By Dismas Nkunda
It’s almost two months since he passed but Francis Onapito Ekomoloit (‘Ona’ as we fondly called him) has remained on most of our minds, mostly because Ona touched many souls in his deeds!
I met Ona when we were first year students of the Mass Communication class in 1989, and the second intake to the prestigious course. In class, Ona sat right behind me and his lingering height would always cast a shadow over those sitting in front or even behind him.
Onapito as a resident of Nkrumah Hall
Our class had some of the current well known people in town such as Adonia Ayebare, Uganda’s permanent Representative to the United Nations, Susan Nsibirwa, the Managing Director of Nation Media Group in Uganda, and many others
Ona was a calm person, almost to a fault except when you ventured into challenging his academic standing and beliefs. He would erupt into an argument if the point of contention did not go his way. Oftentimes, he would go toe to toe with our then lecturer (and later our editor) Charles Onyango-Obbo either on communication theory or a practical aspect of practicing journalism.
The book hermit
Ona was literally the typical boy who had come from the village to city. He was not the type that found solace in enjoyments as they call them nowadays. He never partied or did sports despite the fact that his hall of residence, Nkrumah, at the time enjoyed hype in the field of sports. Ona was simply a book hermit.
Onapito (L) with roommate, Arthur Bainomugisha (R) and a friend (C)
At the height of our university days, there were many strikes by students demanding one thing after another. I remember Ona asking me whether strikes were necessary. I told him it was our right to demand for what belongs to us. He kept quiet as we walked from the Faculty of Arts triangle. Much later he would ask me the same question; would I still strike like we did in 1989 or 1990? My answer had changed.
The contest that brought out the best of Ona was between David Lumala Dombo and Robert Okech (Fox). While yours truly was on the campaign trail for Okech, Ona did not show which camp he was supporting. I would incessantly ask him who he supported but he would not volunteer any answer. I was later to discover that he was in Dombo’s camp and wondered to him loudly how a resident of Nkrumah could support a resident of then Northcote (now Nsibirwa), well aware of the animosity that existed between the two halls. Dombo won and Ona became the Guild minister of information.
Onapito during the Makerere University Students' Guild campaigns, where he contested for GRC representing Nkrumah Hall
This fierce contest was not only playing out on campus but also in the newspapers. Ona and I were contributors to The Weekly Topic, a much liberal paper at the time. I was asked to pen a feature about Makerere guild elections which I duly did. Ona was furious because he thought I had not covered the Dombo angle in the contest well. In the next edition he wrote a rejoinder to my piece
For all the years at the university, Ona was not the type to go after the fairer gender. Much to his annoyance, we used to tease him as being ‘veg intimdica’ and sometimes ‘veg economica.’ Put simply, these were words used to describe a male who never approached ladies either out of fear or out of economic challenges. I never ever heard of him either visiting Africa Hall or indeed Mary Stuart.
The teetotaler
Ona was a teetotaler – never to imbibe the bitter drink. Even in later years when we would venture out for an evening, Ona would opt for the soft drinks. At one function at his brother-in-law Dick Nyeko’s place in Entebbe, Ona took a sip of a beer and spat it. That was, in all my life and our good friendship, the last time I saw him bringing the brown bottle to his lips.
When he joined Nile Breweries, I would tease him by saying that was a waste of resources since he could not partake of what would be the very product that he was vending. With his ever gentle smile, Ona told me that I would shadow him on that front.
Onapito speaking at a Nile Breweries event, where he served as the Board Chairman.
Ona was a very proud Etesot! He always talked about it, particularly his village of Asalatap in Wera. His young life rotated around this village and his secondary education at Tororo College which he always abbreviated as TC. One of his passions at the university was Teso Students Development Association (TESDA). TESDA was probably one of the most popular students associations at the university then and Ona was one of its executives.
In 1992 upon completing our undergraduate course, The Monitor was founded. Two of the founders, Charles Onyango-Obbo and David Ouma Balikowa, were our lecturers. They quickly asked four of us to join the paper as reporters: Ona, Martin Mpungu, Susan Nsibirwa and yours truly! Ona would later return to teach in the same Mass Communication Department as an Assistant Lecturer, though he did not last there long.
Things changed in 1995 when Ona led an exodus of about 10 journalists from The Monitor (now Daily Monitor) and founded The Crusader newspaper. Ona was the Editor-in-Chief until he joined parliament and later became Press Secretary to the President. Just like that, Ona wrote his own history that will last long after he is gone. Rest in peace Ona!
About the author
Dismas Nkunda was a classmate, workmate and housemate to Onapito for many years.
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