Uganda: Museveni grants former education minister official burial

President Museveni has accorded an official burial ceremony to the former Minister of Education and Sports, Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire, recognising her long and distinguished service to the country.

Her ancestral home is in Kibuga Parish, Masakwa Village, Butambala District.

"Accordingly, H.E. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, in line with Article 99 of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda as amended, which vests executive authority of Uganda in the President, has directed that the late Hon Namirembe Bitamazire be accorded an official burial," Babalanda said in part.

She added that the government has constituted a hybrid National Organising Committee, chaired by herself, to coordinate burial arrangements in collaboration with the family.

An official burial means that the government will meet all funeral and burial expenses.

Bitamazire died on January 14, 2026, at the International Hospital in Kampala at about 9 pm. Details surrounding her illness were not immediately disclosed.

Distinguished career

Born on July 17, 1941, to the late Ssalongo Dezdelio Ssajabi and Nnalongo Rose Nasozi in Kibuga-Masakwa Village, in the present-day Butambala District, Bitamazire was married to Mr Alfonse Bitamazire, with whom she had seven children.

She received her secondary education at Trinity College Nabbingo before joining Makerere University, where she earned a Diploma in Education in 1964, a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967 and later a Master of Arts degree in 1987.

Bitamazire had an illustrious career as an educationist, women's rights activist, counsellor, diplomat, and politician. Between 1971 and 1973, she served as a director at the East African Harbours Corporation before becoming head teacher of Tororo Girls School, a position she held until 1974.

From 1974 to 1979, she worked as a Senior Education Officer in the Ministry of Education. In 1979, she was appointed Minister of Education and Sports during the Iddi Amin administration, a role she served in until 1980.

Between 1980 and 1996, she was Deputy Chairperson of the Education Service Commission. She later returned to Cabinet as State Minister for Education and Sports from 1999 to 2005, before being elevated to full Minister of Education and Sports in 2005, a position she held until 2011. She concurrently served as a Woman Member of Parliament for Mpigi District between 2001 and 2011.

Education legacy

Bitamazire is widely regarded as one of the architects of major education reforms in Uganda, including the introduction of Universal Primary Education (UPE).

She played a key role in revising the primary school curriculum, improving national enrolment levels, enhancing performance in national examinations - including PLE and UCE - strengthening teacher training and professional development, and expanding and rehabilitating school infrastructure across the country.

Her service also extended beyond Uganda. She was a member of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women from 1998 to 2001, a founding member of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), and a member of the Kajubi Commission, which reviewed Uganda's education policy.

In her later years, Bitamazire served as Chancellor of the Uganda Management Institute.