Ex-Koboko Woman MP Margaret Baba Diri passes on

Kampala, (UG):- The former Koboko District Woman MP, and one of the longest serving MPs in Parliament, Hon Margaret Baba Diri is dead. She was 70.

Born 29 June 1954, Baba Diri who also represented persons with disabilities in 1996 was pronounced dead at a health facility in Kawempe Division where she was rushed by the driver on Thursday after falling ill.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament , RT Hon Thomas Tayebwa eulogised her as “a very focused but equally humorous colleague.”

“What a sad day for Parliament as we have received another sad piece of news of the passing of Hon. Margeret Baba Diri, former Woman MP, Koboko District. A very focused but equally humorous colleague, Hon. Baba Diri took care of some of us during the 10th Parliament. We became close through the Parliamentary catholic chaplaincy where she emphasised to us to anchor our service onto faith,” Mr Tayebwa said in a statement posted on his X handle. 

“Condolences to the family, Hon. colleagues, and people of Koboko,” the Deputy Speaker added.

Prior to joining elective politics Baba Diri worked as a teacher at St. Charles Lwanga in Koboko between 1976 and 1990 and also as a gender development officer at the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) between 1992 and 1996.

Having lost her seat to former president, Idi Amin’s granddaughter, Dr Sharifa Aate in the 2021 general election, Baba Diri retired from elective politics and concentrated on her private ventures.

She owned both Kochi SS and Koboko District Farmers’ Association where she was a Founding Director.

By press time, no official arrangements had been formally announced for Baba Diri’s burial.