Quick Facts
Biography
Proscovia Nalweyiso, is a senior Ugandan military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF). At the rank of Major General, she is the highest ranking female officer, in the Ugandan military.
Background
She was born in June 1954, in Mpigi District, in a family with 20 children. In 1979, she began work as a schoolteacher and typist in her home area. During his period, she became an active member of the Ugandan Democratic Party.
Following the 1980 Ugandan national elections and the subsequent formation of the National Resistance Army (NRA), Nalweyiso joined the guerrillas in the bush in 1982.
Military career
In 1983 a unit of female NRA fighters was formed and Nalweyiso was appointed as its commandant. The following year, the unit was relocated from Luweero District in Central Uganda, to Western Uganda.
In 1985, the unit Nalweyiso commanded, participated on the NRA forces that attacked Mbarara military barracks. Following that deployment, the NRA Women's Wing settled in Fort Portal, until the war ended in 1986.
In 1986, when the NRA captured power, Nalweyiso was given the rank of captain and appointed the commandant of the 800-member women's wing in the army, at that time. She steadily rose through the ranks and by 2000 was at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
For over a decade prior to her promotion to Major General, she had worked at the Uganda State House as an aide and military adviser to the president of Uganda.
Personal
In 1974, while still a civilian, Nalweyiso married to an army officer. She later separated from her husband. She is the mother of four children.