KAMPALA – You cannot talk about Uganda’s progress and her key actors and miss out on the man from Kamwenge District, Frank Tumwebaze.
The 46-year-old educator and politician is indeed one of the most vocal ministers who is bold and can speak convincingly and eloquently about his country, Uganda.
Tumwebaze is the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, effective 8 June 2021.
He was born in Kamwenge District on 1 December 1975 to Matayo Kagyigyi and Beatrice Kagyigyi. He is the fifth-born in a family of seven children.
The minister who has so far served in over ten public offices has never scored below 80% in his constituency in all the last consecutive elections he has gone through. As a matter of fact, he was in the last general election automatically appointed Member of Parliament for Kibale County in Kamwenge District when the two other contestants for the seat withdrew under suspicious circumstances.
Tumwebaze has previously served as Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development from 14 December 2019.
Prior to that, he was the Minister of Information Technology and Communications, from 6 June 2016 to 13 December 2019. He was Minister for the Presidency and Minister for the Kampala Capital City Authority between 2012 and 2016.
The minister attended Jinja College for his A-Level education before joining Mbarara University of Science and Technology where he attained a Bachelor of Science in education in 1999. He also holds a Masters in International and Diplomatic Studies, and a Master’s in Public Health obtained in 2005 and 2019 from Makerere University.
In January 2019, the educator was awarded a Master of Public Health degree by Makerere University.
Career
Beginning in 2000 until 2001, Tumwebaze served as a customs officer with the Uganda Revenue Authority – URA, a body responsible for collecting taxes in Uganda.
In 2001, he was appointed deputy Resident District Commissioner – RDC and was posted to Iganga District, serving in that capacity until 2003 before he was brought into State House, where he served as a special presidential assistant for research and information from 2003 until 2005.
In 2006, Tumwebaze joined elective politics by contesting the parliamentary constituency of Kibale County where he was subsequently elected on the National Resistance Movement political party ticket and re-elected in 2011.
He was on 15 August 2012 appointed as minister for the presidency to replace Kabakumba Masiko, who resigned from government on 14 December 2011 following allegations of “abuse of office”, “theft by taking”, “causing monetary loss to the government” and “conspiracy to defraud government”.
On 28 May 2021, he was named as a member of the 11th Parliament’s Appointment Committee which vets and approves members appointed by the President, chaired by the Speaker of Parliament.
Other parliamentary responsibilities include;
Chairperson of the Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development
Member of the Committee on Rules, Discipline and Privileges
Tumwebaze is a married father of five children. He is of the Anglican faith.
