Brigadier Rebecca Mpagi, is a Ugandan

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

and Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, who serves as the Director of Personnel and Administration in the UPDF Air Force. She is credited as the first female in Uganda to qualify as a military aircraft maintenance engineer.

Background and education

Mpagi was born in the Buganda Region of Uganda circa 1956, to Yunia Nakibuuka Mpagi and Charles William Mpagi. She was the 11th born out of 14 children. She attended Kasanje Primary School before transferring to Jungo Junior School, in Wakiso District, where she completed her primary schooling. She studied at Nabisunsa Girls' Secondary School for her O-Level studies. She then completed her A-Level education at Kololo High School, where she obtained a

High School Diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...

, in 1974. She studied at Kianda Secretarial College, Nairobi, graduating with a Diploma in Secretarial Studies. In 1978, she was admitted to the

East African Civil Aviation Academy The East African Civil Aviation Academy (EACAA), also known as the Soroti Flying School, is a Ugandan school that trains aircraft pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers. Location The school is based at Soroti Airport, , in the town of Sorot ...

in Soroti, graduating as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, in 1982. She has taken a number of military courses and training in guidance and counselling. In 2019, Mpagi was awarded an Honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degree by ''Zoe Life Theological Collège'', based in Collingdale, Pennsylvania, United States.

Career

Her first job was as a secretary at the lawyer's office in the

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 ...

n city of Mbale. However, the lawyer who employed her was murdered during the Uganda–Tanzania War (October 1978 until June 1979), which removed Idi Amin from power. That is when she enrolled in flight school. She joined the National Resistance Army in 1986. After basic training, she gradually rose through the ranks, from

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

(1988), Lieutenant (1990),

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

(1999),

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

(2002) and

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

(2008). As of June 2012, she was the Director of Women's Affairs at the Directorate of Women's Affairs at UPDF Headquarters, at Mbuya, a suburb of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. Since then, she has been promoted to a full Colonel and assigned as Director of Personnel and Administration at the UPDF Air Force, based in Entebbe. On 28 March 2020, she was promoted from the rank of Colonel to that of Brigadier.

Family

Mpagi is a mother of four daughters.

References

External links

Celebrating women who broke the gender barrier: Colonel Rebecca Mpagi: First female military pilot at Uganda People’s Defence Forces
As of 7 March 2019. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mpagi, Rebecca 1956 births Living people Ganda people Ugandan aviators Women military aviators Ugandan generals People from Central Region, Uganda East African Civil Aviation Academy alumni People educated at Nabisunsa Girls' Secondary School Ugandan women

Background and education

Career

Family

See also

References

External links