Rhoda Kalema

In her autobiography, My Life is But a Weaving, 92-year-old Rhoda Kalema narrates her inspiring journey of faith, service, and resilience. A gifted storyteller, she recounts her time as a student and girls’ prefect at King’s College Budo in the 1930s and 1940s, marked by the tragic loss of her sister, Sara, to a lightning strike, and the assassination of her father, Katikiro Martin Luther Nsibirwa, in 1945. Rhoda married William Wilberforce Kalema in 1950, a teacher and minister in the Obote government, who vanished during Idi Amin’s regime in 1972. Despite personal tragedies, Rhoda’s commitment to Uganda’s women shone through her work with the Uganda Women’s Council, her role in the National Consultative Council, and her contributions to the 1994 Constituent Assembly. Her selfless service and courage as a pioneer in the Uganda Women’s Movement inspire generations.

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