The orphaned village boy who rose to become a soldier, statesman and guardian of history

What the report says

Nile Post reports that Uganda’s former Second Deputy Prime Minister and retired army general Moses Ali has died at Nakasero Hospital in Kampala. According to the report, close associates said he died on Saturday, July 18, at 4:25pm, aged 87. Njima Bob Bolt, identified as an elder from Adjumani District, announced the death and described Ali as a widely respected statesman and community figure.

The article traces Ali’s rise from Meliaderi Village in present-day Adjumani District, where he was born on April 5, 1939. Nile Post says he lost both parents at age 11 and was raised with support from his maternal uncle, Ramadan Wani. He studied at Erepi Church of Uganda Primary School, Old Kampala Secondary School and a Madarasa, and later entered the Uganda Army. He was commissioned in 1969, served at the Uganda Paratrooper School, and rose through senior military ranks during a turbulent period in Uganda’s history.

Ali later became a long-serving political leader, representing Adjumani West in Parliament and serving as Second Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of Government Business. Nile Post also highlights his role as a Muslim leader, farmer, businessman and supporter of local education, water and religious initiatives in West Nile. The report says he is survived by four wives and 30 children.

The story also notes Ali’s effort to preserve Nubian history. In 2024, he launched “The Odyssey of the Nubi,” alongside plans for a Nubian Heritage and Cultural Centre in Adjumani. Tributes cited by Nile Post, including from former legislator Mike Mukula, framed him as a soldier and elder statesman whose career spanned more than five decades of Uganda’s military and political life.