Our Past Presidents

 

1.Rahul Patel  -  Charter President	1992
2. Noel Ntazinda	1993-94
3. Sharad Shah	1994-95
4. Dilip Rawal	1995-96
5. Sanjiv Patel	1996-97
6. Ebert Byenkya	1997-98
7. Joseph Baroraho	1998-99
8. Oscar Kihika	1999-2000
9. Zainabu Opito	2000-01
10. Aggrey Kankunda	2001-02
11. Richard Mayebo	2002-03
12. Paul Muwanga	2003-04
13. Carol Abeja - Centennial Pres.	2004-05
14. David Kahwa	2005-06
15. Susan Matovu	2006-07
16. Parity Twinomujuni 17. Michael Ojok	2007-08 2008-09
18. Antony Mwandha	2009-10
19. Byabazaire Donnan 20. Jackie Nansubuga	2010-11 2011-12
21. Jane Okot'Bitek Langoya 22. Esther Mwambu	2012-13 2013-14
23. David Alex Tabaro 24. Patrick Lassu	2014-15 2015-16
25. Kitakule Geoffrey	2016-17
26. Rebecca Proscovia Nambi	2017-18
27. Senkatuka Ian	2018-19
28.  Peter Mukuru	2019 - 20
29.  Jennifer Byokusheka	2020 - 21
30. Odaga Charles	2021 - 22
31. Paul Muhame	2022 - 23

1999/2000 Rotary Year by PP Oscar Kihika

 

The theme for the year was Act with Consistency, Credibility, Continuity. The Rotary Club of Kampala South and the Rotary Movement as a whole was in the last year of the millennium. I took over the reins  of President from Joseph Baroraho, and in keeping with the theme of the year, the Rotary Club of Kampala South sought to continue the now popular innovations in raising funds to finance its projects. To that end we consolidated the Sports Gala which become a high light of the Rotary Calendar Year.

 

The funds raised were used to finance the construction of the VIP latrines in Kajjansi and its education project under which the club also took on the responsibility paying school fees for selected young disadvantaged individuals at the time. One of them has since graduated and joined the Rotary Family. It was in the same year that the club initiated the establishment of a borehole in the same area. I do recollect that the club at the time conceptualized the book project. The club however struggled with membership as the numbers hovered around 24 and during that year we had about three inductions however we also had exits as well, thus keeping the net gain more or less even.

 

The responsibility of leading a Rotary Club in my view is really a collective one, and it involves motivating  fellow club members to keep the course and remain committed.

 

As I look back and reflect I am proud to say that the Rotary Club of Kampala South has indeed come a long way given that at one time it was in danger of being de-registered. Boasting a membership of 40+ it continues to grow and through its ever innovative means of fund raising, the club has continued to contribute to the growth of Rotary in Uganda.

2000/2001 Rotary Year by PP Zainabu Opito

I served as President in 2000/2001 and I remember that while it was a very hectic and challenging year, I enjoyed it thoroughly as we had quite a good number of very youthful members who have thankfully stuck it out with Rotary till now. Some of the highlights of my year as President were as follows:

• Kampala South changed its meeting time from 6.00 p.m. Mondays to lunch time -1.00 p.m. - 2.00 p.m. to accommodate the fact that most of our youthful members were in that phase of their lives where they wanted to attain their Masters Degrees... e.g. PHF Aggrey, PP Michael Ojok, Sam Mpawulo (where is he?) etc etc... We used to meet at the now Serena Hotel (in one of the pubs as recommended by PP Michael Ojok!)
• Kampala South members agreed to take on the "SEND A COW PROJECT" by way of monitoring the projects in Lira and Mityana...(I hope I am right...amnesia at work!). Members were very active and we travelled to these areas quite a bit. It was great seeing women so excited about their future as a result.
• The Polio immunization monthly schedules at Lweza were well attended by members of the Club, I think because of the after Home Hospitalities which we always had thereafter and the Yakobos Joint Fellowships where P1Gs were mercilessly handled by some members! 
• We also held many parties for the Children at Lweza, giving out toys at Christmas time!
• Tycoon Patrick Bitature donated UGX 5mio to the Club and he handed over the Check as I was passing on the mantle to PP Oscar (was it you after me?) who should tell us what the Club did with the money, for I can't remember!
• The Rotary Convention that year was in San Antonio, Texas, USA - it was well attended by the Club members, including moi as a sitting President! I enjoyed this trip thoroughly, though I was too slow as a result of carrying my now 10+ year old son-Nathan!

A word of Advice to the Club Members:

1. It is fun to lead such great people who join Rotary. To have fun while doing it, you need to be a great Reader (of Rotary material and Leadership books)."Leaders are Readers" .If you do this, you do this, you will excel!
2. One of our obligations as Rotarians is to serve at the District level, by taking on District Leadership Let's strive for this as a way of flying the Kampala South Flag high! 
3. Kampala South has always been a lot of fun + work! Enjoy it and Rotary as well!!Here is to many more happy Years!


2001/2002 Rotary Year by PP Aggrey Kankunda Major Donor

The theme for the year was “Mankind Is Our Business” and I strongly believe that we made mankind our business that year. 

It was in this year that we started on our present day flagship project of Jjanyi Primary School. I recall that I went with Parity and someone else from Kajjansi to Ssisa Sub-county headquarters to look at a school that we thought we could assist. However, after visiting Jjanyi Primary School the needs of the Ssisa school paled against what we found there. We then embarked on meetings with key stakeholders namely COU, the school management committee headed by Prof Kasozi and some local leaders. 

During the 2001/2 Rotary year I was requested by senior Rotarians mainly Robert Rutaagi, Martin Kiyaga (RIP), Nelson Kawalya to start a Rotary club within our geographical area of service. I therefore spearheaded meetings with potential Rotarians in the area headed by Joseph Kikonyogo who later became the charter president. It was a difficult task that I almost did single handedly as many people weren’t too keen on travelling to an ‘upcountry’ location and support this budding club. I think it was also easy on my part since I had investment interests in the area that I regularly checked on. I am glad that our efforts bore a very healthy club. 

I recall that in the year before I became president I moved a motion for the club to start meeting in the evening as opposed to lunch time in an expensive Nile Hotel. My reasoning was that we needed to attract especially Rotaractors. I am glad that this happened when I was president. I guess I was also being selfish in a way since I was then employed at KPMG and getting time off lunch was difficult. I remember that because of the tight schedule at work as a senior auditor I always went back to office soon after fellowship. 

At my installation as president I invited Rtn Robert Rutaagi as GoH and we held the function at Rock Gardens. In true Kampala South simplicity style, our card went for Shs 5,000 (while the other clubs were already charging Shs 20,000). I remember there were many Rotaractors and you could be forgiven for thinking it was a Rotaract function. This was because many of us had been Rotaractors only a few years before and we continued close links with our former clubs.

In terms of membership, I think I caused the biggest upheaval in membership by sacking over 15 members who didn’t measure up in terms of attendance and fees. We also threw out the only PHF then (Hashmuk Patel) and that was probably why I quickly paid up so I want accused of sacking the only PHF!. I did this in my first three months of presidency and I didn’t spare two members whom I had sponsored in the club. We took a step back but many more forward in terms of quality of membership. I recall we also recruited many more new members after the clean up of the register.

In terms of projects, apart from the new Jjanyi one, we still had monthly immunization at Lweza and I guess Send A Cow. We would go to the Kajjansi Recreation Centre (present day Saracen training centre) for some yummy roast cassava and chicken after the immunization.

I can safely say that the club started on a journey of stabilization and growth and the results are obvious. 
 

2003/2004 Rotary Yeay by PP Paul Muwanga PHF

The theme for the year was “Lend a Hand”, coined by Past RI President Jonathan B. Majiyabe, to remind us of the important service each of us can render to help anyone – in our communities, vocations, our club and the world at large. The District Governor was Rotarian Doctor Varinder Singh Sur and our Assistant Governor was Rotarian James Kalibbala, both serving in their capacities for a second year.

While the club had in previous years worked to stabilize, a number of members requested for leave of absence to go for further studies while others were appointed to work upcountry. By this year, there was no charter member still in the club. Despite this, overall attendance remained commendable at an average of 80% and an average of 6 make up cards per week.

During the vocational month, the club recognized Ms. Jane Perfect, the National Coordinator for Blind But Able, for her outstanding support to blind persons. A matching grant application was initiated to support her noble cause. Other matching grant applications during the year were Send a Cow and a Water Project at Lweza. All these grants were subsequently approved and executed to closure.

We also witnessed the birth of the Rotary Club of Kajjansi, which had its Charter night on 24 August 2003, having been meeting since 2001 during Rotarian Aggrey Kankunda’s year. The club discontinued its immunization services at Lweza after the centre had initiated its own immunization days to avoid duplication of services.

The club also handed over in-calf heifers to women in Mubende, Mityana, Kumi and Nakisunga. This project was professionally run by Send A Cow and the club role was to ensure proper accountability for Rotary funds. The work build a classroom block also continued at Jjanyi Primary School with regular involvement of club and other members of the Rotary family during what were dubbed as “community days”.

In order to raise the funds to run club projects, the club continued the Sports Gala (annually since 1996), manned the gates at the Goat Race day in Munyonyo for a fee and held a movie night at Cineplex during which all proceeds collected were donated to our Jjanyi Primary School project.

Overall, the club enjoyed a fruitful year of service which was crowned by the first “fellowship installation” of Past President Rotarian Carol Abeja and a Presidential Citation to the club for acknowledging the importance of alleviating poverty, building peace and increasing, retaining, supporting and engaging our membership.

2004/2005 Rotary Year by PP/PAG Carol Abeja.  

The Rotary Year 2004 -05 was monumental for Rotary all over the world because it marked 100 years of Rotary service in the world.  I therefore had the privilege of being the Centennial President for the RC of Kampala South.  The theme for the year was “Celebrate Rotary” and to a large extent that set the tone for Rotary Activities in the year.

What I learnt: To be a an effective Rotarian and a leader in Rotary, the most important resource you need to allocate to Rotary is Time.  Dedicate some time every day to Rotary – time to read, to learn, to be in touch with other Rotarians and to Serve.

Click here to read more about the challenges and achievements Kampala south registered, and why I almost resigned from Rotary.

2005/06 Rotary Year by PP David Kahwa

The theme for the year 2005/06 was Service above Self. Key achievements during the year were the following; membership increased by 3 from 26 to 29, in regard to Rotary extension, we held an open Day Workshop for prospective Rotarians which was jointly carried out with the Rotary Club of Kiwatule, while in regard to family of Rotary we had a home hospitality every month, Key projects undertaken were; the near completion of our Jjanyi Project, the participation in send a Cow Project in Mbarara, and Lira, the furnishing with Books of our reading centre in Lira (thanks to Rotary Club of Tsetse). The year was a turning point in which we achieved 3 new Paul Harris Fellows breaking the monotony of PHF Aggrey. These were Paul, Richard and President Elect Susan (at that time).

Key words of wisdom; that I would give to the Club are Continuity, Involvement, and Inspiration. As a President you need patience and dedication, as you are a leader of leaders. In Rotary there are no positions of power but different levels of responsibility.


2006/07 Rotary Year by PP Susan Matovu 

The theme for the year 2006/07 was Lead the way  with RI President Bill Boyd, DG Tusu Tusubira and AG Peters Musoke. 

Key achievements during the year were the following: 
Membership  - twinning (twins), SMS reminders prior to board meetings and fellowships, satisfaction survey and cleaning out of membership register (3 members terminated) which had stagnated, joint cross-generation fellowship with our parents RC Kyambogo and our children RC Kajjansi, once again the joint Open Day for prospective Rotarians with the Rotary Club of Kiwatule. 
Service projects - submission of applications for the Adopt a village projects now up and running thanks to subsequent leaders, continued with the Lira rocket stove and send a Cow Project. 
Family of Rotary- we had a family fellowship, home hospitalities notably Rtns Geoff and Ntonio in Buwaate City. 
Vocational service-  flower farm visit and award to Prof Miiro, revived club bulletin under now VP Rtn Esther. 
Other - Sports Gala as usual spear headed by then PE Parity and club retreat, leaders beyond club level e.g. PP Carol. 

Key words of wisdom: Don't sweat the small stuff! It can be a challenge to lead adult volunteers and leaders in their own right. I really appreciated the term limits in this case. It was a great learning experience for me as a leader of leaders. I learned a lot of things and made some mistakes as well along the way. But the journey did change my life in many ways big and small. 
  Key words of wisdom; that I would give to the Club are Innovation, Sustainability and Inspiration.