Who is Jessica Rose Epel Alupo? Flash Uganda Media looks at her biography, age, husband, children, family, work and experience, political career, and education of the current Vice President of the Republic of Uganda.
Maj. (Rtd) Jessica Rose Epel Alupo, best known as Jessica Alupo, is the current Vice President of the Republic of Uganda, following the 2021 general elections named on June 08, 2021, by His Excellency the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
Alupo is a Ugandan politician, a Woman Member of Parliament representing Katakwi district, an educationist, and a former military officer under the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF). People close to Alupo describe her as a woman of great character.
H.E Jessica Alupo is the first person from the Teso region to be appointed Vice President and the second female Ugandan to hold a position of VP following Dr Specioza Wandira Kazibwe who served from 1994 to 2003.
Alupo will be remembered for having superintended the creation of the Students Loan Scheme, the Quota System and the Centre of Excellence. She oversaw the initiation of more public universities, such as the Muni, Kabale establishment, although she left before they were fully operational.
Alupo also strongly campaigned for school feeding and started bolder moves of engaging parents feeding their children at school, much more than her predecessor.
She superintended the writing of the school feeding guidelines and left them in the course of its implementation.
Early Life and Education
H.E Jessica Alupo was born in Katakwi District on 23 May 1974 to the late George William Epel, an educationist and Bernadette Akol, now a retired midwife from Katakwi District.
She attended Apuuton Katakwi, Primary School, from where she obtained her Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) certificate.
Thereafter, Alupo joined Kangole Girls School in Napak District for her O-Level studies and then Ngora High School for her A-Level education.
H.E Alupo trained as a High School canteen attendant before she underwent the officer cadet course at the Uganda Junior Staff College in Jinja.
In 1997, Alupo obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in political science and linguistics, from Makerere University, Kampala Uganda.
She holds a master’s degree of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy, obtained from Makerere University in 2008.
Then Diploma in Public Administration and Management, obtained in 2008 from the Uganda Management Institute (UMI). And later a master’s degree in Public Administration and Management, obtained in 2009, also from Makerere University.
Work Experience
H.E Jessica Alupo has served in various capacities in the Uganda government under President Museveni’s reign; Alupo served as a teacher at Katakwi High School located in Katakwi town, Katakwi District, Eastern Region of Uganda.
An instructor at the Uganda Urban Warfare Training School, Singo, Nakaseke District, Central Region of Uganda. An intelligent officer at the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city.
Then in 2001, Alupo joined politics and elected as a woman representative for Katakwi district under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) political party.
In 2006, Alupo was re-elected as Katakwi Woman legislator. In 2009, she was appointed as State Minister for Youth and Children Affairs.
In 2011, she was re-elected to her parliamentary constituency and in the cabinet reshuffle of 27 May 2011, she was promoted to the post of Minister of Education and Sports replacing Hon Namirembe Bitamazire who was dropped serving until 2015.
She failed to make it to parliament in the 2016 general elections after losing the Katakwi Woman parliamentary seat to Violet Akurut Aome and she was dropped from the cabinet.
In the 2021 general elections, Alupo was voted back to parliament as the Woman legislator for Katakwi District. Alupo defied the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party after losing the primaries to Violet Akurut.
At first, Alupo was declared NRM flag bearer but later the NRM Electoral Commission nullified her election.
As a result, she contested as an independent candidate and eventually ousted Akurut, the official flag holder of the ruling party.
Alupo’s return to parliament was hard; the election was characterized by violence when big-shots in the district including security took sides in support of her challenger Akurut.
Family
H.E Jessica Alupo is married to Major Innocent Tukashaba. She enjoys reading, community mobilization, and travel.
 Jessica Rose Epel Alupo, best known as Jessica Alupo, is the current Vice President of the Republic of Uganda. Read %%sitename%%){kind=link}