Title: My Father and I: The Power of Fatherhood
Author: Col. Edith Nakalema
Pages: 278
Published: 2026
Launch date: July 7th, 2026
Col. Edith Nakalema Asizua is famed for her generosity of spirit and kindness. She is also known as hard-as-nails and principled in ways that spell no compromise in the face of corruption. The lady is a tough cookie.
Her effortless ability to run hot and cold when the situation requires is a testament to her intentional leadership. A quality, she says, she inherited from her late father Omuburizi (lay preacher) Taata (father), Reverand Eliasaph Sserwadda who passed away on 11th February 2025.
Her new and first book titled “My Father and I: The Power of Fatherhood” reveals the unbreakable bond between her and her late father. On top of that, its shows how her father’s intentional fatherhood was the touchstone of her own intentional leadership and her giving spirit.
This book has the rare endorsement of the First Lady, Janet Museveni. That is a feat in itself, another testament to the moral grandeur of her late father.
“It is often said that the true measure of a person’s life is seen in the legacy they leave behind. In Col. Nakalema and in the values, she upholds, we see the enduring fruits of a father who walked faithfully with God. As a nation, Uganda has benefited from Col, Nakalema’s courage and value-based leadership, in the positions she has held as Presidential appointee with grace and excellence,” writes the First Lady.
Col. Edith Nakalema Asizua launched her book “My Father and I: The Power of Intentional Fatherhood” at Protea Hotel, Kampala, on July 7th. It is available at all leading Ugandan bookshops at 150,000 UGX.
The book’s Foreword is written by the President, Yoweri Museveni. He is also glowing in his praise for the late Reverend Sserwadda and the impact of his example on Col. Nakalema.
“I want to commend the late Eliasaph Sserwadda and Maama Midresi Ndungu, for raising a wonderful family, anchored on Christian values and the fear of God. Parents and guardians are the first teachers for any child. Children observe what their parents do and say; and therefore, model their lives after their actions and words,” writes the president.
The book not only tells how Col. Nakalema’s late father shaped the leader she is today but also reminds us that the role of fatherhood is often overlooked. Her belief is that without her father, she would not be the person she is today. So, she is arguing for more intentional fatherhood as the very basis of shaping the moral character of the nation. She believes that if fatherhood is celebrated, its celebrity will influence the quality of the country we so seek.
Having come from a humble background, she argues that for fatherhood to be intentional, it requires fathers to be there for their children. Not just as providers, but as friends and squires to stronger moral and spiritual fiber. Some of the stories in this book seem fantastical because her father was not rich, but he took countless students to school. It is unbelievable how the goodness of one person can change the context in which he works and lives.
“One good example in this book is of a Member of Parliament whose life changed because Taata carried him for 15 kilometers on his old bicycle to Ntare School to ensure he didn’t miss the great opportunity to enroll in the great Ankole sub-region school,” Nakalema writes in the preface.
There’s a whole chapter about that “trusty old bicycle” ridden by her late father. It was so central to his proclivity to minister to the needs of others, that his children often thought it was more than a bicycle. That’s because their father made them believe in the ordinary as being extraordinary. This explains how his ordinary income led him to provide extraordinary amounts of academic scholarships to the less fortunate. Col. Nakalema’s father was a specialist in metal works and fabrication, hardly a profession that yields the bounty of material care he gave others along with his own family.
“Taata was a protective and loving family man whose special name for Maama was ‘Mukyara, my Beloved’ and, Maama lovingly called Taata ‘Omwami wangye’ (my treasured husband). He openly expressed his tender care, love and respect for her. To us their children, Taata was a caring and friendly teacher whom we never wanted to disappoint and for that reason we ensured that we did the right thing!” writes Col. Nakakema.
They say that the best thing a father can do for his children is love their mother. Reverend Sserwadda lived this saying and made its lessons axiomatic to the author’s outlook on life. By writing this book, she shares these lessons to the world while staying connected to him.
Col. Edith Nakalema Asizua launched her book “My Father and I: The Power of Intentional Fatherhood” at Protea Hotel, Kampala, on July 7th. It is available at all leading Ugandan bookshops at 150,000 UGX.
