The Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and her deputy, Thomas Tayebwa have led legislators in paying tribute to Kalangala Woman MP, Hellen Nakimuli who died after an unsuccessful surgery.
Nakimuli passed away on April 19, 2026, following unsuccessful surgery at Alexandra Medical Center, according to officials from her party, the National Unity Platform (NUP).
Elected in 2021 with the National Unity Platform, she served as Shadow Minister for Information and spoke boldly against human rights abuses just days earlier on April 13.
Tributes crossed party lines, with NUP leader Bobi Wine calling it ‘terrible, shocking news,’ Speaker Anita Among expressing shock.
According to Mr Tayebwa, nothing hits the August House harder than losing a colleague.
In his eulogy, the former Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mr Mathias Mpuuga described Nakimuli’s death as shocking and devastating, given that she was energetic, and hardworking, with a zeal and determination to better the lives of the people.
Mpuuga said, adding that she was peaceful and never acrimonious or vengeful.
The body of the 40-year-old legislator was transported to Mulago National Referral Hospital for a post mortem examination.
Meanwhile, several leaders have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to express their pain and grief following the death of Hellen Nakimuli, the Kalangala District Woman Member of Parliament.
Government Chief Whip Denis Hamson Obua highlighted her “remarkable talent and passion” for netball, basketball, and volleyball, noting that her athletic spirit left a positive mark on many lives. Even in her final days, Nakimuli remained a sharp critic of government inefficiency.
On April 15, 2026, during her last submission in Parliament, she grilled the Minister regarding the construction of the Hoima City Stadium ahead of the CAF inspection.
The National Unity Platform (NUP) Secretary General, David Lewis Rubongoya, described the loss at Alexandria Medical Center as a “tragedy,” while Mathias Mpuunga reflected on her character.
Nakimuli was born on July 2, 1985 in Lukuba village, Kyamuswa sub-county in Kalangala to a Greek Orthodox priest, Christopher Walusimbi, and Maria Nalwanga Walusimbi, a former Kalangala District councillor for Kyamuswa and Bubeke.
She started her education at Bukasa Primary school and Hormisdallen Primary School in Bweyogerere in Wakiso District, then at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Gayaza for her Ordinary Level.
For her Advanced level, she attended Saint Augustine secondary school in Wakiso District, where she began her political career by becoming head girl.
She later joined Makerere University where she purused Social Sciences.
She has has been a volleyball player since 1998 and captained the ladies’ volleyball team that went for East Africa Parliamentary Games in Arusha, Tanzania.
She was also a member of the COBAP Volleyball Club.
Nakimuli was given an ecclesial medal by the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa, Theodore II of Alexandria, in recognition of her exemplary service to the Eastern Orthodox Church, Uganda and humanity.
