Beti Olive Namisango Kamya-Turomwe, also known as Betty Kamya and Beti Kamya, is a businesswoman and politician in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

, the third-largest economy in the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Burundi, ...

. She is the Inspector General of Government in Uganda, since 16 July 2021. Previously, from December 2019 until May 2021, she was the Cabinet Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, in the Cabinet of Uganda. Before that, from 6 June 2016 until 14 December 2019, she served as the Minister for Kampala Capital City Authority in Uganda's cabinet. She is the founder and president of the Uganda Federal Alliance (UFA), one of the registered political parties in the country. She was a candidate in the 2011 Ugandan presidential elections, coming in fifth with 52,782 votes. She previously served as the Member of Parliament representing Lubaga North Constituency on the

Forum for Democratic Change The Forum for Democratic Change ( sw, Jukwaa la Mabadiliko ya Kidemokrasia; FDC), founded on 16 December 2004, is the main opposition party in Uganda. The FDC was founded as an umbrella body called Reform Agenda, mostly for disenchanted former m ...

(FDC) ticket from 2006 until 2010. Kamya joined the

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement ( sw, Harakati za Upinzani za Kitaifa; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla ...

party and in 2020 she participated in the flag bearer elections for Lubaga North constituency as a candidate. She won Brian Tindyebwa and Dr. Isaac Lwanga to become the official NRM flag bearer in the 2021 presidential and parliamentary elections. In the 2021 general elections, Kamya lost the

Lubaga Lubaga is a hill in Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. It comes from the Luganda word ''okubaga'', describing a process of "planning" or "strengthening" a structure while constructing it. For example, ''okubaga ekisenge'' means to stre ...

North parliamentary election to Ababaker Kawalya of the

National Unity Platform The National Unity Platform (NUP, sw, Jukwaa la Umoja wa Kitaifa), formerly the National Unity, Reconciliation and Development Party (NURP), is a political party in Uganda led by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (also known as Bobi Wine). The NURP w ...

(NUP) a party under the chairmanship of Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu.

Background and education

She was born in

Nakuru Nakuru is a city in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitant ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

on 30 November 1955 to George Wilson Kamya, a Ugandan, and Margaret Wairimu Kamya, a Kenyan. Beti was the fourth born of nine children. In 1961, when Beti was six years old, the family relocated to Uganda. She attended McKay Memorial School in Kampala and Saint Hellen's Primary School in Western Uganda for her elementary schooling. She then attended Wanyange Girls' School for her O-Level education and

Kings College Budo King’s College Budo is a mixed, residential, secondary school in Central Uganda (Buganda). Location The school is located on Naggalabi Hill, in southern Wakiso District, off the Kampala-Masaka Road. This location lies approximately , by road, ...

for her A-Level education. She studied at

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

, the oldest and largest public university in the country, graduating with a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

degree in

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

Work experience

In the mid 1980s, she joined Uganda Leather and Tanning Industries Limited in Jinja in the sales department, working there until 1988. She then joined Nyanza Textiles Industries Limited, working there as a sales executive until 1992. She then relocated to

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, Uganda's capital and largest city with her husband. From 1996 until 1999, she worked as the

marketing manager Marketing management is the organizational discipline which focuses on the practical application of marketing orientation, techniques and methods inside enterprises and organizations and on the management of a firm's marketing resources and ac ...

at Uganda Breweries Limited in

Port Bell A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, a Kampala suburb. From 1999 until 2004, she was the

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

of th
Uganda Wildlife Education Centre
(UWEC) in

Entebbe Entebbe is a city in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. The c ...

, about , by road, south of Kampala on the northern shores of

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

. Between 2001 and 2004, while still at UWEC, she became an official in the political pressure group Reform, Agenda, the precursor of the FDC political party. From 2005 until 2010, she served as the special envoy of the FDC president

Kizza Besigye Warren Kizza Besigye Kifefe (born 22 April 1956), known as Colonel. Dr. Kizza Besigye, is a Ugandan physician, politician, and former military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Force. He served as the president of the Forum for Democrati ...

. She also served as the elected member of parliament for Lubaga North Constituency on the FDC ticket. In January 2010, she quit the FDC and formed the UFA, becoming its first president.

Appointment to cabinet

On 6 June 2016, she was named as the new Minister for Kampala Capital City Authority in the new

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

announced that day. In a cabinet reshuffle on 14 December 2019, she was named the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, switching dockets with

Betty Amongi Betty Amongi Akena, (née Betty Amongi Ongom), but commonly known as Betty Amongi, is a Ugandan politician. She is the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development in the Cabinet of Uganda, as of 9 June 2021. Previously, she served as the ...

, who took over at Kampala Capital City Authority.

Personal life

Kamya was married to Spencer Turwomwe, a soldier in the Ugandan military. He died in 2003. Together, they had six children.

References

External links

Kamya Invites Amama To Support Federal System

Guide To Uganda’s Small Political Parties

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamya-Tiromwe, Beti 1955 births Living people Makerere University alumni Ugandan businesspeople Government ministers of Uganda People from Kampala District People from Central Region, Uganda Members of the Parliament of Uganda 21st-century Ugandan politicians Women government ministers of Uganda Women members of the Parliament of Uganda Ganda people 21st-century Ugandan women politicians