Elvania Namukwaya Zirimu

Biography Elvania Namukwaya was born at Bussi Island, Kalangala District, in Uganda.

While at Makerere, Namukwaya met and fell in love with the Ugandan linguist and scholar Pio Zirimu. They married a few years later. The marriage produced a daughter.

In 1963, Namukwaya went to the University of Leeds where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1966. On her return to Uganda, she became a tutor at the teachers' training college at Kyambogo and later also at Makerere University. She helped found the Uganda National Choir in 1967. Also that year, she formed the Ngoma Players with a declared policy of writing and producing plays in the Ugandan mode, Her work portrayed social and political crises in the 1960s.

Making a second visit to Britain (1972–73) she worked with the Roy Hart Theatre and the Keskidee Centre and also presented the programme Break for Women for the BBC World Service. She produced Byron Kawadwa's Oluyimba twa Wankoko as Uganda's entry for FESTAC 77, and in addition produced television plays, served as a judge for several drama competitions, and was involved with many cultural festivals.

In 1979, she had been appointed Uganda's High Commissioner to Ghana and was preparing to leave Uganda to take up the appointment when she was killed in a car crash.

Published works

Stories

"The Hen and Ground Nuts" in

Plays

"African Spear" in