Inside story of the former state house cook in Obote's Government

By our team

Lira City, Uganda, It’s hard to imagine that your God’s given skills, like cooking, can land you an honored place in  statehouse.  

In Lira City west, Apio Jeroline is among the women who had a rare opportunity to work with the office of former president Dr. Apollo Milton Obote with her knowledge in catering.  

Growing up in Northern Uganda during colonization, Apio just like Children of that time did not attain a formal education. But this lack of education did not hold her back from playing a key role in Ugandan history.

In her youth hood moment,  Apio left her home in Aboke Sub county in Kole District,  and found a job  of cooking for the British leaders. Then after Uganda’s independence, Apio began to heavily support the UPC party during their political campaign. With her loyalty to the UPC party and her knowledge of cooking, she became employed by the former President Obote himself to serve as his chef. 

Having a great intimacy with the president, meant that Apio knew all of his favorite foods. She fondly remembers how he enjoyed traditional foods of his native peoples:

“Every day I would prepare chickens and traditional foods like agira, amalakwang for Adwong Obote.

‘’ President Obote never enjoyed modern food and we only cooked modern food when special guests were within the country”

Apio would be the one to set the menu for that day, based on what the president enjoyed. She would purchase the ingredients, prepare and serve the food to him directly.

Because she was so well trusted, Apio was promoted to chief taster alongside the president’s personal doctor. This position meant any food prepared outside the statehouse must be first tasted to ensure its flavor and safety.

But this role was not easy, everyday people could accuse her of being a spy, or of putting the president’s life in danger through poisoned foods. But Apio was always faithful to her president and never thought to cause harm.

Now at 84 Years old, Apio reflects on how much she enjoyed her work, but due to the constant instability of that time, her position was not always assured. This was the case when Okello Tito came into power in 1986, all of Obote’s cooks, Apio included, were removed from work. However, after Okello left power she was reemployed by our now President Yoweri Museveni Kaguta.

“When Musevni came to power he was a good person, he accepted to renew our contracts and I worked for three months before leaving the job.”

Later, she was given a government home in Kampala, but after, she left the inner circle of politics for good, and returned to Lira to start her family.

The benefits of such a privileged role meant that Apio was able to interact with three Presidents of Uganda on a personal level, and had a very unique position within the private lives of very important people.

As well as this, Apio had the opportunity to see many parts of Uganda she never dreamt as a child, and earned an honest wage to support her family.

After such an experience, Apio still believes that the role that she played in this country deserve recognition and appreciation from the government. By serving food for her president, Apio was hereby serving her country.

People like Apio played a silent but important role in Uganda’s history and reminds us that anything is possible. You may be uneducated or living in a remote place but with the right vision and motivation you can achieve special things.