Women we celebrate in 2017

Winnie Byanyima

What you need to know:

Winding down 2017. A number of women in Uganda have been involved in tremendous work during 2017. Some of these have worked hard towards economic gains in the country, promoting development and eradication of poverty while others have played a big role in fighting for justice, lifting the nation’s sporting flag and fighting HIV/Aids. Dorcus Murungi compiled some of 2017’s women achievers.

Evelyn Namara
Namara is the founder of Innovate Uganda, a technology company that builds innovations for sustainable development. The company’s flagship product M-Voucher was selected as a winner at the world summit Awards (2016) as one of the best digital content in the category of fighting poverty and hunger.
This year, she won the overall entrepreneur award in the Agriculture sector at the Women In Africa club Summit in Marrakesh, Morocco and the ICT for Development award at the Uganda Communication Commission’s ACIA Awards in May. She also won Outstanding Woman in Innovation at the MTN Innovation Awards 2017.

Susan Okalany
High Court Judge Susan Okalany was awarded Prosecutor of the Year award in Beijing, China by the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) to recognise her distinguished role in the prosecution of the 2010 Kampala bombing suspects.
Justice Okalany who is based at the High Court in Mbale, led a team of prosecutors, guided investigations and conducted prosecutions in the terrorism case arising from the July 2010 Kampala bombings that left 76 dead.
The case was billed as the first major terrorism case successfully prosecuted in Africa with 82 witnesses from four countries including 28 from Kenya, four from Tanzania, six from US and the rest from Uganda.

Justice Lydia Mugambe
Lady Justice Lydia Mugambe of the High Court of Uganda won the 2017 Women’s Link International People’s Choice Gavel Award for her work on issues of gender justice. This arose from her ruling where a couple was accusing Mulago Hospital of negligence that resulted in a missing baby. On January 24, Justice Lydia Mugambe ruled in the couple’s favour, that the hospital’s negligence resulted in the disappearance of the couple’s baby and violation of their right to be free from torture and their rights to health and access to information.

Susan Okalany

Eugenie Nsubuga
Eugenie Nsubuga was awarded the Women in Business Excellence Award by MTN Uganda for her distinguished services in ICT.
With 23 years of experience in the Travel business, Nsubuga said For anyone to succeed, persistence, belief in themselves and change of attitude are a must have.

Edrida Muheki Tukahebwa
Dr Edrida Muheki Tukahebwa is a health practitioner working in the Vector Control Division in Ministry of Health. She was unveiled as a winner during the Women in Focus Awards in Geneva, Switzerland, a prestigious international initiative celebrating the crucial role women play in the ongoing fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Dr Muheki was awarded together with Grace Aciro Oyati. The two scooped the coveted Women in Focus Inspirational Award and women in Focus leadership Award respectively.

Barbra Kemigisa
Barbara Kemigisa is a young woman in her early 30s. While at university, she was diagnosed with HIV. Many in her shoes would have despaired but not Kemigisa. She made the immediate decision to carry on with her life, take the prescribed medicine without fail and become an advocate for people living with HIV/Aids. In October 2016, she started a community-based organisation called Pill Power Uganda.
Her openness, creativity and her fight against HIV has won her several awards including the Young Achievers Award 2017.

Winnie Byanyima
Winnie Byanyima the Executive Director of Oxfam International was recently appointed to a new Global Commission on the Future of Work established by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The high-level international body, co-chaired by Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, President of Mauritius, and Stefan Lofven, Prime Minister of Sweden, will address the challenges of the rapidly transforming world of work. It will examine the future of work to help provide an analytical basis for the delivery of social justice in the 21st century.

Hellen Lukoma
The petite actress scooped a number of awards this year, including; BEFFTA (Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts) Best African actress award at a function held in London in July. In August, Lukoma won the “Best short film actress award” in the prestigious Rolda Web Fest awards. Rolda Web Fest is an international festival of Web Series that is carried out in Roldanillo Colombia.

Patricia Apolot
The Black Pearl, as Apolot is popularly known, holds the World Kickboxing International title and is the reigning Africa champion. Since 2009, she has beaten the prejudices females face in combat sports. Apolot has managed to keep her status as Africa’s number one female kickboxer thanks to wins over Greece’s Katerina Abdallah and Austrian-born Carina Greimel in May.
Apolot has also taken non-title fights to her Teso homeland where she defeated Bosnian Salma Music in Kumi. She is due for a fight in Egypt tonight.