His late father was General Tito Lutwa Okello (1914–1996), who served as President of Uganda between July 1985 and January 1986.

[5] Oryem Okello holds the degree of Bachelor of Laws with Honours, from the University of Buckingham in the United Kingdom, obtained in 1985.

He also holds the degree of Master of Laws, from the University of Southampton, also in the UK, obtained in 1989.

In 2001, he was elected to represent Chwa County, Kitgum District, in the Ugandan Parliament, serving continuously until 2006.

On many occasions, he was the Deputy Leader of the Uganda Government Delegation, led by Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda, the Ugandan Minister of Internal Affairs at that time.