Presidential advisor, novelist Mary Karooro Okurut dies

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Senior presidential advisor on public relations and former minister in charge of general duties in the Office of the Prime Minister, as well as former Bushenyi Woman Member of Parliament, Mary Karooro Okurut, passed away on Monday, August 11, 2025.

Her longtime friend and health state minister, Margaret Muhanga, broke the news of her passing on X on Monday evening.

“With so much pain, grief and sorrow, I announce the death of my ‘bosom buddy’ Mary Karooro Okurut. My literature teacher, my mentor, my very close buddy, my world, my all. So painful to imagine. This is a sting I’ll never forget.”

Muhanga did not reveal the cause of her death.

Born on December 8, 1954, in Bushenyi District, the late Karooro was married to Stanislaus Okurut, who passed away on April 5, 2014.

She attended Bweranyangi Primary School for her primary education and completed her O-level studies at Bweranyangi Girls’ Senior Secondary School.

She then pursued A-level studies at Trinity College Nabbingo in 1972 and later enrolled at Makerere University in 1974, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature in 1977. She went on to receive a Master of Arts in Literature (MA.Lit) degree from Makerere University in 1981.

Karooro began teaching in the Department of Literature at Makerere University in 1981. She later obtained a Diploma in Education (Dip. Ed) from the same institution in 1982 and continued as a lecturer until 1993.

From 1994 to 1996, she served as press secretary to the Vice President of Uganda. She worked in the Ministry of Education from 1996 to 1999 as Commissioner at the Education Service Commission.

In 1999, she was appointed press secretary in the Office of the President, a position she held until 2004 when she resigned to contest the position of Woman Member of Parliament for Bushenyi district under the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

She was elected in 2006 but lost the NRM flagbearer position in the 2020 primaries to Annet Katusiime Mugisha.

Karooro served as minister of gender, labour and social development from 2012 and was later appointed security minister in the Ugandan Cabinet on March 1, 2015, a position she held until June 6, 2016.

On June 6, 2016, she was appointed general duties minister in the Office of the Prime Minister.

In July 2021, President Museveni appointed her as Senior Presidential Advisor on Public Relations, a role she held until her death on Monday.

She was best known for her literary works and was the founder of the Uganda Women Writers Association (FEMRITE).

Karooro published several books, including The Invisible Weevil and The Official Wife. She also edited A Woman’s Voice, a collection of short stories by Ugandan women writers, published in 1998.

Education background

1982 - Diploma in Education, Makerere University;

1981 - Master of Arts in Literature, Makerere University;

1977 - Bachelor of Arts in Literature, Makerere University;

1973 - Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education, Trinity College Nabbingo;

1971 - Uganda Certificate of Education, Bweranyangi Girls Senior Secondary School

Professional Career

2016–2021 – Minister in Charge of General Duties, Office of the Prime Minister

April 2020 - President Museveni appointed Okurut to take charge of the Covid-19 Government Fund.

2015-2016 – Minister for Security

2012-2015 – Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development

2011-2012 – Minister of Information and National Guidance

1981-1994 – Lecturer at the Department of Literature, Makerere University

1997 – Press Secretary to the Vice President

1998-2000 – Commissioner at the Education Service Commission.

2001-2004 – President Museveni appointed Karooro Okurut as the Presidential Private Press Secretary

2002-2021 – Woman Member of Parliament, Bushenyi District