Members of Parliament have paid a special tribute to former NRM vice chairperson Karamoja region Simon Peter Aleper, who perished in a motor accident along Iganga Tirinyi Road on Monday.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa and Vice President Jessica Alupo hailed the late Aleper as a nationalistic and accomplished NRM leader.
The motion to pay tribute was moved by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and seconded by acting Leader of the Opposition Joseph Gonzaga Ssewungu.
At around 11am, the casket of the late Aleper arrived at Parliament and was received by Speaker Anita Among her deputy Tayebwa and top NRM Central Executive Committee members led by national vice chairman Alhajj Moses Kigongo.
Later, it was laid in the foyer waiting for a special sitting.
At 2:15pm, the casket was moved inside parliament for a special tribute chaired by Tayebwa.
"He has been instrumental in Economic development and social welfare of the Karamoja people and he patterned with some local investors and setup a cement factory on a 400 acres of land in Karamoja," Nabbanja said.
Tayebwa and VP Alupo told the sitting that the deceased was a true Nationalistic and his contributions in the party has been extraordinary.
"In vividly remind him in the 9th parliament when he fought the saying that we will not wait for Karamoja to develop instead he pushed for the region to be availed with the necessary resources to enable Karamoja move at the same pace with the rest of the country," Tayebwa said.
Alupo hailed Aleper as a steady fast leader who stood on principles and spoke loudly from the bottom of his heart.
"He was an accomplished NRM leader on the central Executive committee and as a party we have lost a true leader," she said.
Mr Ssewungu and a section of MPs also praised the legacy of the late Aleper.
His contributions is not in doubt especially for Karamoja sub-region.
Ssewungu, however, called on government to end increasing road accidents in the country and demanded for a comprehensive report on the cause of the accident.
