Jenipher Kacha Namuyangu, also Jennifer Namuyangu Byakatonda, but commonly referred to as Jennifer Namuyangu, is a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

. She belongs to 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 ...

political party. She is the Minister of State for Local Government in the Ugandan Cabinet. She was appointed to that position on 6 June 2016. She previously served as the Minister of State for Water Resources, from 1 June 2006 until 27 May 2011. In the Cabinet reshuffle on 27 May 2011, she was dropped from the cabinet and was replaced by Betty Bigombe. She also served as the elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Pallisa District Women's Representative, from 2001 until 2011. In 2010, Pallisa District was split into two, to create

Kibuku District Kibuku District is a district in Eastern Uganda. It is named after its 'chief town', Kibuku, where the district headquarters are located. Location Kibuku District is bordered by Pallisa District to the north, Budaka District to the east, Butal ...

. Namuyangu contested for the parliamentary seat of Kibuku County,

. She lost to Saleh Kamba by a wide margin.

Background and education

Namuyangu was born in

on 27 July 1968. Namuyangu attended Kibuku Secondary School for her O-Level studies, before she transferred to Iganga Secondary School, where she completed her A-Level education. She was admitted to

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 n ...

, Uganda's oldest university, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Forestry, in 1993. Her Master of Science in Agroforestry was also obtained from Makerere University, in 1996.

Career

From 1994 until 1996, she served as the Youth Representative for

Eastern Uganda The Eastern region is one of four regions in the country of Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts , the Eastern Region contained 32 districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in s ...

to the National Resistance Council, the parliamentary institution at that time. From 1997 until 1998, she served as a Lecturer at ''Nyabyeya Forestry College'' in

Masindi District Masindi District is a district in Western Uganda. Like many other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town' of Masindi, the location of the district headquarters. Location Masindi District is bordered by Nwoya District to the north, ...

. She then joined the Ministry of Lands and the Environment, in the Forestry Department, as a Seed Source Development Officer, serving in that capacity from 1998 until 2001. In 2001, she rejoined politics and was elected to Represent the Women of

Pallisa District Pallisa District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its chief town, Pallisa, where the district headquarters are located. Location Pallisa District is bordered to the north by (from west to east ...

in parliament. She was again re-elected to the same position in 2006. Between 2003 and 2006, she served as Minister of State for Industry. She was appointed as State Minister for Water Resources on 1 June 2006, serving in that capacity until 27 May 2011. Between 2013 and 2016, she was a member he d Committee of the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. Namuyangu is one of several government ministers and National Resistance Movement MPs who lost in their party primaries and defied President Museveni's directive, to not stand as independents, and instead offered themselves to stand as independent parliamentary candidates 2011. She contested against fellow NRM member, Saleh Kamba (the then incumbent MP and NRM flag bearer) for the "Kibuku County" seat, losing by a very wide margin.

Return to parliament and to cabinet

During the 2016 parliamentary elections, Namuyangu contested for the Kabweri County Constituency, on the NRM Party ticket. She won and is the incumbent. On 6 June 2016, she was appointed State Minister for Local Government.

Personal details

Namuyangu is married. She belongs to the ruling

political party.

References

External links