Footprints podcast

In this episode of the Footprints Podcast Series, Charles Onyango-Obbo reflects on overcoming a severe childhood stammer, finding his voice through writing, and building a distinguished career in journalism. From The Monitor to Harvard, he shares lessons on resilience, curiosity, and leadership, arguing that true leaders are those who can see the wider field and guide capable teams.

“The captain is the guy who has the ability to gain a bigger view of the field.” —⁠ Charles Onyango-Obbo⁠

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There are moments in a life that divide the story into a before and an after. For Dr Lydia Mungherera, returning to Uganda gravely ill in 1997 was one of them. She speaks candidly about illness, treatment, family support and recovery, but what makes the story particularly striking is what happened afterwards. Survival gradually became service, and lived experience became something she could place in the hands of another person who needed reason to believe that their own story was not over.

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“We should be mentoring now the younger people to take over.” — Dr Lydia Mungherera

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💬 “There is hope. There is definitely hope. And there is hope in young people.” _ John De Coninck.

In The Missing Dimension | Part 2, John reflects on culture, identity, self-regulation, leadership and what should remain when founders eventually leave the institutions they helped build. From the Quality Assurance Mechanism for NGOs to his own evolving sense of belonging in Uganda, he explores how values, identity and institutions must continue to grow and be renegotiated over time.

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💭 What do you believe should remain when a leader finally leaves the institution they helped build?

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Episode 8 part 1 traces John De Coninck's path from a floating theatre on the rivers of Belgium, to a childhood in the Belgian Congo, to nearly five decades of community development work in Uganda. Known to many as Muchibi, John shares what it was like arriving in Uganda in 1973, teaching at Makerere during Idi Amin's rule, co-founding a university in Juba, surviving deportation, and eventually building one of the country's earliest organisations dedicated to strengthening how NGOs and community groups work.

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"What we leave behind are our words, our thoughts, and our actions." _ Mary Moran

In this episode of Footprints, a podcast by Sauti Africa, we sit down with Mary Moran, an 87 year old teacher, counsellor, and former Catholic nun who has spent over six decades between Ireland, Uganda, the United States, and beyond, learning, teaching, and giving.

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“Once you start working, the first day you start working, part of your budget should be retirement.” _ The Rt Rev Eliphaz Maari

In Season 2, Episode 6 of the Footprints Podcast, Jacqueline Asiimwe sits with The Rt Rev Eliphaz Maari, retired Assistant Bishop of Kampala Diocese and former Acting Vice-Chancellor of Uganda Christian University.

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In Season 2, Episode 5 of the Footprints Podcast, host ⁠⁠Jacqueline Asiimwe⁠⁠ sits down with⁠⁠ Maxensia Nakibuuka Takirambule⁠⁠, Founder and Executive Director of ⁠⁠Lungujja Community Health Caring Organisation⁠⁠.

Her story traces a life marked by repeated loss, early employment, marriage, and the responsibilities of caring for an ever-growing family.

“God, I am not dying today. I must live to witness your goodness.” _ Maxensia Nakibuuka Takirambule

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In this episode of Footprints, John Taylor reflects on moving from volunteer activism into philanthropy, building bridges between funders and the people doing the work, and recognising the power imbalances that can shape relationships within the sector.

“Social justice is decency at an institutional level.”_ John Taylor

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What does it take to organise for peace when a country's institutions have collapsed?

In this episode of Footprints, ⁠Jacqueline Asiimwe ⁠sits down with women's rights leader and movement-builder Faiza Mohammed⁠ a conversation about conflict, courage, and what leadership looks like when the work has to outlast you.

Faiza believes leadership should never make one person indispensable, it should empower many people to step forward, become visible, and carry the work into the future.

Subscribe to Footprints for more conversations with the people whose lives and leadership continue to shape Africa.

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In Part Two of our conversation with Mr Wafula Oguttu, we continue tracing a life shaped by courage, conviction, and public service.

“It’s always good to leave when you havedone something.” _ Wafula Oguttu

This episode invites us to think deeply about legacy, timing, service, and the responsibility of leaving institutions stronger than we found them.

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In this episode of Footprints Podcast, Jacqueline Asiimwe sits down with Phillip Wafula Oguttu, a journalist, political leader, and one of Uganda’s enduring public voices.

His story begins in Lumino, where hardship,land injustice, and the early loss of his father shaped his sense of fairness. He shares how he once dreamed of becoming a lawyer, how newspapers opened another route, and how journalism became his way of exposing wrongs and speaking to power.

The conversation travels through his childhood, Bank of Uganda, his scholarship to China, his time in Tanzania, encounters with Idi Amin, the Moshi Conference, and his reflections on Uganda’s political journey. It is a conversation about language, courage, memory, public life, and the strange roads by which people become who they are.

Listen to the full episode and subscribe for more stories from Footprints Podcast, where we tell the stories and glean the wisdom of our elders.

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In Part Two of the Footprints Podcast, Dr. Hilda Tadria takes us deeper into her extraordinary journey of leadership, feminist consciousness, self-awareness, and legacy.

This episode is a powerful reminder that awareness alone is not enough. True leadership requires the courage to act, the wisdom to build, and the humility to prepare others to carry the work forward.

Listen to Part Two of Dr. Hilda Tadria’s story now on the Footprints Podcast HERE:

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In this episode of Footprints Season 2, Jacqueline Asiimwe sits with ⁠Dr. Hilda Mary Kabushenga Tadria⁠ for a deeply reflective conversation on childhood, education, mentorship, feminist consciousness, marriage, motherhood, leadership, and legacy.

Footprints Season 2 turns toward succession, transitions, and legacy, asking what it means to live in a way that leaves others stronger, steadier, and less likely to fall off the radar.

Dr. Tadria shares the early memories that shaped her, from being sent to boarding school at five to the sacrifices her parents made for her education. She reflects on the teachers and mentors who recognised her potential, her journey through Makerere University and Cambridge, and the experiences that deepened her commitment to supporting girls and young women.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that people do not become who they are alone. They are seen, held, challenged, guided, and sometimes lovingly dragged toward the larger life waiting for them.

Watch, listen, and sit with the wisdom of an elder whose footprints continue to shape generations.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click to listen to her story ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE:

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Ruth later joined Isis Women’s International Cross-CulturalExchange, starting as an information and documentation coordinator, volunteering for six months while still employed at the Ministry, then transitioning fully and eventually becoming Executive Director. At Isis WICCE, she widened access to information beyond elite circles and built documentation that elevated marginalized voices to policymakers.

©Blurb written by Oratile Mokase

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After earning a Diploma from Makerere University, Ruth joined the Ministry of Justice as a librarian. She took her work seriously, treating order, cleanliness, and accuracy as real service. That discipline opened an unexpected door: an opportunity to study in London. She completed her first degree and later earned a Master’s Degree in communications. Returning to the Ministry full of ideas, she pushed for laws to reflect Ugandan realities, including recommending community listening so legislation could respond to lived experience. Despite her qualifications andvision, the system rewarded her with a limited promotion to Senior Librarian, revealing the gap between good ideas and institutional appetite for change.

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©Blurb written by Divine Karungi

For more on CivSource Africa's Change Initiative, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CLICK ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠:

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Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng takes us back to Genguluho Village, in present day Namayingo District, along Lake Victoria, where her story begins in 1955. She describes a childhood shaped by food security, safety, and a deeply protective family led by her father, a Reverend who watched over her wellbeing with serious intention. Her schooling journey moves through Masese Primary School, then Mulili Girls’ School, and later Wanyange Girls School, where she is nominated head girl in Senior Three, her first formal leadership role. Part 1 also holds the quiet, formative guidance she received as a girl around menstruation, safety, and sexuality, lessons that later gained deeper clarity during her A Level years at Namasagali College. What stays with you is how early preparation becomes a form of protection, how community shapes confidence, and how solidarity becomes a practice long before it becomes a slogan.

©Blurb written by Divine Karungi

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Part 2 of our Footprints conversation with Dr. Robin Kibuuka, author of Build Legacy, Not Inheritance, goes deeper into what it really means to build a life that outlives you. He reminds us that legacy is crafted daily, through our thoughts, our vision, and the small, consistent actions we take over time. From writing your vision down, to taking “simple steps to impossible dreams,” to preparing for seasons like retirement and using your networks with intention, Dr. Kibuuka shows that legacy is less about wealth and more about who you become and what you leave in others. This episode is a gentle but firm nudge to prime your mind, stay authentic, and choose a life that uplifts people and country alike.

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In this episode of Footprints, host Jacqueline Asiimwe sits down with Dr. Robin Kibuuka, economist, Rotarian, board leader, and author of Build Legacy, Not Inheritance, to trace the quiet forces that shaped a life of service. From a deeply rooted extended family in Uganda, steeped in faith, education, and public service, to scholarship years in the United States at Yale and Harvard, Robin reflects on struggle as character-building, not punishment. He shares how mentors, teachers, and faith leaders, from his parents and Ugandan educators to Reverend John Walker and even Archbishop Desmond Tutu, modeled integrity, courage, and a relentless commitment to justice.

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Madam Ambassador Bernadette Olowo-Freers went from paying her own P1 school fees with silver shillings found in the dust to becoming Uganda’s ambassador to Germany and the first woman ambassador accredited to the Vatican in over 900 years. In conversation with our CEO, Jacqueline Asiimwe, she reflects on village childhood, student leadership under Idi Amin, and the moment she said, “I will try. I accept.”

Her story is a testament to courage, curiosity, and the quiet power of a girl who refuses to shrink.

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From his upbringing in the idyllic countryside to his hilarious recollections and notable moments as a trailblazer of African Literature; this installment of the Footprints Podcast features Professor Timothy Wangusa. He shares his journey of self-discovery, passion for the arts, leadership, and most importantly, the magic of the three words that sparked the riveting trajectory of his life.

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