AKOKORO, Uganda — Jane Pule, the 99-year-old sister of Uganda's late former president Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, popularly known as "Ayaa Jenty," has rallied the public to turn up in large numbers for a memorial mass in honor of her brother on October 7, 2026, in Akokoro.
The mass, organized by Afrika Mashariki Fest, is part of a broader dialogue series honoring the founding fathers of East Africa. For Dr. Obote, the commemoration will be held in his home village of Akokoro, located in Apac District in northern Uganda.
Ayaa Jenty urged people to come for the prayers and to honor her brother's legacy. "People should come for the prayers and honor my brother," she said.
The event forms part of the 3rd Edition of the Twende Zetu Butiama Pilgrimage Safari, which officially kicked off on October 1, 2026, from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The pilgrimage is themed around upholding the enduring legacy and values of the founding fathers of the East African Community, with a call for greater efforts toward a politically federated EAC.
Dr. Obote is remembered as one of the founding fathers of the East African Community, alongside Tanzania's Julius Kambarage Nyerere and Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta. The three leaders established the first East African Community in 1967 to promote economic cooperation and regional integration. Obote was born on December 28, 1925, in Akokoro.
Organizers said the Akokoro mass and dialogue are aimed at connecting young people with the history of East African integration, and the public is invited to participate.
The pilgrimage convoy picked up students at the University of Nairobi on October 2, then proceeded to Makerere University in Kampala. It is scheduled to visit Uganda's Parliament and the Namugongo Martyrs' Shrine on October 5, and to travel through Murchison Falls to Akokoro on October 6. After the Akokoro event, the pilgrimage will return to Kampala before continuing to Bondo and Siaya County in Kenya, and finally to Butiama in Tanzania's Mara Region for a special mass on Nyerere Day, concluding in Eldoret, Kenya, on October 20.
