Janet Wesonga, née Tingu (born c.1928) is a Ugandan former local politician. As mayor of Mbale, she was Uganda's first African woman mayor. An Anglican, she also served on the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches.
Life
editJanet Tingu came from Buwabwala. She married Akisoferi Wesonga, later Bishop of Mbale.
In 1962 she was active in the Ugandan independence movement.[1]
In October 1967, aged 39, Wesonga became mayor of Mbale, Uganda.[2] She was Mayor of Mbale for four years.
At the 1968 Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Uppsala, Wesonga was elected as one of only two women on the WCC's Executive Committee.[3] This enabled her to participate in WCC activity across the globe. In 1969 Wesonga attended a WCC Executive Committee Meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma,[4] later also visiting St. Louis, Missouri.[5] In 1971 she attended the WCC Executive Committee meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria.[6]
In 1979 Wesonga was part of a delegation representing the Church of Uganda at the Mother's Union conference in Australia.[7]
References
edit- ^ Elizabeth Dimock (2017). Women, Mission and Church in Uganda: Ethnographic encounters in an age of imperialism, 1895-1960s. Taylor & Francis. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-315-39272-1.
- ^ Aili Mari Tripp (2018). "Uganda: Achievements and Challenges for Women in Elected Office". In Susan Franceschet; Mona Lena Krook; Netina Tan (eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of Women's Political Rights. Springer. pp. 579–. ISBN 978-1-137-59074-9.
- ^ Janet Estridge Crawford. Rocking the Boat: Women's participation in the World Council of Churches, 1948-1991 (PDF) (PhD). Victoria University of Wellington. p. 207.
- ^ "B8623-30 Mrs. Janet Wesonga and Mrs. Barbara Shoemake, 1969". Archived from the original on 2022-10-16. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- ^ Mrs. Janet Wesonga, mayor of Mbale, Uganda, visiting St. Louis. JMC 1969.02-03.1.01-3
- ^ "WCC Executive Committee Meets". New World Outlook. November 1971. p. 45.
- ^ Christopher Senyonjo (2016). In Defense of All God's Children: The Life and Ministry of Bishop Christopher Senyonjo. Church Publishing, Inc. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8192-3243-4.