Jokate Mwegelo is a Tanzanian politician and Secretary General of the

Chama cha Mapinduzi The Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM, ) is the dominant, ruling party in Tanzania and the second longest-ruling party in the history of Africa, only after the True Whig Party of Liberia. It was formed in 1977, following the merger of the Tanganyika A ...

’s Youth Wing (UVCCM).Before being appointed, she was an entrepreneur and a media personality. In July 2018, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli appointed Hon. Jokate Mwegelo as the new District Commissioner for Kisarawe district in

Pwani region Pwani Region () is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The Swahili word means 'coast'. With the town of Kibaha serving as the capital, the region borders the Tanga Region to the north, Morogoro Region to the west, Lindi Region to the ...

. She was then appointed as the District Commissioner for

Temeke District Temeke District, officially the Temeke Municipal Council (''Halimashauri ya Manispaa ya Temeke'', in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of five Districts of Tanzania, districts of the Dar es Salaam Region of Tanzania. Temeke is bordered to the sout ...

Dar es Salaam Region Dar es Salaam Region () is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions and is located on the east coast of the country. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land and water areas of the nation state of Ma ...

in July 2021. Hon. Jokate Mwegelo was appointed by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania Dr.

Samia Suluhu Hassan Samia Suluhu Hassan ( ; born 27 January 1960) is a Tanzanian politician who serves as the sixth and current president of Tanzania since 19 March 2021. She is the first woman to serve in the position and previously served as vice-president of ...

as the District Commissioner for Korogwe District in

Tanga Region Tanga Region () is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions of Tanzania, regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Burundi. The regional capital is the municipalit ...

in January, 2023 . She is a member of

Chama Cha Mapinduzi The Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM, ) is the dominant, ruling party in Tanzania and the second longest-ruling party in the history of Africa, only after the True Whig Party of Liberia. It was formed in 1977, following the merger of the Tanganyika A ...

, previously served as Secretary in charge of Public Relations and Mobilization UVCCM - youth wing of Chama Cha Mapinduzi. In October 2023, Jokate was appointed by the Central Committee of

led by President

to be Secretary General of UWT - Women’s Wing of Chama cha Mapinduzi. https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/national/jokate-mwegelo-appointed-uwt-general-secretary-4386126 She is one among Tanzania's youngest influential leaders and entrepreneurs. In 2017, Hon. Mwegelo was included in

Forbes 30 Under 30 ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 is a set of lists published annually by ''Forbes'' magazine since 2011 consisting of 30 notable people under 30 years old in various industries. The American list consists of 600 people, with 30 selected in each of 20 sect ...

in Africa. In August 2017 she was named by Africa Youth Awards among the 100 Most Influential Young Africans. The 2018 Most Influential Young Tanzanians by Avance Media place her as the third most influential young Tanzanian and the most influential young Tanzanian under the category of Law and Governance .

Early life and education

Mwegelo was born on 20 March 1987, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where her parents worked. She was raised in

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

. She started primary school at Olympio Primary School, where she served as a prefect . She attended St. Anthony Secondary School from January 2000, where she received her ordinary secondary education, graduating in 2003 with a Certificate of Secondary Education. She served as Assistant Head Girl from 2002 to 2003. In 2002, during the

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN (MUN), is an educational simulation of the United Nations, which teaches students about diplomacy, international relations, global issues, and how the United Nations is run. During a model UN confe ...

General Assembly in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

she was appointed to serve as the Secretary General. In march 2004, she joined Loyola High School in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania to pursue her Advanced Secondary Education, graduating in February 2006 with an Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education. Mwegelo served as a prefect responsible for coordinating all club activities at the school from 2004 to 2005. She was selected as the head prefect for the school from 2005 to 2006. In April 2005, at the inter commonwealth essay competition organized by the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

she was awarded 2nd position for best essay. Nationally, she ranked 2nd among female candidates in the English language examination. Mwegelo attended at the

University of Dar Es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) (Swahili: ''Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam'') is a public university located in Ubungo District, Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. ...

from 2007 to 2010 where she graduated Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Political Science B.P.S. and Philosophy with a G.P.A of 4.0. Mwegelo was the founder and coordinator of the University of Dar Es Salaam United Nations Association Chapter in 2008. With other students and partners, Mwegelo organized various initiatives including the Stand Up Campaign towards the

MDGs In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These wer ...

in 2009, commemoration of the

International Day of Peace The International Day of Peace, also officially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might ...

with

United Nations Information Centres The United Nations Information Centres (UNIC) were established in 1946, headquartered in New York, United States. Spread across 63 countries worldwide. These centres, until 2018, facilitated the exchange and sharing of current global events on beh ...

in 2009 and the Mwalimu Nyerere Intellectual Festival (Kigoda cha Mwalimu) at the

in 2010. Mwegelo also served as the President of the Tanzania International Student Week in 2009.

Leadership and political career

Mwegelo is a member of

the dominant and

ruling party The ruling party or governing party in a democratic parliamentary or presidential system is the political party or coalition holding a majority of elected positions in a parliament, in the case of parliamentary systems, or holding the executive ...

. She was appointed as the Acting Secretary of Public Relations and Mobilization in the youth wing of the ruling party UVCCM. She was among the 450 members of the party that contested to be elected to represent Tanzania as a member in the

East African Legislative Assembly The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is a sub-organ of the larger East African Community, being the legislative arm of the Community. Members are sworn into five-year terms. History Since colonial times, a number of organizations have ...

. From a young age Mwegelo has shown leadership trait, starting as a prefect in primary school. She went on to serve as Assistant Head Girl at St. Anthony Secondary School from 2002 to 2003, during the time she was also appointed as the

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

for

General Assembly in

in 2002. In high school at Loyola High School from 2004 to 2006 she served as a prefect in charge of coordinating club activities at the school from 2004 to 2005. In 2005 she was elected as Head Prefect until 2006 when she graduated high school. Mwegelo leadership career excelled during her time in university where she was engaged in various activities including being vice-president of marketing and public relations for the International Students Week in Tanzania from 2007 to 2008 and in 2009 she became the President of the International Students Week in Tanzania. Mwegelo was the project creative coordinator of United Nations Association initiative together with

UNIFEM The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, , ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International Women's Year. Its first director was Margaret C. Snyder. U ...

on 16 days against violence on women and girls in 2009. She was appointed as the local ambassador for the Live Global Run water initiative in 2010. In 2011, she was appointed as Ambassador for the Walk for Water initiative that benefitted 100,000 villagers in

Bagamoyo Bagamoyo (''Mji wa Bagamoyo'', in Swahili) is a historic coastal town and capital of Bagamoyo District in the Pwani Region of Tanzania. Much of the settlement was founded at the end of the 18th century, though it is an extension of a much old ...

, 2011. On 28 July 2018, President

John Magufuli John Pombe Joseph Magufuli (29 October 1959 – 17 March 2021) was a Tanzanian politician who served as the fifth president of Tanzania, serving from 2015 until his death in 2021. He served as Minister of Works, Transport and Communications from ...

appointed her to serve as the District Commissioner of Kisarawe District and was sworn in on 3 August 2018.

Entrepreneurship

Kidoti Company

In October 2012, she officially launched her company goes by name Kidoti Loving Company Limited, the launch went together with introduction of her new hairline. The company did well and in December 2014, she founded Kidoti. She partnered with RainBow Shell Craft, from China. Her company produces slippers, wigs, school bags and other fashion accessories, under the Kidoti brand. Her company introduced the ''Be Kidotified'' campaign to empower students. Her firm has worked with

Mohammed Dewji Mohammed "Mo" Gulamabbas Dewji (born 8 May 1975) is a Tanzanian billionaire businessman and former politician. He is the owner of MeTL Group, a Tanzanian conglomerate founded by his grandmother, developed by his father in the 1970s. Dewji served ...

. In March 2017, Clouds Media Group honored her with the Malkia wa Nguvu Award in business innovation in Tanzania.In 2017 she was nominated at Africa Youth Awards for ''Entrepreneur Of The Year'' and her company Kidoti was nominated for ''Startup Of The Year.'' Through Kidoti company, Mwegelo has organized various social and community activities. In 2015 the Kidoti inter-school Bonanza was organized and hosted by Mwegelo which was a talent and networking bonanza featuring 20 schools from

Dar Es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

region and involved over 4000 students. In the same year, Mwegelo also organized Manjano Dream Makers mentorship program. In 2016, the 'Be Kidotified' campaign was launched with the aim of improving the learning environment in public schools, basketball and netball sport facilities were launched at Jangwani Girls Secondary School.

Awards, honors and nominations

Awards and nominations

Honours

* 2011: 25 Young African Women Leaders, Milead Fellowship Program * 2017:

in Africa,

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

Africa * 2017: 100 Most Influential Young Africans, Africa Youth Awards

Work, volunteering and personal

Work

Mwegelo was a TV presenter for the show Bongo Star Search for the 2006/2007 season which was a singing competition seeking to discover music talent from across Tanzania, she also hosted TV Shows and live events from 2006 to 2007. In 2010, Mwegelo became a regular contributor for The Citizen magazine in Tanzania for Saturday's edition covering women and girls related issues. In 2012, she started managing Kidoti Brand and Company to which still manages up-to-date.

Volunteering

Mwegelo volunteers through Tanzania Youth Cultural Organization and Tanzania Mitindo House that deals with taking care of children affected by

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

Personal life

She is the daughter of Urban and Bernadette Ndunguru, she has a sister named Desi Mwegelo and brothers named Magavilla Constantine and Martin Kolikoli comes for a family filled with basketball; his cousin Louis Charles Ngonyani played for Pazi Basketball Team for four seasons (1994–98). Her other cousin David Wilbard Ngonyani is still an active player in the ACAMIS and ISAC league of Beijing, China. Mwegelo uses her spare time to catch up with world politics and is a reading enthusiast. Through her personal experiences she writes journals, articles and short stories. She loves engaging with the youth through participating in youth initiatives, motivational talks and outdoor games like basketball.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mwegelo, Jokate 1988 births Living people Tanzanian actresses People from Dar es Salaam Tanzanian beauty pageant winners University of Dar es Salaam alumni Open University of Tanzania alumni 21st-century Tanzanian actresses