BY BRIAN MUKENYI – MASAKA

Uganda’s elections come 2025- 2026 are nearly approaching with several candidates in the electoral position both in the ruling government under National Resistance Movement led by President Museveni and Opposition side charging their batteries to showcase their potential to engulf leadership positions in time.

As the English man’s adage goes; a single fall of a baby cannot stop him or her from walking.

The same adage blends well with the humble beginnings of National Resistance Movement Party (NRM) die-hard daughter Florence Owamaria smiling ear-to-ear with vigor and determination to face-off the parliament come 2026 general elections as a Woman Member of Parliament for Masaka City.

Born to the late Atanansi Kalaki and Ms Immaculate Mukamana residents of Kyenvunikidde village whose father, Mr. Kalaki was also a renowned farmer and photographer in Lwengo Rural- Sub County, Lwengo District; Owamaria attended Kyamaganda mixed day and boarding primary school, Kinoni Integrated Secondary School and St- Bernard’s college Kiswera Secondary School for both Ordinary Level and Advanced Level respectively.

As for clarity; Ms Owamaria grew up heavily with her grandmother; Ms Felista Mukarulangwa of Kiseka Sub- County in Lwengo District and Mr. Charles Kabano as the grandfather following the death of her mother Ms Mukamana at the tender age.

According to Ms Owamaria, life was too heavy for her to carry on her shoulders after the death of her parents but later found solace through her grand mother Ms Mukarurangwa who catered for all her life needs and growing without parents kept on haunting her emotionally and psychologically thereby missing the mother and father companionship.

“Life became too heavy for me after the death of my parents. I experienced a lot of tough times as a girl child; until when I realised a moment of redemption from my grandmother Felista Mukarulangwa who paid for all my school fees until senior four and later I went back to school as a dependant thereby digging in the school gardens for my school payments,” she recollects.

By nature, Ms Owamaria was a wise person ticking all boxes among the disciplined and favored children and loved working hard like a trojan to learn many skills while at school and she was entrusted to serve as the class monitor both in primary six and primary seven and such leadership skills kept on inspiring her to stand and serve for leadership positions.

“While at St Bernards- Kisweera Secondary School, I served as Entertainment prefect which is partly an obligation that propelled me to interact with more people socially and as such mentored me to get hold over the social capital I have in the public until now,” Owamaria astonishingly said.

Although her grandmother Ms Mukarulangwa wanted her granddaughter to become a professional teacher, Ms Owamaria chose to defer from the desires of the relatives and growing up envisaging becoming a formidable leader as well as a business woman instead.

“After my ordinary level at St Bernard Kiswera; my grandmother had directed me to go into primary teaching but I remained positive to proceed with finishing the Advanced Level. I used to carry out farming within the school’s gardens and I was relieved of the school fees courtesy of the school’s administration, ” she says.
“I was so lucky and blessed until I met Sister Uthra from Ireland in Kitovu Mobile and when I met her at Kyamaganda church and later she visited me at the school and paid for my school fees,” she added.

Later; blessings followed Ms Owamaria and she remained hanging on with the blessings and God’s mercy while depending on school payments as a garderner at the same time a student at St- Benards Kiswera College as to get school fees from the school’s administrators and later kept on braving on with life until Non-government organisations such as Chad Sponsorship to cater for her school fees which she missed out after securing sponsorship from sister Uthra based from Kitovu currently in Ireland funded her school fees.

After studies; Ms Owamaria got into the business world and started looking for greener pastures as a business woman, serving as women council chairperson at Kimanya, Kabonera division and Vice chairperson women council Masaka City too.
” I worked as a business woman in a retail shop after school,” she added.

“I first dealt in a retail shop women and men garmet and later I used to sell-off phones and accessories, and later ventured into Motor Vehicle selling and later picked the nuts to involve myself in mobilising votes for the ruling party, president and frag bearers, ” she shares.

As for clarity; Ms Owamaria started his political career by mobilising votes for her fellow colleagues under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Greater Masaka Mobilisation team and later took on the noose as leading mobiliser for the ruling President Yoweri ‘Tibuhaburwa’ Museveni in 2006 and they emerged victorious.

“I have grown up as a down to earth woman and I know heavily of their needs and the caliber of the leader of their desires which is obviously me to work for them and unite them,” she says.

It was during that leadership learning curve through which Ms Owamaria also a mother with children with a permanent residence in Kyabakuza Village in Masaka City was able to stand up as a woman Councillor and has represented women within Masaka City since then with ultmost commitment and willingness to impact their lives and amplifying the voice of women in Uganda.

” When I stood up with my candidature as Woman Member of Parliament for Masaka City in 2021- general elections more was still on my learning table to be mastered and practically be effected into consideration and losing during the elections emphatically made me strong as I had learnt the political arena and I am back to tick all boxes and represent people,” assured Owamaria.

“While in the retail shop I learnt to socIalise with people in advocating for their rights and helping the orphans. This gave me a reason to smile-off in leadership and when I lost in the past; I never got discouraged and I am back in the race to revive the glory of women empowerment and mobilising for the children’s rights respectively, ” added Owamaria, 40- year-old born on 15 December 1984.

Through working for people and socialising with the area serving leaders kept on motivating Ms Owamaria and she has targeted to stand for the post of Masaka City Woman Member of Parliament again with all arms akimbo.

“I am coming back with a lot of vigor and I strongly believe to go into the parliament and provide for the people within my designated constituency,” shared Owamaria.
“I would love to lobby for the people; their rights especially women and children whose rights have been violated mostly before,” added Owamaria.

Additionally; it is on Ms Owamaria’s agenda to empower all citizens within the Masaka City constituency and ensure that effective rule of law, high employment rate and development is fostered among the subjects represented.

“I hope to utilise my leadership skills in extending services to all people of Masaka City,” added Owamaria, also the Woman chairperson at Masaka City Council leadership.
To be frank; Ms Owamaria’s credentials to subscribe directly to the ruling party in National Resistance Movement (NRM) gives her the audacity to realise her ambitions in providing for the people and changing the face of proper representation of women in Parliament as dream come true and remains darling on her planning agenda as she is well acquainted with the people’s aspirations and desires especially those with small and big enterprise businesses and majority in income generating activities.

“The current leadership is highly embedded with leaders who are against the aspirations and desires of the ruling government and this has affected service delivery which I intend to rejuvenate as personally I would be able to interface with the government and president Museveni himself,” added Owamaria.

“I have grown under the supportive mentorship of the ruling government and politically and socially; I know really what the people of Masaka City desires. I am wholly informed about the credentials of the leader whom they would willingly entrust to stir them into steady progress which is me and I am ready to face off the world by robbying for them,” added Owamaria.

As for clarity, Ms Owamaria shares that women in business management must utilise this era when President Museveni and Ms Janet Museveni are in transformational leadership of seeing every Uganda’s citizen empowered in any business entity and willing to participate in supporting them through social and economic transformational programs so that they develop their businesses courtesy of the ruling government of president Museveni whose leadership has spanned thirty eight years since 1986.

In a nutshell; Ms Owamaria hopes to engage the voters through lecturing them on proper utilising of government’s economic and developmental programs such as Emyooga, Operation Wealth Creation including the Grow program for Women, YLP Youth Livelihood program and DDEG grant.

”I am looking forward to any kind of support from the voters and other entities,” said Ms Owaria.

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