A recent social media post by Ugandan commentator Simon Kaggwa Njala has praised former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Dr. Aminah Zawedde, and urged the government to recruit more professionals of her calibre to advance the country’s digital transformation efforts.
In a post on X dated 12 November 2026, Njala wrote that if Uganda is serious about its digital revolution, it needs “ten Zaweddes” to lead the agenda. He referenced interactions with her former colleagues at Makerere University’s School of Computing and Informatics Technology, where she previously lectured and helped steer ICT projects, describing the feedback as highly positive. He expressed regret that “such brains get sucked in bogus politics.”
Dr. Zawedde, a software engineer with a PhD from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, served as Permanent Secretary from July 2021 until her redeployment to the Office of the Prime Minister earlier this month. She was the first woman to hold the position. During her tenure, she oversaw the operationalisation of the Digital Transformation Roadmap, the expansion of the National ICT Innovation Hub in Nakawa, and the establishment of regional innovation centres at universities including Kabale, Soroti, Muni, and Busitema.
Key achievements under her leadership included reducing business registration times from 10–15 days to approximately three hours through the Uganda Registration Services Bureau’s online system, the delivery of digital skills training to more than 160,000 citizens and small businesses, and national ICT job fairs that presented over 11,000 opportunities between 2022 and 2024. She also received recognition, including a national award for distinguished service in ICT.
Her successor at the Ministry of ICT is Professor Stephen Akandwanaho, while Dr. Zawedde has been assigned coordination duties in the Office of the Prime Minister.
The social media commentary reflects broader public interest in the technical expertise guiding Uganda’s digital sector as the government continues implementation of its digital transformation priorities.
The post Social Media Commentators Calls for More Tech Experts Like Dr. Aminah Zawedde to Drive Uganda’s Digital Agenda appeared first on Watchdog Uganda.