Samuel Kwizera Bitangaro (born 6 October 1959) is a Ugandan lawyer and politician. He is the elected Member of Parliament for Bufumbira County South, in

Kisoro District Kisoro District is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. The town of Kisoro is the site of the district headquarters. Education Kisoro Municipality includes Metropolitan International Universi ...

, in the Western Region of Uganda, to the 10th Parliament (2016–2021). He represented this constituency earlier in the 7th Parliament (2001–2006). He is a member of the ruling

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement (; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla war through its rebel wing National ...

political party in Uganda. He was a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Rules, Privileges and Discipline, the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee and the NRM Parliamentary Caucus in the 10th Parliament of Uganda. A former Minister of State for Gender and Culture, Bitangaro is the founding

senior partner A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations m ...

of ''Bitangaro and Company Advocates'' and the patron for ''Kisoro Foundation For Rural Development'', a non-governmental organization in Kisoro District, Uganda. He is also a member of: the

Uganda Law Society The Uganda Law Society (ULS) is an association of lawyers charged with ensuring professionalism among lawyers in Uganda. Mission The Mission statement is: To Develop a Skilled and Empowered Legal Profession in Execution of its Statutory Mandate ...

, the

East Africa Law Society The East Africa Law Society (EALS) is the regional Bar Association of East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique ...

and; the

International Bar Association The International Bar Association (IBA), founded in 1947, is a bar association of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. The IBA in 2018 had a membership of more than 80,000 individual lawyers and 190 bar associati ...

Early life and education

Bitangaro was born in Kisoro District,

Kigezi sub-region Kigezi sub-region is a region in Western Uganda that consists of the following districts: * Kabale District * Kanungu District * Kisoro District * Rukungiri District The area covered by the above districts constituted the former Kigezi Dist ...

, on 6 October 1959 in an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

family of the

Bafumbira The Bafumbira (ethnonym: ''Bafumbira''; singular ''Mufumbira''), are a Bantu ethnic group from Kisoro District in South Western Uganda. They are of three indigenous groups: Bahutu, Batutsi and Batwa. History The Batwa are believed to have ...

as the

first born A firstborn (also known as an eldest child or sometimes firstling) is the first child born to in the birth order of a couple through childbirth. Historically, the role of the firstborn child has been socially significant, particularly for a first ...

of six children. His father, Peter Bitangaro, was a

health inspector An environmental health officer (EHO), also referred to as an environmental health practitioner (EHP) or public health inspector, is a person responsible for carrying out measures to protect public health, which includes the administration and en ...

and his mother, Evelyn Bitangaro, a primary school teacher. He attended ''Seseme Primary School'' before transferring to ''St. Paul Secondary School Mutolere'', in Mutolere, a suburb of

Kisoro Kisoro is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the chief town of Kisoro District and the site of the district headquarters. Location Kisoro is approximately west of Kabale, the largest city in the Kigezi sub-region. This is approximat ...

Town, where he completed his O-Level studies in 1977. In 1978 he was admitted to

Namilyango College Namilyango College is a boys-only boarding secondary school located in Mukono District in the Central Region, Uganda, Central Region of Uganda, whose history and excellence in sports and academics have made it one of the most prestigious schools i ...

, in

Mukono District Mukono is one of the districts in the Central Region of Uganda. The town of Mukono serves as the district headquarters and is home to the district's main commercial center. Location Mukono District is bordered by Kayunga District to the nort ...

, A-Level education where he was a chairperson of the School Council. He graduated with the equivalent of a

High School Diploma A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...

in 1979. Bitangaro entered

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

, Uganda's oldest and largest

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

, where he was a chairman for Northcote Hall and graduated in 1983 with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree. He then obtained a Postgraduate

Diploma in Legal Practice A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

, from the

Law Development Centre The Law Development Centre (LDC) is an educational institution in Uganda for higher learning that offers various legal courses ranging from one month to one year. Overview The LDC is the only institution in Uganda that offers the Bar Course lead ...

, in 1984.

Career and politics

On acquiring a

postgraduate diploma fILE:Prédio Pós Graduação IMECC Unicamp.jpg, The State University of Campinas, as well as many Brazilian universities, offer Postgraduate courses in Brazil A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PGD) is a postgraduat ...

in legal practice, in 1986, Bitangaro was admitted to the Ugandan Bar as an advocate of the '' Uganda Courts of Judicature''. He then practiced law with ''Nicholas Lwanga and Company Advocates'' up to 1994. He then joined ''Nsubuga Mubiru and Bitangaro Advocates'', where he became a partner. In 1997, Bitangaro founded ''Bitangaro & Company Advocates'' where he still works to-date as a senior partner. In 2001, during the non-party "Movement" system of government, Bitangaro joined elective politics and won his maiden election that ushered him into the 7th Parliament of Uganda as a representative for the constituents of Bufumbira County South. He was appointed as the Minister of State for Gender and Culture, In 2006, Bitangaro lost in his re-election bid to

Tress Bucyanayandi Tress Bucyanayandi is a Ugandan agriculturalist and politician. He was the Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries in the Ugandan Cabinet. He was appointed to that position on 27 May 2011. He replaced Hope Mwesigye, who was ...

. In 2016, Bitangaro was for the second time elected to represent the same constituency, this time round on the National Resistance Movement ticket. He won both the party's

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

and the

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

in 2016 and became a member of the 10th Parliament, representing Bufumbira County South in Kisoro District.

Personal details

Sam Bitangaro is married to Barbara Bitangaro, a journalist and public health specialist. They have three children: Brenda Bitangaro, Daudi Bitangaro and Kaze Bitangaro. Sam Bitangaro is a former

diocesan chancellor In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

for Muhabura Diocese and was the chairperson for

Service Commission from 1997 to 2004.

References

External links

Website of the Parliament of Uganda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitangaro, Sam 1959 births Living people Makerere University alumni Law Development Centre alumni People from Kisoro District Members of the 10th Parliament of Uganda People educated at Namilyango College

Early life and education

Career and politics

Personal details

See also

References

External links