‘Mother of Parliament’ Rhoda Kalema bows out at 96

Rhoda Nakibuuka Nsibirwa Kalema, the ‘Mother of Parliament’ is dead.

Kalema passed away on Sunday at Nairobi hospital, aged 96. Until her passing, Kalema remained engaged in public life. Just days before her death, she had attended a Scripture Union conference in Kiboga district.

Born on May 10, 1929, to former Buganda Katikkiro Martin Luther Nsibirwa and Veronica Namuddu, Kalema was educated at Gayaza High School and King’s College Budo before pursuing social work studies in Scotland.

Her upbringing in a politically active family and early exposure to leadership roles shaped her lifelong commitment to public service. Kalema’s entry into Uganda’s political landscape came at a time when few women dared to venture into the male-dominated arena.

She joined the post-Amin National Consultative Council and later served as deputy minister for Public Service between 1989 and 1991 under President Yoweri Museveni’s administration.

Her historic election to the 1994 Constituent Assembly, where she defeated eight male rivals in Kiboga district, cemented her status as a national icon for women’s political participation. Kalema’s journey was marked by personal hardship.

Her husband, William Wilberforce Kalema, a former minister was abducted and never seen again during Idi Amin’s regime, a tragedy that would deeply influence her advocacy for justice and reconciliation.

In 1980, she co-founded the Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM), an early political party that laid the groundwork for what would later become the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

During this turbulent era, she faced repeated arrests but remained resolute. Beyond politics, Kalema dedicated herself to mentoring young women in leadership, among them current Energy minister Ruth Nankabirwa.

Her efforts in championing women’s rights and civic engagement earned her several accolades, including recognition from the Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) in 1996 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Pepperdine University in 2018.

In 2021, she published her memoir, My Life Is But a Weaving, a reflective work that traced her journey from a royal childhood through Uganda’s colonial and post-independence periods.