Obama receives Wonekha as Ugandan envoy

By Joyce Namutebi

Uganda’s new envoy to the United States of America, Oliver Wonekha, has presented her credentials to President Barack Obama.

Ambassador Wonekha, a former Woman Member of Parliament for Bududa, was received by Obama on Thursday at the White House in Washington DC.

On Friday, the President and the First Lady, Michelle Obama, hosted a reception for the foreign dignitaries present.

Wonekha is Uganda’s Ambassador Extraordinary Plenipotentiary to the US.

The presentation of credentials is a traditional ceremony that marks the formal beginning of an ambassador’s service.

The state minister of trade, David Wakikona, who also hails from Bududa, described Wonekha as a hardworking person, who is easy to communicate with.

Appointed last August, Wonekha served both in the seventh and eighth parliaments, but in different constituencies.

In the Seventh Parliament, she represented Mbale district, while in the Eighth Parliament, she relocated to Bududa – then a new district.

In the seventh parliament, Wonekha served on the committee of agriculture, which she later chaired in the Eighth Parliament. When she left Parliament, she unsuccessfully contested for a seat on the East African Legislative Assembly on the NRM ticket.

Wonekha holds a Bsc (hons) from Makerere University and a postgraduate diploma in education from the same institution. She also worked in the Coffee Marketing Board and Kyagalanyi Coffee Limited.