President grants official burial to Monica Azuba Ntege

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Uganda is preparing to give an official burial to former Works and Transport Minister Eng. Monica Azuba Ntege, a pioneering engineer, public servant and former national athlete, whose death has drawn tributes from across government and political circles.

In a statement released by the Uganda Media Centre on Thursday, Minister for the Presidency Milly Babirye Babalanda said the government received “with profound sorrow” news of Azuba Ntege’s passing on Tuesday, April 21, at Nakasero Hospital in Kampala.

Her death closes a chapter in Uganda’s public life that spanned engineering, banking, sport and cabinet service, an uncommon career path shaped by persistence at a time when women were rarely seen in technical leadership roles.

Born on February 12, 1956, in Naluwoli, Kamuli District, Monica Azuba was the daughter of the late Alex and Agnes Azuba. She studied at Buckley High School and Gayaza High School before joining Makerere University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1978.

That achievement carried weight beyond personal success. She was among Uganda’s first female civil engineers, entering a profession then dominated by men and helping widen the path for those who followed.

Yet her ambitions were not confined to the classroom or construction sector. According to the government statement, Azuba was also an accomplished sportswoman who represented Uganda in lawn tennis at both national and international tournaments.

She began her professional career in 1978 at Uganda Commercial Bank, later absorbed into Stanbic Bank Uganda, where she served as facilities manager until retirement. Her technical and administrative experience later extended into national infrastructure planning. Since June 2014, she had served on the board of directors of the Uganda National Roads Authority.

Her most visible public role came in 2016, when President Yoweri Museveni appointed her Minister of Works and Transport. She served until 2019, after which she became senior presidential advisor, a position she held until her death.

During her tenure at Works and Transport, she was tasked with overseeing one of government’s most symbolic transport projects: the revival of Uganda Airlines, which had been liquidated in 2001 after financial difficulties. The return of the national carrier was seen by supporters as both a strategic and national prestige project.

The government praised her record in broad terms, saying that throughout her career “as a civil servant, political leader, she exemplified the values of integrity, patriotism, and unwavering dedication to Public Service and the Nation.”

It also extended condolences to her family, the National Resistance Movement, the people of Butambala and Ugandans at large, describing her as a “distinguished and educated Public Servant.”

President Museveni has directed that Azuba Ntege be accorded an official burial, in line with executive authority under Article 99 of the Constitution, the statement said.

A hybrid national organising committee chaired by Babalanda, with representation from the family, has been formed to coordinate funeral arrangements.

According to the tentative programme, her body will arrive at her home on Ssekindi Road in Muyenga on Thursday evening, followed by an official vigil. On Friday, a service will be held at St. Stephen's Church of Uganda, Kisugu, before the cortege proceeds to her ancestral home in Nsozi Bili, Butambala, where another service and vigil are planned. Funeral rites are scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

For many Ugandans, Azuba Ntege’s legacy may rest not only in titles held but in barriers broken quietly, and in the institutions she helped shape.