From Grade 2 teacher to Cabinet minister
Maama, I hear you’ve been made a cabinet minister!†a frenzied voice screamed on the other side of her phone. This was the very first hint Beatrice Zirabumuzaale Magoola, Iganga Woman MP, got that her political life might have just taken a lucky twist.
By Sebidde Kiryowa
Maama, I hear you’ve been made a cabinet minister!†a frenzied voice screamed on the other side of her phone. This was the very first hint Beatrice Zirabumuzaale Magoola, Iganga Woman MP, got that her political life might have just taken a lucky twist.
That was exactly 4:15pm on Thursday, January 13. The voice belonged to an overzealous constituent. The shock and sheer surprise of the news had hit her like a hurricane and left her dazed.
“This has taken me by total surprise. I didn’t expect it all!†was all the beaming 60-year-old educationist could say.
A subsequent call from her friend and colleague Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, the deputy speaker of Parliament, confirmed to Magoola that she was now the new minister of state in charge of Luweero Triangle.
“I immediately rushed to her (Kadaga) office. We hugged and started celebrating chanting, ‘Yes! Mpegaano obusoga buweeze (now we have more Basoga ministers –– in reference to former Information state minister Basoga Nsadhu’s death and VP Dr. Specioza’s resignation).
Magoola appointment took some people by surprise. Besides her seat on the influential presidential and parliamentary affairs committee, Magoola is not the type of MP to attract attention.
“She is so quiet in Parliament. She’s more of an observer. On the rare occasions that she speaks out, it is mainly on issues of pension and education,†observes one parliamentary reporter.
She is also mother of singer Rachael Magoola of the Obangaina fame and, as one observer put it tongue-in-cheek, “that is her biggest claim to fame in Parliament.â€
So, how did she rise from the shadows to become minister?
Some observers surmise that her performance in the Kibale Probe Committee set up to probe the simmering Kibaale land wrangles between the Banyoro and the Bakiga was her lucky break. The committee, which was led by Crispus Kiyonga, also included Mary Amojo, MP Kaberamaido, Omony Ojok, state minister for Economic Monitoring.
“This committee brought her much closer to the president.â€
Some say Hon. Rebecca Kadaga lobbied the president, a presumption Magoola lends credence when she affectionately says of Kadaga, alimu’ekyaza (Lusoga for ‘she has clout’).
Other observers say, however, that Magoola was the only conceivable choice of a Musoga minister because all the other strong candidates for ministerial posts in Parliament from Busoga are opposition politicians.
Excited as she is about the elevation however, Magoola is not blind to the realities of her new responsibility.
“It’s a challenge,†the bespectacled legislator says of her new posting.
“Being a teacher, I’d have thought the Ministry of Education would be better. But, Luweero Triangle has it’s fair share of conflicts. These put one under pressure to perform because you are judged on how best you correct what has gone wrong. It’s tricky.â€
But she’s by no means afraid? “I’d say this is a temptation but yes, I’m up to the challenge. Why not? If there’s one thing that defines my life, it’s ‘whatever I pursue, I succeed at.’â€
This expression of determination, coming from a self-made 60-year-old who has ascended from a rural Grade Two teacher to Parliament and now a minister, cannot be taken lightly.
But, friends and family say this not so far-feteched because politics runs in Magoola’s whole bloodline.
Shaban Nkuutu, Magoola’s nephew, a loser in the Iganga LC 5 race says, “Our family has had a cabinet minister in almost every regime in this country.â€
Magoola’s late father, Yekonia Menya Zirabamuzale was the first black Ugandan in the Legislative Council, representing eastern region in the 1930s.
After that trail-blazing stint, it was her cousin Shaban Nkuutu’s turn to serve –– this time in cabinet. He was Minister of Works in Milton Obote’s first government. Then there was John Kirunda Luwurize, a minister of Works in Obote 11 regime.
Ali Kirunda Kivenjinja, her nephew, has served as Rehabilitation minister, Works (twice), Foreign Affairs, Minister without Portfolio; Director, External Affairs at the Movement Secretariat, most recently Minister in charge of the Presidency and now Deputy National Political Commissar and Director, Foreign Affairs.
Destiny might have played its part but it has been a long road to political glory for Magoola. Those close to her say her star started shining while she was the principal at Kaliro Primary Teachers College in Kamuli, a job she did for 15 years.
Todate, Magoola is credited with having, almost single-handedly, transformed the institution from a hollow establishment with hardly any teachers and furniture to national glory.
In 1992, she went through local elections at LC 1 level to become Woman District Councilor, Bugweri County. In 1993, she became the first District Chairperson, Women Council, Iganga.
In 1994, she contested the Constituent Assembly (CA) seat for Iganga District but lost. In 2001, she was elected Woman MP, Iganga District.
Magoola started out as a Grade Two teacher in Mbale in 1970.
In 1973, she joined Makerere University for a Diploma in Education. She became deputy principal of Kamuli TCC shortly after. She later moved to Kaliro PTC. In 1996, she enrolled at Makerere University and graduated with a degree Education (BED) in 2001. She is now pursuing a masters degree in Leadership and Development Studies with the World University of Leadership. She has seven children left after three died.
Her husband Nicholas Magoola died in 1996. He was deputy principal at Kabwengasi Teachers Training College.
Maama, I hear you’ve been made a cabinet minister!†a frenzied voice screamed on the other side of her phone. This was the very first hint Beatrice Zirabumuzaale Magoola, Iganga Woman MP, got that her political life might have just taken a lucky twist.
That was exactly 4:15pm on Thursday, January 13. The voice belonged to an overzealous constituent. The shock and sheer surprise of the news had hit her like a hurricane and left her dazed.
“This has taken me by total surprise. I didn’t expect it all!†was all the beaming 60-year-old educationist could say.
A subsequent call from her friend and colleague Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, the deputy speaker of Parliament, confirmed to Magoola that she was now the new minister of state in charge of Luweero Triangle.
“I immediately rushed to her (Kadaga) office. We hugged and started celebrating chanting, ‘Yes! Mpegaano obusoga buweeze (now we have more Basoga ministers –– in reference to former Information state minister Basoga Nsadhu’s death and VP Dr. Specioza’s resignation).
Magoola appointment took some people by surprise. Besides her seat on the influential presidential and parliamentary affairs committee, Magoola is not the type of MP to attract attention.
“She is so quiet in Parliament. She’s more of an observer. On the rare occasions that she speaks out, it is mainly on issues of pension and education,†observes one parliamentary reporter.
She is also mother of singer Rachael Magoola of the Obangaina fame and, as one observer put it tongue-in-cheek, “that is her biggest claim to fame in Parliament.â€
So, how did she rise from the shadows to become minister?
Some observers surmise that her performance in the Kibale Probe Committee set up to probe the simmering Kibaale land wrangles between the Banyoro and the Bakiga was her lucky break. The committee, which was led by Crispus Kiyonga, also included Mary Amojo, MP Kaberamaido, Omony Ojok, state minister for Economic Monitoring.
“This committee brought her much closer to the president.â€
Some say Hon. Rebecca Kadaga lobbied the president, a presumption Magoola lends credence when she affectionately says of Kadaga, alimu’ekyaza (Lusoga for ‘she has clout’).
Other observers say, however, that Magoola was the only conceivable choice of a Musoga minister because all the other strong candidates for ministerial posts in Parliament from Busoga are opposition politicians.
Excited as she is about the elevation however, Magoola is not blind to the realities of her new responsibility.
“It’s a challenge,†the bespectacled legislator says of her new posting.
“Being a teacher, I’d have thought the Ministry of Education would be better. But, Luweero Triangle has it’s fair share of conflicts. These put one under pressure to perform because you are judged on how best you correct what has gone wrong. It’s tricky.â€
But she’s by no means afraid? “I’d say this is a temptation but yes, I’m up to the challenge. Why not? If there’s one thing that defines my life, it’s ‘whatever I pursue, I succeed at.’â€
This expression of determination, coming from a self-made 60-year-old who has ascended from a rural Grade Two teacher to Parliament and now a minister, cannot be taken lightly.
But, friends and family say this not so far-feteched because politics runs in Magoola’s whole bloodline.
Shaban Nkuutu, Magoola’s nephew, a loser in the Iganga LC 5 race says, “Our family has had a cabinet minister in almost every regime in this country.â€
Magoola’s late father, Yekonia Menya Zirabamuzale was the first black Ugandan in the Legislative Council, representing eastern region in the 1930s.
After that trail-blazing stint, it was her cousin Shaban Nkuutu’s turn to serve –– this time in cabinet. He was Minister of Works in Milton Obote’s first government. Then there was John Kirunda Luwurize, a minister of Works in Obote 11 regime.
Ali Kirunda Kivenjinja, her nephew, has served as Rehabilitation minister, Works (twice), Foreign Affairs, Minister without Portfolio; Director, External Affairs at the Movement Secretariat, most recently Minister in charge of the Presidency and now Deputy National Political Commissar and Director, Foreign Affairs.
Destiny might have played its part but it has been a long road to political glory for Magoola. Those close to her say her star started shining while she was the principal at Kaliro Primary Teachers College in Kamuli, a job she did for 15 years.
Todate, Magoola is credited with having, almost single-handedly, transformed the institution from a hollow establishment with hardly any teachers and furniture to national glory.
In 1992, she went through local elections at LC 1 level to become Woman District Councilor, Bugweri County. In 1993, she became the first District Chairperson, Women Council, Iganga.
In 1994, she contested the Constituent Assembly (CA) seat for Iganga District but lost. In 2001, she was elected Woman MP, Iganga District.
Magoola started out as a Grade Two teacher in Mbale in 1970.
In 1973, she joined Makerere University for a Diploma in Education. She became deputy principal of Kamuli TCC shortly after. She later moved to Kaliro PTC. In 1996, she enrolled at Makerere University and graduated with a degree Education (BED) in 2001. She is now pursuing a masters degree in Leadership and Development Studies with the World University of Leadership. She has seven children left after three died.
Her husband Nicholas Magoola died in 1996. He was deputy principal at Kabwengasi Teachers Training College.