Few politicians remained in Cabinet as long as Moses Ali.
Even after leaving Cabinet in May 2026, ending more than half a century of government service, he continued representing the people of Adjumani West in Parliament until his death.
Away from politics, Ali was admired for promoting commercial farming in West Nile. President Museveni frequently pointed to him as proof that modern agriculture could transform livelihoods and create wealth.
Perhaps one of the most inspiring chapters of his life came in old age. While many of his peers were retiring, Moses Ali returned to university, earned a law degree and qualified as a lawyer, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Friends say he often joked that he wanted to “die a lawyer,” a dream he realised before his passing.
To supporters, he was a loyal patriot, a bridge between West Nile and the central government, and a respected Muslim elder. To historians, he was one of the few Ugandan leaders whose career stretched from the Amin era through the Obote years and into the Museveni administration, making him one of the country’s longest-serving public figures.
His death closed a remarkable chapter in Uganda’s political history one defined by conflict, reconciliation, resilience and more than 50 years of public service.
The rare tribute was revealed on Sunday by Third Deputy Prime Minister Rukia Nakadama during funeral prayers for the veteran politician.
“This is the first time Cabinet is holding a special session to honour someone who has passed on. Usually, such sessions are reserved for Parliament,” Nakadama said.
She described Gen. Ali as a leader who united Ugandans across political, religious and ethnic lines and whose counsel was highly valued by President Museveni.
“Whenever he spoke, the President listened and responded to his suggestions with immediacy,” she said.
Nakadama also shared one of Gen. Ali’s personal ambitions that often amused fellow ministers.
“He wanted to die a lawyer,” she recalled, saying Cabinet members frequently joked with him after he enrolled to study law later in life.
On Sunday, thousands of mourners attended separate funeral prayers at Naguru, Kibuli Mosque and Gaddafi National Mosque.
The Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Ramadhan Mubaje, described Gen. Ali as a courageous Muslim leader who never compromised his faith and faithfully represented Muslims in government.
He also revealed that Gen. Ali once sought his guidance before reporting some officials to President Museveni, but later chose forgiveness after reflecting on verses from the Holy Qur’an.
Prince Kassim Nakibinge described the late General as one of Uganda’s most level-headed Muslim politicians and thanked President Museveni for keeping him in Cabinet even during his illness before granting him a state burial.
Gen. Ali’s son, Ismael Musa Ali, remembered his father as a loving family man who never failed to check on his children every Saturday and remained passionate about educating girls and promoting sports.
