Joanita Kawalya | |
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Born | |
Nationality | Ugandan |
Education | Lubiri Secondary School |
Alma mater | Kyambogo University |
Occupation | Musician |
Spouse | Christopher Muganga |
Joanita Kawalya is a Ugandan musician and activist. [1] She is a member of the Afrigo Band [ citation needed ], the longest-lasting musical band in Uganda, which has been in continuous existence since 1975. [2] [3]
Kawalya was born to the late singer Eclaus Kawalya on 5 January 1967. [4] She worked as a teacher at Lubiri Senior Secondary School between 1989 and 1993. [5]
Kawalya started singing at an early age. She went on to sing in choir in school and later as a part time member of "The Wrens", courtesy of her father's guest performances with the band. He would take the whole family with him. She joined Afrigo Band [ citation needed ] in 1986 when she was nineteen-year-old, replacing her sister, Margaret, also a vocalist who was leaving for Germany. She did music as she did a teaching course at Kyambogo University In 1993, she quit teaching and concentrated on music and mothering her two children. [6]
She has served as a community advisory member on the National Aids project, the Walter Reed project [7] and the Makerere Johns Hopkins joint project. She has also been involved in grass root campaigns for HIV/AIDS and her face is now recognizable as one of the facilitators for the Nabagereka's annual cultural fete, the Kisakaate. Kawalya is also involved in mentorship of talent. [6]
In 2020, Kawalya participated in the gender identity week organized by Makerere University School of Women and Gender Studies [8]
Joanita Kawalya is a mother of two children. [4]