Crowned in Purpose, Rooted in Service _ A Conversation With Winifred Byanyima

As anticipation builds for the first-ever Leaders’ Gala and Ball, hosted by ⁠CivSource Africa⁠ and ⁠CivLegacy Foundation⁠ on 2 October 2025 at ⁠Serena Hotel Kampala⁠, a special prelude has already set the tone. ⁠Jacqueline Asiimwe⁠, CEO of CivSource Africa and host of the Gala, recorded a wide-ranging conversation with ⁠Winnie Byanyima⁠, a formidable African leader who could not be physically present but whose voice and wisdom will still resonate in the Gala hall. “What better way to bring her voice and thoughts into the room than by recording with her?” Jacqueline Asiimwe remarked.

Byanyima rejected the idea that leadership begins with a title. “Every human being is a leader in some way. I don’t know when I first became one, but I remember at home.” As a child nicknamed Karagua for her quickness, she became her mother’s trusted assistant, often making decisions in her absence. She catalogued her father’s library, led literacy groups, and supported her mother’s women’s club. “I didn’t wake up one day to be a leader. I grew into it.”

Reflecting on decades of service, she is candid: “I’m probably a very imperfect leader. Even now, I see myself as a work in progress.” Her practice is rooted in teams and psychological safety. “My first task in a new role is to set up a team that complements me. The biggest success I’ve had is bringing together the best team possible.” She admits courage is not always easy:“You must allow people to lead in their areas and respect the challenge they give you. When things are difficult, you must build the courage to table the issue. I’m not good at that, but I keep trying.”

Her most memorable insight is leading from the rear. “If my team has worked hard, why should I take their moment? Let them take the stage, and I will sit back and watch them lead.” For her, leadership is a symphony, not a solo act. “Sharing credit is so critical. The more you do that, the more success you get, because the team feels they are taking the credit with you.”

Turning to Africa, Byanyima spoke candidly about the continent’s leadership crisis. “We must liberate ourselves from an inferiority complex. For heaven’s sake, can’t you dispense justice in a kitenge? Just because they left this for us, do we have to keep it?” She lamented the hypocrisy of laws that deny girls safe healthcare. “Twenty percent of maternal deaths are teenagers, often from unsafe abortions. We must save our girls. First, we must liberate ourselves from mental slavery, as Bob Marley says. We must ask: what do our children need? And write laws that fit our purpose.”

She challenged Africa’s elite culture of entitlement: “My generation was privileged. We inherited the colonial project, but too many saw it as an entitlement rather than a duty to transform it. We became parasitic on the state, imitating colonialists rather than serving our people.” Yet, she also sees opportunity: “In the global shifts of today, there is neglect of Africa. And that neglect is the opportunity for us to look inward, solve our problems, and set our own priorities.”

Though she will not walk the red carpet on Gala night, Winnie Byanyima’s words will fill the room, reminding leaders that true greatness lies not in crowns or titles but in authenticity, courage, and service. “I want to be a leader who empowers other leaders.” Her call is both a challenge and an inspiration:

“The opportunity is now for Africa to look inward and rise.”

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