This woman Winnie Byanyima

She is known for her dignified and commanding poise.

Her skin, a rich deep tone, and often rocking her natural hair, Byanyima commands the room.

Winifred Karagwa Byanyima, popularly known as Winnie Byanyima, is a Ugandan diplomat, human rights activist, feminist, and politician.

Recently, Byanyima has been at the center of a media storm following allegations of an intimate past with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. The controversy erupted after Museveni’s son, Uganda’s Chief of Defense Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, accused her of trying to disrupt his parents’ marriage.

“There was nothing normal about your relationship with my father. You found a happy home and tried to wreck it. You’re a disaster of a woman,” he claimed in a post on X.

But the rights activist, boldly dismissed Muhoozi’s allegations, hinting that it was a past relationship.

“There is a more complex history between your father and I and that we have both chosen to move past with mutual respect. However, if you continue to present a false narrative, I may need to provide hard evidence of the facts. I prefer to maintain our dignified approach, but that choice remains yours. I consider this matter closed...,” she wrote.

Her response only fueled further debate, drawing international attention.

A relationship turned rivalry

In 2006, The Telegraph described Byanyima as a key figure in a friendship-turned-rivalry between Museveni and her husband, opposition leader Kizza Besigye.

According to the publication, Byanyima and Museveni had an intimate relationship between 1981 and 1986, while he was leading a guerrilla war against then-President Milton Obote.

She was reportedly by his [Museveni’s] side when he marched into Kampala and seized power in 1986.

“The couple conducted their affair between 1981 and 1986 when Museveni was fighting a guerrilla war against the late tyrant Milton Obote. Byanyima was at his side when he marched into Kampala at the head of a rebel army and made himself president in 1986,” the article reads in part.

Once in office, Museveni married Janet and distanced himself from Byanyima for reasons that remain unclear.

Twelve years later, Byanyima married Besigye, a former ally of Museveni and a key opposition figure in Uganda.

Despite her marriage, she continues to use the title “Ms.” in most of her professional engagements.

Career

Born on January 13, 1959, Byanyima is an aeronautical engineer, politician, human rights activist, feminist and diplomat.

She has been the executive director of UNAIDS, since November 2019. She also holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

UNAIDS describes her as a passionate and longstanding champion for social justice and a global leader on inequality since she leads the United Nations’ efforts to end the AIDS pandemic by 2030.

“Ms Byanyima believes that health care is a human right, and she is the co-founder and co-chair of the People’s Medicines Alliance, advocating for equitable access to medical technologies that help to prevent and respond to current and future pandemics,” Winnie’s biography on UNAIDS website reads.

Before joining UNAIDS, Byanyima served as the executive director of Oxfam International. She was elected three times to Uganda’s Parliament, where she led the first parliamentary women’s caucus and championed gender equality in Uganda’s 1995 post-conflict constitution.

The former Ugandan lawmaker co-chaired the World Economic Forum and served on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Gender Advisory Council during Canada’s G7 presidency.

She has contributed to the Global Commission on Climate Adaptation, the International Labour Organisation’s Global Commission on the Future of Work, and the World Bank’s Advisory Council on Gender and Development.

She holds a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Cranfield University and a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Manchester.

Among her many accolades, Byanyima also received the 2023 Hall of Femme Award from the International Women’s Forum South Africa and has been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Manchester (UK), Mount Saint Vincent University (Canada), Cranfield University (UK), and the University of the Free State (South Africa).