Who is Sarah Achieng Opendi? Flash Uganda Media looks at her biography, age, husband, family, tribe, achievements, and relationship with Alex Opendi, Godfrey Atkins Katusabe, and the early life and education of the current State Minister for Mineral Development in Uganda.
Sarah Achieng Opendi is a Ugandan politician, professional accountant and businesswoman.
She is the current Women’s Representative for Tororo District in the 11th Ugandan Parliament and the state minister for Mineral Development.
Hon. Opendi is a member of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) political party.
She is the Chairperson of the Uganda Women’s Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) and an Executive Board Member of the African Parliamentary Network on Internet Governance (APNIG).
Early Life
Sarah Achieng Opendi was born in Tororo District on September 26, 1968, to Alex Opendi (father).
Education Background
Sarah Achieng Opendi studied accounting and earned a Diploma in Accounting from the National College of Business Studies in 1994.
She passed the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants examinations in 1998, earning the title of Associate Chartered Certified Accountant Level II.
In the same year, she received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Makerere University.
And then in 2005, she graduated with a Master of Business Administration degree also from Makerere University.
Education background summary
| Years | Institution | Status /Award |
| 1994 | National College of Business Studies | Diploma in Accounting |
| 1998 | Makerere University | Bachelor of Business Administration degree |
| 2005 | Makerere University | Master of Business Administration degree |
Marriage / Relationship
Sarah Opendi is married to Bukonzo West Constituency Member of Parliament, Godfrey Atkins Katusabe.
Career and Professional Work Experience
Sarah Achieng Opendi’s career started in 1994 when she was hired as an accounts assistant by Uganda Consolidated Proportions Limited, a division of the state-owned Uganda Development Corporation (UDC).
With the same company, she received a promotion in 1996 and remained an accountant there until 1998.
She was the Tororo District Council’s deputy speaker from 1998 to 2000.
From 1999 to 2003, she also worked as an Inspectorate Officer in the Inspector General of Government (IGG)’s office. She was elevated to Senior Inspectorate Officer at the IGG’s office in 2003–2004.
She was then elevated to Principal Inspectorate Officer in the IGG office from 2004 to 2006. She worked for the DANIDA Anti-Corruption Project as the Deputy Project Coordinator during that same period.
Sarah Opendi worked as the accountant for the Royal Netherlands Embassy’s Acholi Bursary Program from 2006 to 2007.
She also worked with the NGO Windle Trust Uganda as the finance manager from 2009 to 2010.
Political Career
She ran successfully in 2011 on the National Resistance Movement political party ticket for the Tororo District Women’s Representative parliamentary seat.
She was named Minister of State for Lands, a role she held from May 27, 2011 to August 15, 2012.
On August 15, 2012, Opendi was named Minister of State for Primary Healthcare during a cabinet reorganization, a position she held up to June 6, 2016.
During the 2016 General elections, she contested again as the Women’s Representative for Tororo District but lost in her NRM primaries forcing her to stand as an independent candidate. However, she still won serving Tororo District as its Women’s Representative for the second term.
She was then appointed as the State Minister of Health for General Duties from June 6, 2016, to December 14, 2019.
From December 14, 2019, she has served as the state minister for Mineral Development in the Ugandan cabinet.
Sarah Achieng Opendi garnered 76,662 votes in the 2021 General elections and won the position of Women Representative, Tororo District on the National Resistance Movement ticket.
Work experience background summary
| Years | Institution | Position |
| 1994 – 1996 | Uganda Consolidated Proportions Limited | Accounts Assistant |
| 1996 – 1998 | Uganda Consolidated Proportions Limited | Accountant |
| 1998 – 2000 | Tororo District Council | Deputy Speaker |
| 1999 – 2003 | Inspector General of Government (IGG)’s office | Inspectorate Officer |
| 2003 – 2004 | IGG’s office | Senior Inspectorate Officer |
| 2004 – 2006 | IGG’s office | Principal Inspectorate Officer |
| 2004 – 2006 | DANIDA Anti-Corruption Project | Deputy Project Coordinator |
| 2006 – 2007 | Royal Netherlands Embassy’s Acholi Bursary Program | Accountant |
| 2009 – 2010 | NGO Windle Trust Uganda | Finance manager |
Women Member of Parliament Summary
| Term | Years | Constituency | Other roles |
| 1st | 2011 – 2016 | Tororo District | Minister of State for LandsMinister of State for Primary Healthcare |
| 2nd | 2016 – 2021 | Tororo District | State Minister of Health for General Duties |
| 3rd | 2021 – 2024 | Tororo District | State Minister for Mineral Development |
Achievements and Awards
Sarah Achieng Opendi has received a global leadership award for being the world’s most influential minister of health.
She donated UGX 3,100,000 to the Admin FC fundraising drive, which was a significant boost for the team ahead of the Regional League promotional playoffs.
The accountant-turned-politician presented the donation to club officials at the club’s headquarters in Paya, Tororo. Opendi vowed to continue her generous support for the club.
Controversies
In April 2020, Sarah Achieng Opendi denied allegations that she had forcibly removed her husband, Hon. Atkins Katusabe (Bukonzo West MP) from an institution in Entebbe.
Opendi stated that she did not defy presidential directives on mandatory quarantine and the allegations were a false attempt by malicious people to tarnish her reputation.
According to Sarah Opendi, her husband Atkins Katusabe arrived on March 15, 2020, before the presidential directive on mandatory quarantine was issued on March 18, 2020.
Hon. Sarah Opendi ran as an independent in the February 2016 general elections. She was declared the winner with 61,800 votes to Jacinta Ayo’s 59,790 votes.
Ayo went to court and proved that the returning officers had tampered with the vote tally sheets at more than one polling station. In total, she was able to demonstrate that 1,765 votes were taken away from her.
According to the evidence, the correct final tally was Ayo 61,276 vs Opendi 60,772. On July 28, 2016, the High Court in Mbale issued an order removing Opendi from Parliament and ordering new elections.
Sarah Opendi petitioned the Ministry of Education in 2022 to forbid secular artists from performing in schools.
She maintained that the musicians’ sensual attire and sexy dance routines have an adverse effect on the student’s mental health.
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