Dhiren Katwa has been friends with Joyce Kakuramatsi Kikafunda, Uganda’s High Commissioner to India, for many years. When she recently released her autobiography in Delhi, Dhiren got an invite.
By Dhiren Katwa
“Persevere and never give up” is a mantra key to achieving life’s goals, Uganda’s High Commissioner to India repeatedly cites in her autobiography, Triumph Over Adversity.
Speaking at her official book launch at the Vasant Vihar Club in New Delhi, Her Excellency Professor Joyce Kakuramatsi Kikafunda told guests about her life’s extraordinary journey so far.
Born into poverty in Uganda
Joyce was born in a remote village in western Uganda to peasant farmers, Mr Erieza and Mrs Ednance, who put her in school at a period when it was very unpopular to educate girls in Uganda. Through hard work and determination, Joyce was able to join Gayaza High School – by then the best girls’ school in the country. Here she did her ordinary and advanced level secondary education.
First Ugandan girl to to get a first-class degree
Thereafter she joined Makerere University where she studied BSc in Agriculture. Joyce excelled beyond imagination by gaining a first-class honours degree, becoming the first girl in Uganda to do so in any course. While at Makerere University, she met and fell in love with Joseph Kikafunda who was headed for Canada for his PhD studies. Because of her excellent performance, Joyce got a scholarship to do her Masters in Canada where she joined Joseph and they got married in 1977. After her studies in Canada, Joyce lived two years in Mexico and eight years in Cameroon where Joseph was working for international agricultural research organisations.
Appointed as Ugandan High Commissioner
Fast-forward to 2012 when Uganda’s President, His Excellency Yoweri Museveni appointed Joyce as the High Commissioner of Uganda to the UK also Ireland; later to eight other countries including Australia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives. Earlier this month, she presented her letters of credence to Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel, at a ceremony in Kathmandu. Nepal’s honorary consul in Uganda, Dr Sudhir Ruparelia, has played a key role in fostering these ties. His appointment was a significant step in strengthening Nepal-Uganda relations, particularly in trade and investment.
Quadruplets at age 63
One major adversity Joyce grappled with for many years was childlessness – a taboo in African culture. But she later overcame it by her ‘never give up’ philosophy and her faith in ‘Mungu’ God. At the age of 60, she was blessed with her first child and at the age of 63 she was blessed with quadruplets.
Joyce’s book launch coincided with her birthday and Holi, the annual Indian festival of colour. Chief guest was Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale from the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Foreign Affairs department. Master of ceremonies was Joyce’s right-hand man, Arthur Agaba.
Guests included Mr Jatinder, Manpreet Singh from the Indian Chamber of International Business, High Commissioners to India representing Kenya, Egypt, Tanzania, Monaco, Rwanda, Namibia, Cameroon, Dr Mandeep Singh Chhatwal, Dr Ashma Begum, Vijay Saigal, Preeti Gupta, Vanshika Jindal, Joint Secretary from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Mayank Singh, Avinash Prasad, Girissh Bajaj, Deepak Babbar – to name just a few.
Up to 750,000 Ugandans in UK
The number of Ugandan Asians in the UK varies depending on the source. After their expulsion from Uganda in 1972, approximately 27,000 Ugandan Asians were resettled in the UK. Over time, this community has grown, and estimates suggest there are now between 300,000 and 750,000 Ugandans in the UK, including Ugandan Asians. Many of them live in areas like Greater London, Birmingham, Coventry and Leicester, where they have established vibrant communities.
Triumph Over Adversity: My Extraordinary Life’s Journey is available on Amazon and from international bookstores.
