Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga has been at the helm of Ugandan politics since the 80s and her love for t
Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga has been at the helm of Ugandan politics since the 80s and her love for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has helped the party to consolidate strong support in Busoga Region and East as a whole.
While it looked like the opposition had taken over Busoga Region, Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga intervened and in the recent elections, NRM regained total the control of the region.
Hon. Kadaga is one of the strongest NRM mobilizers in the country whose voice is totally heard by the masses once she speaks.
She has been at the centre of tourism revival in Busoga Region and with her being the chairperson of Busoga Tourism Board, the tourism in the region has thrived with all tourist sites in the region revived and running smoothly thereby contributing a lot Uganda’s economy.
She has been instrumental in lobbying for infrastructure development in the region with roads done, education institutions developed, health and trade developed in the region. She has attracted a number of investors who have since set up industries and factories providing employment opportunities to the Youths.
Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga was also the force behind revival of Busoga Kingdom negotiating the restoration of Kyabazinga after years in controversy.
The Kamuli District Woman MP has also been an activist of rule of law and a fighter of women’s and children’s rights.
Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga has also been involved in a lot of community and charity work, reaching out to several needy people in the country. She has also sponsored a number of students to attain education of their choice. She has been a role model to very many leaders of the current generation as well as many young women who have achieved a lot looking up to her.
As the First Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda and the Minister for East African Community Affairs, she has worked hard to see trade balance in the region as well as regional cooperation.
She previously served as the Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda from 19 May 2011 until 21 May 2021 and during her leadership, the Parliament was well managed and there was no extravagance as it has been in the 11th Parliament.
Lawyer and politician
She was the first woman to be elected Deputy Speaker, and later Speaker in the history of the Parliament of Uganda. She succeeded Edward Ssekandi, who served as Speaker from 2001 to 2011.
She is also the current Member of Parliament for the Kamuli District Women’s Constituency, Busoga sub-region, a position she has held since 1989.
Early life and education and Career
Between 1984 and 1988, Kadaga was in private law practice. From 1989 to 1996, she served as the member of parliament for Kamuli District in the District Woman’s Constituency. She served as the Chairperson of the University Council for Mbarara University between 1993 and 1996. In 1996, she served as Secretary General of the East African Women Parliamentarians Association.
From 1996 to 1998, Rebecca Kadaga was the Ugandan Minister of State for Regional Cooperation (Africa and the Middle East). From 1998 to 1999, she was Minister of State for Communication and Aviation, and from 1999 to 2000, she was Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. She was elected as Deputy Speaker of Parliament in 2001, a position that she held until 19 May 2011, when she was elected Speaker of Parliament.
Following the February 2016 general election, Kadaga was unanimously re-elected as Speaker of Parliament on 19 May 2016.
On 20 December 2017, Kadaga presided over the Ugandan Parliament session that passed a constitutional amendment which, among other measures, eliminated the requirement for candidates running for the presidency to be younger than 75 years of age. The amendment essentially gave Museveni leeway to run for President of Uganda for his sixth and seventh term in office.
On 15th January 2026, Kadaga was re-elected as a member of parliament for women representative Kamuli District.
Besides her duties as speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, she sat on the following parliamentary committees:
Appointments Committee – The committee reviews all cabinet appointments by the president, and may approve or reject an appointment: The speaker chairs the committee.
The Parliamentary Commission – The speaker chairs the Commission.
The Business Committee – The speaker chairs the committee.
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