The Most Famous

SOCIAL ACTIVISTS from Uganda

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This page contains a list of the greatest Ugandan Social Activists. The pantheon dataset contains 840 Social Activists, 3 of which were born in Uganda. This makes Uganda the birth place of the 58th most number of Social Activists behind Hong Kong, and Thailand.

Top 8

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Ugandan Social Activists of all time. This list of famous Ugandan Social Activists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

Photo of David Kato

1. David Kato (1964 - 2011)

With an HPI of 46.80, David Kato is the most famous Ugandan Social Activist.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages on wikipedia.

David Kato Kisule (c. 1964 – 26 January 2011) was a Ugandan teacher and LGBT rights activist, considered a father of Uganda's gay rights movement and described as "Uganda's first openly gay man". He served as advocacy officer for Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG). Kato was assassinated at his home on January 26, 2011, shortly after winning a lawsuit against a magazine which had published his name and photograph identifying him as gay and calling for him to be executed.

Photo of Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka

2. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 43.51, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is the 2nd most famous Ugandan Social Activist.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka (born 8 January 1970) is a Ugandan veterinarian and founder of Conservation Through Public Health, an organisation dedicated to the coexistence of humans, endangered mountain gorillas, and other animals in Africa. Kalema-Zikusoka was Uganda's first wildlife veterinary officer and featured in the BBC documentary Gladys the African Vet. In 2009, she won the Whitley Gold Award for her conservation work. In December 2021, she was proclaimed a United Nations Environment Programme's Champion of the Earth for Science and Innovation for her work with the One Health initiative.

Photo of Vanessa Nakate

3. Vanessa Nakate (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 42.80, Vanessa Nakate is the 3rd most famous Ugandan Social Activist.  Her biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Vanessa Nakate (born 15 November 1996) is an Ugandan climate justice activist. She gained international recognition for her climate activism in Uganda, where she began a solitary climate strike in January 2019. Nakate is the founder of the Youth for Future Africa and the Rise Up Movement, and she has been a prominent voice at international forums such as the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) and the World Economic Forum in Davos. Her work focuses on drawing attention to the impacts of climate change on African communities and advocating for renewable energy projects in Ugandan schools.

Photo of Pepe Julian Onziema

4. Pepe Julian Onziema (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 38.16, Pepe Julian Onziema is the 4th most famous Ugandan Social Activist.  Their biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Pepe Julian Onziema (born November 30, 1980) is a Ugandan LGBT rights and human rights activist. He began his human rights work in 2004. Onziema is the Director of Programs at Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), an LGBTI advocacy organization. SMUG provides research, documentation, and evidence to advocate for policy change in Uganda. They also provide LGBT+ members with safety and protection from discriminatory hate crimes. In 2012, he was named a Global Citizen by the Clinton Global Initiative for his work in human rights advocacy. In 2014, Onziema formed a coalition of 55 Ugandan civil society organizations to protect LGBT rights in the country. That year, UK-based charity Stonewall named Onziema Hero of the Year. A trans man, he has participated in organizing LGBT pride celebrations in Uganda. As of 2019, Onziema has been arrested or detained seven times, incurring violence in which he lost hearing in his left ear and needed to be hospitalized.

Photo of Kasha Nabagesera

5. Kasha Nabagesera (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 37.81, Kasha Nabagesera is the 5th most famous Ugandan Social Activist.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera (also known as Jacqueline Kasha) (born c. 1980) is a Ugandan LGBT rights activist and the founder and executive director of the LGBT rights organization Freedom & Roam Uganda (FARUG). She received the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2011 and the Right Livelihood Award in 2015.

Photo of Frank Mugisha

6. Frank Mugisha (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 31.57, Frank Mugisha is the 6th most famous Ugandan Social Activist.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Frank Mugisha (born 17 June 1979) is a Ugandan LGBT advocate and Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), who has won the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize 2011 for his activism. Mugisha is one of the most prominent advocates for LGBT rights in Uganda.

Photo of Cleopatra Kambugu Kentaro

7. Cleopatra Kambugu Kentaro (b. 0)

With an HPI of 30.53, Cleopatra Kambugu Kentaro is the 7th most famous Ugandan Social Activist.  Their biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Cleopatra Kambugu Kentaro is a Ugandan transgender woman and human rights activist, advocating for equality and social justice with particular focus on sex workers and gender non-conforming communities. Kentaro is recognised for her advocacy and was featured in the 2016 award-winning feature-length documentary The Pearl of Africa.

Photo of Leah Namugerwa

8. Leah Namugerwa (b. 2004)

With an HPI of 23.50, Leah Namugerwa is the 8th most famous Ugandan Social Activist.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Leah Namugerwa (born 2004) is a youth climate activist in Uganda. She is known for leading tree planting campaigns and for starting a petition to enforce the plastic bag ban in Uganda. Following inspiration from Greta Thunberg, she began supporting school strikes in February 2019 with fellow Fridays for the Future Uganda organizer Sadrach Nirere. Namugerwa spoke at the World Urban Forum in 2020 and was a youth delegate at COP25. Her uncle, Tim Mugerwa, is also a prominent environmentalist in Uganda. Leah Namugerwa's is a member of the Anglican Church of Uganda.

People

Pantheon has 8 people classified as Ugandan social activists born between 1964 and 2004. Of these 8, 7 (87.50%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Ugandan social activists include Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Vanessa Nakate, and Pepe Julian Onziema. The most famous deceased Ugandan social activists include David Kato. As of April 2024, 4 new Ugandan social activists have been added to Pantheon including Pepe Julian Onziema, Kasha Nabagesera, and Frank Mugisha.

Living Ugandan Social Activists

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Deceased Ugandan Social Activists

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Newly Added Ugandan Social Activists (2025)

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