Mrs. Grace Kampire Bikangaga in 1985
Photo courtesy of Willis Shalita of Austin, Texas, USA
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Grace Kampire Bikangaga, who died at the age of nearly 101 years last week, was a classic woman of substance that enjoyed universal respect without demanding honour. She had presence without attracting attention to herself. She was a strong force for good without claiming credit for her impact. She had great intellect and wisdom that she dispensed without claiming monopoly on those gifts.
It is not surprising that, nearly sixty years after she relinquished her formal role as the First Lady of Kigyezi, Mrs. Bikangaga continued to be referred to as Nyinaboona (Mother of All) by those who held her in well-deserved high esteem. She became Nyinaboona of Kigyezi when John Bikangaga, her husband, became the Rutakirwa Engabo ya Kigyezi, (the unsurpassable shield of Kigyezi), a non-hereditary and non-executive leadership of a people that had, hitherto, never known feudal rule. It was a position created under Section 34 of the federal Constitution of Uganda that had come into force on October 31, 1963. The creation of this position was primarily aimed at theoretically equalizing opportunities for all federal states and districts to front a person to be elected President of Uganda by the National Assembly.
Section 36 of that Constitution provided that “the President and the Vice-President shall be elected in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed by Parliament from among the Rulers of the Federal States and the constitutional heads of the districts by the members of the National Assembly for a term of five years.” The five Federal States of Uganda were the Kingdoms of Ankole, Buganda, Bunyoro, and Tooro, and the Territory of Busoga. The ten districts of Uganda were Acholi, Bugisu, Bukedi, Karamoja, Kigezi, Lango, Madi, Sebei, Teso, and West Nile.
The rulers of the federal states were Omugabe of Ankole, Kabaka of Buganda, Omukama of Bunyoro, Kyabazinga of Busoga, and Omukama of Tooro. The district constitutional heads included the Laloyo Maber of Acholi, Umuinga of Bugisu, Senkulu of Bukedi, Won-nyaci of Lango, Loprigo of Madi, Kingoo of Sebei, and Rutakirwa Engabo ya Kigyezi.
The choice of Bikangaga as the Rutakirwa of Kigyezi was as easy as the election of George Washington as the first president of the United States of America, and of Nelson Mandela as the first president of independent South Africa. These were men that were the uncontested natural leaders of their respective people, men of such high standing and integrity that fellow humans reflexively bowed before them.
With Bikangaga’s election as Rutakirwa, the Banyakigyezi received a gift of two-for-the-price of one. His wife was the perfect companion that added value, honour, and grace to a role that was foreign to their republican anti-feudal instincts. She discharged her duties as Nyinaboona with humility and grace that was evident to all, even to my early adolescent eyes.
While Banyakigyezi quickly found themselves embroiled in a highly divisive political factionalism, Nyinaboona managed to stay out of the fray even as the Rutakirwa was dragged into that muddy contest. It was a very difficult three years in which her husband served as the first and only Rutakirwa of Kigyezi, his tenure prematurely ended by the promulgation of Uganda’s Republican Constitution that abolished monarchies and cultural institutions on September 8, 1967. One suspects that it was a welcome relief.
The Bikangagas repaired to Kampala and embarked on a new phase of service to the country in various capacities, free from the madness of partisan politics for which neither one had the inclination to participate. While her husband had a distinguished career in public service, Grace Bikangaga focused on her most important role of mother to her seven biological children, and to many others for whom she was the perfect guardian and mentor. She pursued a successful career in business at a time when very few women had the endurance to compete in a male-dominated world. She did so without drama or display of her remarkable achievements.
Born on December 29, 1924, Kampire’s journey through her century was not a smooth ride, of course. An early beneficiary of formal education at Kabaare’s famous Hornby High School, her journeys to and from school involved long treks by foot. She performed manual labour that was a normal way of life for children. She witnessed the hopes of a colonized people as Uganda made the transition to independence from Britain in 1962. Those hopes collapsed together with the civilian government that began with the first overthrow of the Constitution of Uganda in 1966, and the formal launch of military rule in 1971.
She lived through the various iterations of military government in the fifty-four years that followed, and shed tears for many friends, relatives, and colleagues that were murdered with guns that she never imagined in her early years of hopeful innocence. She lost many relatives, including her beloved husband John, and her daughters Joy and Catherine who died very young. Yet she soldiered on, propelled by her strong Christian faith that provided firm partnership with her innate strength of character and graceful resilience.
Her last years were made difficult by the ravages of age and ill-health. However, she weathered all with her trademark grace, calmness, and acceptance of the hand she had been dealt without much self-pity. All who came into her presence remarked upon her humility and authentic sharing of love and concern about others. She remained Nyinaboona – mother all – to the end.
News of her death on November 25, 2025 brought us great sadness that was mixed with joyful thanksgiving for her long life of service to others, and for her exemplary grace and love that came from a deep well within her. Her death marked her triumphant victory after a century on this troubled Earth. She is now among the saints that have gone before us, assured of eternal life in the presence of God Almighty who lent her to us, and used her for His purpose. It is well.
© Muniini K. Mulera