Princess Bagaaya rings in 89th birthday in intimate style

Family, friends, and former colleagues are celebrating Princess Elizabeth Bagaaya’s 89th birthday with a small private party in Kampala.

Unlike last year’s celebrations, which had a large number of people attending prayers at Namirembe Cathedral and dinner at the Serena Hotel, this year only about 20 people are in attendance, considering she is still recuperating from a successful surgery she had in November last year in Kampala.

Even though she is doing pretty well, the small private birthday party, unlike a big one, is meant to help her slow down a bit, as the doctors require her to do so in order to return to full health.

“Going by that, we decided to do a small exclusive surprise birthday party of about 20 people, mainly family, friends, her caregivers, and colleagues she has not met in a long time but still keeps in touch with.

“There are like three particular friends that Princess has been asking about, who are part of the celebrations. It’s a golden opportunity that they are getting to meet and have lunch together,” said Joannita Babumba Kamuli, a niece of Bagaaya.

The birth of a princess

In May 1935, the 11th Omukama of Tooro, Rukirabasaija Sir George David Matthew Kamurasi Rukidi III, and the Queen Mother of Tooro, Omugo Lady Kezia Byanjeru Bonabana, got wedded at Saint John’s Cathedral, situated in the heart of Tooro Kingdom in Western Uganda.

The following year, their first daughter, Princess Elizabeth Christobel Edith Bagaaya Akiiki, was born in Kabarole, Tooro Kingdom, Western Uganda, on February 9, 1936. During her childhood, she was nicknamed Kampulini. She was the eldest of six children.

Princess Bagaaya grew up in Fort Portal with her siblings and attended schools in the region, including Kyebambe Preparatory School.

Following the completion of her secondary education at Gayaza High School, Princess Elizabeth continued her studies in North Dorset, England, at the Sherborne School for Girls, where she was the only Black student.

A year later, she was accepted into the University of Cambridge, Girton College, and was the third African woman to attend this university.

In 1962, she graduated from the University of Cambridge with a law degree, and three years later, in 1965, she qualified as a barrister-at-law at London’s Gray’s Inn.

The admiration for a trailblazing princess

Bagaaya is admired for being a woman of many firsts. She is celebrated for advancing women's empowerment and development through her career as the first East African woman barrister (a lawyer entitled to practice as an advocate, particularly in the higher courts) in the UK.

Princess Bagaaya’s dedication to advancing women's empowerment and development through her career as the first East African Woman Barrister in the UK, first UN Woman Ambassador for Uganda, the first Woman Minister of Foreign Affairs for Uganda, first Woman Minister of Tourism for Uganda, and first African Woman who became an iconic international model of high repute with stunning beauty, among others, made her one of the most admired women.

As Bagaaya celebrates her 89th birthday this Sunday, her life and legacy of over eight decades are characterised by smartness, curiosity, humility, integrity, diligence, diplomacy, philanthropy, hard work, and commitment to serve her country and the entire community.

Last year, she fulfilled her birthday pledge and donated sh30 million towards a campaign to revamp a rundown Kabarole hospital to improve the quality of healthcare delivery and bought equipment for the hospital.

An icon of the Uganda women's rights movement, pioneer social worker, and one of the first women parliamentarians in Uganda who became deputy minister of public service, Rhoda Nsibirwa Kalema, says Bagaaya deserves a celebration for what she has achieved in the services she has rendered in her lifetime.

Born into royalty and celebrated for her beauty, hard work, success, and dedicated service to people, Princess Elizabeth Christobel Edith Bagaaya Akiiki, to date, remains humble, kind, loving, and graceful to people of all walks of life who cross her path.

It’s out of this love that friends, family, well-wishers, and royalties, on her birthday on February 9, celebrate her life and legacy in her presence.