Former minister Lokodo dies in Switzerland

Former minister of Ethics and Integrity Fr. Simon Lokodo, 64, has died. Lokodo reportedly collapsed during a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday and was rushed to the intensive care unit, where he passed on this morning.

He'd travelled to Geneva to represent the chairman of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) during the Universal Periodic Review working group which is reviewing Uganda's human rights record.

At the time of his death, Lokodo was a commissioner at UHRC, where he was deployed by President Yoweri Museveni after he was dropped from cabinet.

Crispin Kaheru, a member of the commission told URN that Lokodo left the country on Tuesday and at the time, did not have any health complications. However, the team in Geneva reported that he started feeling unwell during the session.  

“We are told that during the session, he did not feel well. He was taken to a hospital in Geneva. The hospital proposed that he should be retained for further tests. Upon the results coming back, they said he should be held. He has been in the hospital for about two days,” Kaheru said.

Lokodo served for nearly 10-years as minister for Ethics. He previously served as state minister for Industry from 2009 to 2011 when he was appointed minister for Ethics, a position he held for nearly 10 years. He also represented Dodoth County in parliament and he was ex-communicated from priesthood by Pope Benedict after he joined elective politics.

He held a degree in Theology from Pontifical Urbaniana University and a master’s degree in Theology obtained from the University of Rome. Other qualifications included a diploma in Rural Sociology, a diploma in Social Communication, diploma in Philosophy and Social Science. He was instrumental in the enactment of the Anti-pornography Act.