Emmanuel Amey Ojara, MBChB, MMed Surgery, (10 February 1944 – 26 July 1987) was a

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

, and oncologist in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. At the time of his death, he was a senior lecturer at the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

, School of Medicine.

Background

Ojara was born to Simeon Oyoo and Yudia Akidi Oyoo at Layibi Village, Gulu District, approximately , by road, southwest of the central business district of Gulu, the largest city in the Northern Region of

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Education

After attending primary school locally, he entered Gulu Junior School and in 1960, transferred to Samuel Baker Secondary School. He completed both his O-Level and A-Level studies at this school, graduating in 1965. In 1966, he was admitted to the

Makerere University School of Medicine The Makerere University School of Medicine (MUSM), also known as the Makerere University Medical School, is the school of medicine of Makerere University, Uganda's oldest and largest public university. The medical school has been part of Makerer ...

, the oldest medical school in Uganda. In 1971, he graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree. Following one year of internship and another year of practice as a medical officer, he was accepted into the postgraduate Master of Medicine program, a collaborative undertaking between Makerere University and the

Mulago National Referral Hospital Mulago National Specialised Hospital, also known as Mulago National Referral Hospital, is a component of Mulago Hospital Complex, the teaching facility of Makerere University College of Health Sciences. It is the largest public hospital in Ug ...

. In 1976, he was awarded a Master of Medicine in Surgery degree.

Career

Following his first degree, he worked as an intern at Mulago Hospital from 1971 until 1972. He then worked as a medical officer for the

Uganda Ministry of Health The Ministry of Health is a cabinet-level government ministry of Uganda. It is responsible for planning, delivering, and maintaining an efficient and effective healthcare delivery system, including preventive, curative, and rehabilitative service ...

, stationed at

Butabika Hospital Butabika National Referral Hospital, commonly known as Butabika Hospital is a hospital in Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. It is the mental health national referral hospital for the entire country's estimated population of 36 million ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, from 1972 until 1973. In 1973, when he entered the Master of Medicine in Surgery program, Makerere University appointed him an assistant

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

, a title he carried until his graduation in 1976, when he was promoted to lecturer. In 1977, at the height of

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

's brutality, Ojara and his family fled to neighboring Kenya. He was appointed lecturer at the University of Nairobi School of Medicine and registrar at Kenyatta National Hospital, the teaching hospital of the medical school. At the time of his death, he had been promoted to senior lecturer at the medical school and had begun a research towards a cure for cancer. His research interests centered around intestinal cancer.

Other considerations

In 1968, while in his third year of medical school, he married Agnes Waithera who was a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

student at Makerere. Together, they were the parents of three sons and one daughter (Patrick Otim, John Ojara, Michael Oyoo and Stellah Adoch) . He was a member of

Uganda People's Congress The Uganda People's Congress (UPC; sw, Congress ya Watu wa Uganda) is a political party in Uganda. UPC was founded in 1960 by Milton Obote, who led the country to independence and later served two presidential terms under the party's banner ...

political party and chairman of the UPC Kenya Chapter. Ojara died at

Nairobi Hospital The Nairobi Hospital is a private hospital located in upperhill area, Nairobi, Kenya.The hospital was founded in 1954 as a European hospital. Location It is located along Argwings Kodhek Road, Upper Hill, Nairobi. The hospital is located approx ...

,http://thenairobihosp.org a private medical facility in Nairobi, after a series of

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

failures ending in

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

. He was 43 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ojara, Emmanuel Amey Ugandan surgeons Makerere University alumni 1944 births 1987 deaths People from Gulu District Academic staff of Makerere University Academic staff of the University of Nairobi People from Northern Region, Uganda Ugandan expatriates in Kenya Acholi people 20th-century surgeons

Background

Education

Career

Other considerations

See also

References