Dora Mwima, also Dorah Mwima is a Ugandan model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Uganda 2008 at the age of 18. She represented

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

Miss World 2008 Miss World 2008 was the 58th edition of the Miss World pageant, held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 13 December 2008. Zhang Zilin of China crowned Ksenia Sukhinova of Russia as her successor at the end of t ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Background

Mwima was born to Ugandan parents in 1990, in the Eastern Ugandan town of Tororo. Her father, a preacher, and the family migrated to neighboring

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

when Dorah was about four years old. The family returned to Uganda in 2008, two weeks before the call for contestants in the Miss Uganda beauty competition went out. She applied and was accepted as a contestant.

2008 Miss Uganda pageant

As Miss Uganda, Mwima represented her country in the Miss World pageant held in South Africa, in December 2008. During her reign, she started the Dorah Mwima Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization. The

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

's primary objective is to provide a platform for single mothers and teenage girls "to share experiences on the challenges in life". Through her foundation, she organizes soccer matches, where the gate collections are used to assist pregnant rural mothers in need. During the last three months of her reign it came to light that Mwima had become pregnant.

After 2008

She decided to keep the baby, making her a teenage unwed mother, because the relationship with the baby's father did not work out. She found work at Darling Hair Collection Uganda, as executive secretary and director of brand. When Mwima's baby was a few months old, a new general manager was posted to Uganda as Mwima's boss. In her role as executive secretary, one of her roles was to take care of corporate guests. The new boss was Nader Barrak, a native of

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, in the

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. He and Mwima developed a friendship which blossomed into a romantic relationship. In 2013, Mwima resigned her job at the company, to eliminate the conflicts of interest. In December 2013, Mwima and Barrak were married in a civil ceremony, followed by a church ceremony on 25 May 2014. Their wedding made the cover of "Bride & Groom", a bridal fashion magazine distributed in the countries of the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation in East Africa. The EAC's membership consists of eight states: Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, S ...

. In June 2015, Mwima gave birth to Gabriella Barrak (Girl). In March 2017, Mwima gave birth to twins, Giovanna Barrak (girl) and Serafin Barrak (boy), the second and third children together. In February 2019, according to

The Observer (Uganda) ''The Weekly Observer'' is a Ugandan weekly newspaper headquartered in Kamwookya, Kampala. It is one of the largest privately owned papers in the country co-founded by maverick journalist John Kevin Aliro and nine other directors In 2007, its rep ...

, Mwima revealed that the late Moses Ssekibogo was the natural father of her first born, ''Ethan Barrak''.. In October 2021, Dorah gave birth to Sibella Barrak(girl), and in November 2023 her last born Enso Barrak (boy) was born.

Residence

In 2014, Mwima and her husband relocated from Kampala, Uganda to

Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's political capital. In la ...

, in

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

, where Nader Barrak was the Country Manager of "Darling Hair Manufacturers Burundi". In 2016 they relocated back to Uganda. In 2021, during the COVID-19 lockdown, Dorah Mwima launched Queen Ma, a company that produces natural and organic teas and essential oils, dedicated to promoting a healthy and safe maternal journey for mothers and newborns. In 2023, Mwima opened the WOW MOM Center, offering childbirth classes and doula services. The center expanded into the WOW MOM Wellness and Birth Center in April 2025.

References

External links