Biography of Luusi Nvumirwa Nsibirwa

Luusi Nvumirwa Nsibirwa Kibirge was born in 1911 to Damali Mukuubwa and Martin Luther Nsibirwa, who would later become a two-time Katikkiro of Buganda. She was born into a family deeply rooted in public service, cultural stature, and Christian values. Growing up at a time when formal education for girls was still a rare privilege, she was enrolled at Gayaza in the 1920s, where she received training in home economics and home management. These early experiences shaped her disciplined, organised, and nurturing approach to life.

In 1932, Luusi was married to Abusolomu Kibirige, a determined young man who had migrated from Gomba as a teenager and lived as a servant for English missionaries in Kampala. This early training and exposure equipped him to enter the circles in which he would meet and marry the Katikkiro’s daughter.

The Couple on their wedding day in 1932

Their wedding became one of the notable ones of the era, attended by Ssekabaka Daudi Chwa himself, together with other esteemed figures of the time. In a stroke of extraordinary fortune, the day also marked the launch by the Kabaka of the now-famous Namirembe Cathedral pipe organ—the first of its kind in East and Central Africa—making Luusi and Kibirige the very first couple to march to its enthralling music.

The group photo at her wedding reception at the Butikkiro in Mengo. Seated front third from left in a white suite is Ssekabaka Daudi Chwa and on his left Katikkiro Nsibirwa. Sserwano Kulubya is seated second from right

The couple settled in Lubaga, where Kibirige’s father, Daudi Serubidde Kyamaanyi had acquired land adjacent to the Lubaga Catholic Cathedral estate. Industrious and enterprising, Kibirige started work, first as a messenger at Mulago, before establishing himself as a trader. His work took him between the mainland and the Ssese Islands, transporting manufactured goods to island communities and bringing back marine products, especially fish, for markets in Kampala. Luusi and her husband were blessed with twelve children, two of whom died in infancy. Those that lived were; Dan Kagimu, Sam Ssebunya, Sarah Nanfuka, Catherine Nakitto (née Ssenkungu), Daudi Sserubidde, James Musisi, Isreal Kaddu, Jane Nabunnya (née Tumwiine), Eridard Kisubika, Kibirige (who died at about two years), and Martini Katale.

As a mother of a large family, she dedicated her life to raising and educating her children, managing the household, and overseeing her estate as inherited from her father. In her mothering role, she received plenty of help from her much younger sisters, including Rhoda Kalema, Janet Nkabidwa and Bulyaba, who loved walking from the Butikkiro (Katikkiro’s official residence in Mengo) to go and baby sit their nephews and nieces in Lubaga.

Luusi Nvumirwa together with her husband Abusolomu Kibirige and their Children.

She was also an active agriculturalist, ensuring that her home remained productive and self-sustaining. In 1964, Luusi moved to Gomba, reconnecting with her husband’s homeland and the couple lived there until he passed away in August of 1971. They had shared forty-three years of marriage. Luusi then returned to Lubaga where she remained a woman of peace—gentle in speech, and steady in character who maintained a home of order and warmth.

Baby-sitting some of her grand-children in the late 70’s

Luusi Nvumirwa Nsibirwa passed away at 87 in 1997, a time when her own son, Daudi Serubidde was incidentally the Dean of Namirembe Cathedral - fulfilling through a grandson, something that her father Katikkiro Nsibirwa had wished to see among his children.She left behind a legacy of dignity, resilience, and maternal devotion. Her life bridged eras of profound social change, and her influence continues to live on through her surviving 3 children, 48 grandchildren, 116 great grandchildren and 30 great-great grandchildren.