Who is incoming UEDCL board chair Stella-Marie Biwaga?

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ms Ruth Nankabirwa, has named Ms Stella-Marie Biwaga as interim Board chairperson for Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), replacing Ms Lydia Ochieng-Obbo, whose contract was terminated.

In the Saturday statement, Ms Nankabirwa also sent the managing director, Mr Paul Mwesigwa, on forced leave over “governance measures”, which will allow for a comprehensive review of the Company’s management and operations.

“To ensure continuity of operations and stability in service delivery, the shareholders have appointed an interim board chairperson, Ms Stella-Marie Biwaga Cingtho,” Ms Nankabirwa’s May 2, 2026 statement reads in part, adding that an acting Managing Director has been appointed to oversee the operations of the UEDCL during this transition period.

However, the minister did not name the acting MD by press time on Saturday.

However, she said, the interim arrangements will remain in place until the vacant positions are substantively filled.

“The Ministry emphasises that these actions are part of routine governance and oversight procedures aimed at strengthening institutional performance, accountability, and service delivery within the energy sector…,” she said.

Who is Biwaga?

Ms Biwaga is a lawyer by profession, advocate of the High Court of Uganda with over 16 years’ experience. Stella holds a Masters of Laws Degree in Oil and Gas; Post Graduate Diploma in Governance and Development - Natural Resources Management; Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice of Law Development Center and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) of Makerere University.

She possesses diverse experience in balance scorecard strategy development and implementation, gender and social justice, human rights, economic empowerment, gender equality, child related programming, community-based approaches, women leadership development programming, policy advocacy and litigation. Project design, implementation, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation with strong stakeholder engagement and management.

Ms Biwaga has served and still serves on a number of Boards and these include: Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC); National Pipeline Company (U) Ltd (NPC); Action Africa Help International; Chairperson Action Africa Help International – Uganda Advisory Board; Blessed Hands Community Development (BHCD); Free Child Uganda (FCU); member of Uganda Law Society; member of East Africa Law Society; member FIDA-Uganda; member of Women in Energy and Extractives Network (WEEN); and St. James Catholic Church Bbiina Parish, Kampala Archdiocese – Executive Committee Member (Legal Advisory).

She has also previously worked in various capacities at National Association of Women Organisations in Uganda (NAWOU) and Women Leadership Development (WLEDE); Ssebunya Turyagenda & Co. Advocates; FIDA-Uganda; Ethiopia Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) Addis Ababa.

About UEDCL

The UEDCL was created under the Electricity Act, 1999, as part of power-sector reforms that sought to unbundle generation, transmission, and distribution.

On April 1, 2025, it officially took over the electricity distribution license from Umeme Ltd on April 1, 2025, putting an end to the latter’s 20-year concession, which expired in March 2025.

In doing so, the UEDCL maintained Umeme’s existing tariff packages, including the lifeline tariff, declining block tariffs, and time-of-use arrangements. The UEDCL took over with a generation capacity of 2,052.6 megawatts, up from 300 megawatts when Umeme started its concession.

The government also ensured a smooth workforce transition, with 2,712 employment openings available exclusively for the UEDCL and Umeme employees. Given its strategic importance, governance instability within the UEDCL has wide national implications.