Who is Nancy Kalembe, the female presidential aspirant?

Nancy Kalembe last week announced that she will stand for president in the 2021 general election.

Kalembe notified the Electoral Commission (EC) of her intentions to consult voters ahead of nominations for the 2021 presidential race.

“As mandated by law, this is to formally declare my candidature for the forthcoming presidential election in 2021. I am an adult Ugandan with all the necessary qualifications to seek this high office as per the constitution of the Republic of Uganda and the laws flowing therefrom,” Kalembe said in her letter to the Electoral Commission chairperson.

She said that she will be standing as an independent candidate.

“In light of the above declaration, I kindly request that I be guided on the way forward as regards nationwide consultation exercise that is required and the acquisition of the requisite signatures for the electorates as a secondment for my candidature.”

Nancy Kalembe was born to the late George Patrick Bageya, who was the former LC-V chairman of Iganga, and Aida Cissy Kubaaza. She studied at St Mary’s College Namagunga for O-Level and Mariam High School for A-Level. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in population studies from Makerere University in 2007.

In 2003, she joined the Miss Uganda contest and although she did not emerge winner, she was voted Miss Intelligence, earning her a job with Sanyu FM. On January 8, 2008, she joined the Apprentice Africa, the African version of the American reality TV show, The Apprentice, hosted by Donald Trump. She emerged sixth out of the 16 finalists, winning a working slot at PHP Bank in Nigeria.

Kalembe returned to Uganda in 2009 and worked with Orient Bank until she resigned in 2010 to fully concentrate on her businesses. In her free time, she enjoys swimming.

She is the founder of Spring Clean, a cleaning company, and Mbalimbali Ltd, a pineapple juice and jam-producing company based in Nakawa. Before reaching these heights, Kalembe, 34, tasted the varied waters of employment. She worked as a news anchor at the then Uganda Television (UTV).

She was the account manager for Uganda Telecom (UTL) and account holder for Nation Media Group at Lowe Scanad advertising agency, and sales and promotions executive at Sanyu FM.

She also had a working stint at PHP bank in Nigeria and Orient bank in Uganda.