Former minister Joyce Mpanga dies at 89

Kampala, (UG): Former minister and activist Owek Joyce Rovincer Mpanga has passed on. She was 89.

Mpanga’s death was announced by the Buganda Kingdom in a brief statement on Saturday morning.

Makerere University, where Mpanga is famously honoured also posted via X (formerly Twitter) mourning the demise of the educationist whom they described as a politician, women-rights-crusader and educationist in the past six decades.

“Joyce Mpanga was one of Makerere’s illustrious female alumni. She was a woman of many firsts, including being the first female lecturer in the faculty of education at Makerere University and Gayaza High School’s first African deputy headmistress. May the joy and grace of the Almighty God, truly be the strength of her family and friends in this time of loss,” reads Makerere University’s post on X.

The Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, eulogised Mpanga as “a trailblazer, a champion of the cause of women, an inspiration and a leader who set the bar so high in our country!“

Speaker Among’s Deputy, Hon Thomas Tayebwa, also posted via X hailing Mpanga’s contribution to the emancipation of women and transformation of the country’s education sector which will always be engraved in “our history.”

Mpanga was a member of the Buganda Lukiiko where she served as the Minister of Women in Development from 1988 to 1989 and later as the Minister of State for Primary Education in central government from 1989 to 1992.

Outside of the cabinet of Uganda, Mpanga was a Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2001 for Mubende District.

A strong activist for women’s emancipation, Mpanga also worked tirelessly for the restoration of Buganda Kingdom in 1993.

Mpanga is a woman of many firsts, including being the first female lecturer in the faculty of education at Makerere University and Gayaza High School’s first African deputy headmistress.