Ellinah Ntombi Wamukoya (1951 – 19 January 2021) was a

Swazi Swazi may refer to: * Swazi people, a people of southeastern Africa * Swazi language * Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked coun ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

bishop. In 2012, she was elected as the diocesan bishop of the Anglican

Diocese of Swaziland The Diocese of Eswatini is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It was founded in 1968. It comprises the country of Eswatini. It is divided in three archdeaconries, Eastern, Southern and Western. History The diocese was created ...

and she kept this position until her death in 2021. She was the first woman to be elected as a bishop of the

Anglican Church of Southern Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province (Anglican), province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of whi ...

and of the whole African continent. In 2016, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.

Early life

Wamukoya studied at the universities of

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

, and

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

. She was the chaplain of the

University of Eswatini The University of Eswatini (or UNESWA; formerly known as the University of Swaziland, or UNISWA) is the national university of Eswatini. It was established by act of parliament in 1982. The university developed from the University of Botswana, ...

and of St. Michael's High School, in

Manzini Manzini may refer to: *Manzini, Eswatini, a town in the Manzini Region of Eswatini *Manzini Region, a region of Eswatini *Manzini (surname), an Italian surname See also *Roman Catholic Diocese of Manzini The Diocese of Manzini ( la, Manzinien(si ...

, as well as Town Clerk and CEO of the City Council of Manzini when she was elected.

Becoming a bishop

Wamukoya was not initially a candidate to succeed Meshack Mabuza as Anglican Bishop of Swaziland, but after seven rounds of inconclusive elections she was elected by a 2/3 majority of the members of the Elective Assembly on 18 July 2012. She was consecrated on 17 November 2012 by Archbishop

Thabo Makgoba Thabo Cecil Makgoba KStJ (born 15 December 1960 in Alexandra, Johannesburg) is the South African Anglican archbishop of Cape Town. He had served before as bishop of Grahamstown. Biography Makgoba graduated from Orlando High, Soweto, and ...

, who called it a "a great occasion". No official representative of Swazi king

Mswati III Mswati III (born Makhosetive; 19 April 1968) is the king (Swazi: Ngwenyama, Ingwenyama yemaSwati) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He was born in Manzini in the Protectorate of Swaziland to King Sobhuza II and one of his younger wi ...

attended the ceremony. The ceremony had been led by David Dinkebogile, who said that Wamukoya was a bishop, "not a black woman, not an African, not a Swazi woman" and "She was to be pastor to all, to men and women, to black and white, to Swazis and all others in her diocese". Wamukoya later admitted that being the first female bishop in the Anglican church bore a great weight of responsibility and it was her responsibility to prove that women were suited to the role, adding "I know that the whole world is looking up to me to see if I will deliver." She visited Ireland in 2015, preaching at the

St Macartin's Cathedral, Enniskillen St Macartin's Cathedral, Enniskillen, is one of two cathedral churches in the Diocese of Clogher (Church of Ireland), Diocese of Clogher (the other is St Macartan's Cathedral, Clogher) in the Church of Ireland. It stands on high ground overlook ...

on 25 January.

Death

Wamukoya died of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

during the COVID-19 pandemic in Eswatini.Bishop of Swaziland and global environment advocate Ellinah Wamukoya dies from Covid
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wamukoya, Ellinah 1951 births 2021 deaths 21st-century Anglican Church of Southern Africa bishops BBC 100 Women Anglican bishops of Swaziland Women Anglican bishops Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Eswatini