On January 18, 2024, the country received news about the death of the veteran politician, one of the longest-serving legislators, and opposition member, Cecilia Ogwal, commonly known as “The Iron Lady.”

Different leaders in the country expressed their grief and recognized how the country has lost a great leader, mentor, friend, and mother to many.

One would ask, Who is Cecilia Ogwal?

Cecilia Barbara Atim Ogwal was born on June 12, 1946, in Alyec-Ower village, Adok Sub County, Dokolo District, Northern Uganda. She has been married to Lameck Ogwal and is a mother of seven biological children, along with many other adopted ones.

Educational Background

Ogwal attended Ngeta Boarding Primary School and completed her ordinary-level education at Sacred Heart Secondary School in Gulu.

She later joined Gayaza High School in 1963. In 1967, at the age of 21, she was admitted to the University of Nairobi, where she pursued a Bachelor’s of Commerce degree, which she graduated from in 1970.

Ogwal also obtained a Certificate in Human Resources Management from the Uganda Management Institute, which was known as the Institute of Public Administration then. She also holds a Certificate in Christian-Based Values from the Haggai Institute, Singapore, and a Certificate in Public-Private Partnership from Austria.

In 1969, at the age of 23, she contested the first Miss Uganda pageant at the Apollo Milton Hotel and only made it to the finals. She was, however, reported as Miss Uganda by the media, overshadowing the real winner, who was from Fort Portal, an issue that she clarified during an interview.

Career

In 1979, Ogwal joined the Ugandan Embassy in Kenya as the liaison officer for returning Ugandan refugees, a job that she did until 1980.

She worked as the operations manager at the Uganda Advisory Board of Trade from 1980 until 1981. In 1982, she joined Housing Finance Bank as one of its founders and remained until 1984.

From 1981 to 1986, Ogwal served as the chairperson of the Uganda Development Bank.

Political Career

Ogwal joined politics in 1985 under the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) as the acting Secretary General until 1992. In 1994, she took part in the Constituent Assembly which drafted and enacted the 1995 Ugandan Constitution.

She served as a Member of Parliament in the 6th Parliament (1996–2001) and the 7th Parliament (2001–2006). In 2006, she contested for the Lira Municipality Parliamentary seat but lost to Jimmy Akena, the son of UPC founder Milton Obote. In the same year, Ogwal contested for the Women’s Representative seat in the newly created Dokolo District and won.

In 2011, she defected from the UPC and ran as a member of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, retaining the same parliamentary post.

She succumbed to cancer in an Indian hospital on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at the age of 77.