Who is Grace Mary Mugasa? Flash Uganda Media looks at her biography, age, husband, family, tribe, relationship with Aloysius Mugasa Adyeeri, Hoima Municipality, Hoima’s Iron Lady, Bushenyi District, early life and education of the current Minister of State for Public Service Uganda in Uganda.
Grace Mary Mugasa is a Ugandan politician and the current State Minister for Public Service.
Grace Mary was Hoima Municipality’s first female mayor. She is all about gender equality and a clean environment.
Early Life and Education
Grace Mary Mugasa was born on December 28th 1968, in Munteme, Hoima District, Western Uganda to Pascal and Regina Rukanyanga.
She is married to Aloysius Mugasa Adyeeri, an Administrative Specialist and author who is currently the Chairman of Uganda’s National Lotteries and Gaming Board after resigning as the managing director of Uganda Kolping Society.
She is a mother of grown children and grandchildren, as well as the protector of several orphans.
Grace Mary Mugasa has two Diplomas in Principles of Modern Management and Sales Management & Marketing from the College of Professional Management in the United Kingdom.
She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Democracy and Development Studies and a Master of Arts Degree in Development Studies from Uganda Martyrs University in Nkozi.
Mrs Mugasa also has a Certificate in Capacity Building for Local Political Leaders from the Swedish Centre for International Development and a Certificate in Gender Mainstreaming in Local Governance from Israel’s MASHAV Golda Meir Centre Mt Carmel.
Career and Professional Work Experience
Mrs Grace Mary Mugasa began her teaching career at Kizirafumbi Sub-county after completing her O-Levels in 1986.
She became a community trainer in small enterprises after completing her two diplomas in Principles of Modern Management and Sales Management & Marketing. She also owned a small business.
She entered active politics in 2001 when she ran for and was elected as a woman councillor representing the Northern ward in Hoima Town Council, Hoima District. She remained in office for ten years after being re-elected in 2006.
Hoima Town Council was elevated to municipal status in July 2010, and she was elected as the first mayor of Hoima Municipality in March 2011 and re-elected in 2016.
Grace was also a co-founder of the Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM) in 2016 and served as the GPM Executive Committee’s second vice-chair until she was nominated Minister in June 2021.
She has served as a member on the following boards; HOFOKAM Ltd (a microfinance enterprise), Hoima Catholic Diocese Communications Board, Millennium Business School, St. Andrea Kaahwa’s College, and Kitara Secondary School.
Achievements and Awards
Mary Grace was known for her “no-nonsense” approach to organized urbanisation throughout her two years as mayor.
She gained the nickname “Hoima’s Iron Lady” among the city’s citizens and is recognized for her intolerance of disorder and garbage around the city while advocating for good, well-planned development procedures.
During her tenure as mayor, Hoima witnessed a transition through the reconstruction of the Municipal/City offices and road construction with the assistance of the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) initiative, which was sponsored by the World Bank-IDA loan program.
Roads in Hoima city were under construction as of March 2022, about a year into Grace Mary’s term, thanks to her petitions to the president and constant lobbying.
These comprised the routes going to and from the important religious sites, which included Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral in Bujumbura, St. Peter’s Cathedral in Duhaga, and Bwikya Mosque in Kinubi.
Controversies
After a contentious election with contested results and violence against her supporters from one of the contesting candidates’ camps, then-incumbent Mayor Grace Mary ran as an Independent candidate in the 2021 general elections.
She contested alongside Kaboyo in the Hoima mayoral election and upon losing to him with 12,298 votes against his 12,451, Grace Mary filed a petition in Masindi High Court.
This petition against Kaboyo claimed that he committed multiple electoral offences before and during the polls including voter bribery and malpractice.
However, she later withdrew the petition on the grounds of the need to maintain peace and harmony since both candidates were members of the National Resistance Movement. The decision was also made in the spirit of reconciliation between the two parties and the people of Hoima.
Editor’s Note: Please contact flashugnews@gmail.com if you find any of the content to be inaccurate or outdated.
