Rhoda Kalema: Widow of 1967 CPC chair hails Kadaga

Sep 24, 2019

"I have been waiting to have our guests here. I welcome all our brothers and sisters of the Commonwealth," says the renowned women's rights activist.

64TH COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE

September 22 - 29

By Joseph Kizza

alt=''

@joekizza

______________________________


KAMPALA - When William Wilberforce Kalema drove from home on the evening of January 20, 1972, he was headed for Kansanga, a suburb in Uganda's capital Kampala, to drop off a relative. He would never return and would never be see again by his family, including his wife Rhoda.

Only 12 months before, he had been on a delegation that accompanied the then-President, Apolo Milton Obote, to the January 1971 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Singapore, during which news of a coup back home would trickle in.


RELATED: William Kalema the champion that never returned home

 k William Kalema was a top civil servant

 

But a little over five  decades since that time, and in the context of what is happening this week in Kampala, one particular year stands out for Rhoda Kalema: 1967.

This was the year that Uganda hosted the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) for the first time. Rhoda's husband William was the chairperson of the 13th edition of the conference.

Fifty-one editions later, Uganda is back to hosting duties, and for 90-year-old Rhoda, this is an exciting time. The nostalgic effect of the week-long event, which got under way on Sunday, is what got her exhilarated - particularly because of a special existence close to her heart from the olden days.

"I got excited last year when it was announced that we shall be having the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference here. It reminded me of my dear husband when he was the chairman of CPC 1967," she told guests at a dinner for the CPC delegates in Kampala on Tuesday.

Flanked by the Speaker of Uganda's Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, the nonagenerian, smartly dressed in a gomesi, voiced her wish to have one particular item placed in the Speaker's office - a large framed photograph of CPC delegates and the hosts taken in front of the Parliament towards the end of the 1967 conference.

"One of these days, you should get that photograph - because the Prime Minister has it," she told Kadaga, who assented with a nod.


In the photograph that Rhoda is talking about, there is the then-Chief Justice Egbert Udo Udoma, then-Prime Minister and President Dr. Apolo Milton Obote and the then-Speaker Narendra Patel.

"I was also there, standing with the chairman [her husband William]."

Udoma, documented as one of the founding fathers of Nigeria, was a lawyer and justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court. He served as Chief Justice of Uganda from 1963 to 1971. He was one of the first black Africans to earn a PhD in Law in 1944 from Oxford University.

Meanwhile, Narendra, a Ugandan of Indian origin, was Speaker of the National Assembly from 1963 to 1966. In 1963, the British expatriate whom the colonialists had left behind as the Speaker, Sir John Bowes Griffin, left the country and Narendra was unanimously elected by fellow parliamentarians as the Speaker.

It was during his time as Speaker that President Obote abrogated the Constitution after falling out with the Buganda Kingdom and introduced the pigeonhole constitution in 1966.

In the the 1960s and early 1970s, Rhoda's husband was a top civil servant. He was one of the first professionals that took leadership immediately after Uganda's independence in 1962.

It was during the prime of his life in early 1972 when he vanished, never to be seen again, presumed killed.

With the fond memories of her husband's time at the centre of Uganda's first CPC tucked safely in her memory, Rhoda, a former minister and parliamentarian, said she had been eager to have the conference in the country once again.


🔊 LISTEN: When Uganda hosted CPC IN 1967 - Part 1

🔊 LISTEN: When Uganda hosted CPC in 1967 - Part 2

🔊 LISTEN: When Uganda hosted CPC in 1967 - Part 3

 uests attend the dinner for delegates on uesday redit arliament of ganda Guests attend the dinner for delegates on Tuesday. (Credit: Parliament of Uganda)

 

"I feel a great attachment to CPC because I seem to know the history and to know the impact and its influence on us and the relationship and how my country Uganda must be a part of it," she told guests.

"I have been looking forward to having it here and last week I went to see the Prime Minister. I was able to give him the framed large photograph of all the members  from all Commonwealth countries in front of Parliament.

"I want to congratulate you very much, my daughter [Kadaga] for the efforts (...) you influenced [the conference] to be here," added the renowned women's rights activist, who received a hug from the Speaker.

"I have been waiting to have our guests here. I welcome all our brothers and sisters of the Commonwealth."

Earlier in the day, the conference in Kampala was punctuated by a series of meetings.

In one of the engagements, Shandana Gulzar Khan from the Pakistan National Assembly was elected the chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians, a position she will occupy for three years.


RELATED: New CPA Small Branches chair urges cooperation

 hhj Shandana Gulzar Khan (centre) will lead the CWP

 

It was not the only election though.

The Commowealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Small Branches elected a new chair. Niki Rattle, the Speaker of the Parliament of the Cook Islands, was the top pick.

She succeeded Angelo Farrugia, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Malta.

What is happening on Wednesday?

According to the programme of the conference, this day has been set aside for the main excursion, where delegates will choose between the eastern or western routes. The eastern route will take delegates to visit the Source of the Nile and the Kagulu Hill in Jinja and Buyende districts, respectively.

The Source of the Nile is where British explorer John Speke proclaimed the start of Africa's longest river as it starts its northward flow to the Mediterranean.

Kagulu Hill is a high rising rock of about 3,600 feet located and is now promoted as a tourist site in the east of the country. Visitors to the place are encouraged to take the climbing challenge.

The western route will take people to the Equator line located in Kayabwe along the Kampala-Masaka highway.

All spouses and accompanying are encourage to register for the eastern route, since there is a trip to the Equator organised the following day. This means that this group will get to have both the eastern and western route tours whereas the main group will have to pick one of the two.

 hrill at the ource of the ile in inja Thrill at the Source of the Nile in Jinja

 

______________________________


DID YOU KNOW?


After 1961, the CPC became an annual CPA conference. But it was not held in 2015. Instead, the 61st General Assembly was convened by the CPA Executive Committee.

______________________________


AFRICAN COUNTRIES THAT HAVE HOSTED CPC (NUMBER OF TIMES)

Kenya (3)

Uganda (2)

South Africa (2)

Nigeria (2)

Mauritius (2)

Tanzania (1)

Zambia (1)

Namibia (1)

Malawi (1)

Cameroon (1)

Zimbabwe (1 - as joint hosts with Kenya and South Africa in 1954)



ALSO RELATED TO THIS STORY

64th CPC: Day Three in pictures

64th CPC: Day Two in pictures

64th CPC: A look at the week ahead

Museveni to CPC delegates: Welcome to Uganda

Prominent Ugandan lawmakers from 1967




(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});