MIRIKA Foundation was established in 2023 and registered 2026 convicted to demistyfy and power PhD research in Uganda, Africa and beyond.The Foundation is an independent organization and its policies, operations, and program decisions are made and overseen by the Board of Trustees and Leadership team.
Board of Directors
Dr. Doris Kakuru is a full Professor of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria, Canada. She is a Canadian scholar of African descent, born and raised in Uganda. She holds a PhD in Social Sciences from Wageningen University (the Netherlands), a Master of Philosophy in Social Anthropology from the University of Bergen (Norway), and a BA (Hons) in Sociology from Makerere University (Uganda). Her research is situated within children’s geographies, with a focus on critical African girlhood studies, children and youth in forced migration, adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and citizen social science. Her scholar-activist work seeks to challenge discriminatory child and youth policies and practices globally, while critically interrogating Euro-Western knowledge production and mobilization. Grounded in social justice, anti-oppressive, and decolonial frameworks, her work examines how ongoing combat for equity is shaped by the intersections of racial, colonial, and intergenerational power relations with contemporary social structures. Learn more at: www.doriskakuru.com
Dr. Jjingo is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at Makerere University, who has supervised over 7 PhD students to completion in the areas of Bioinformatics and Computer Science. He serves as the Director of the African Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Data-Intensive Sciences (ACE), whose mandate involves providing cutting-edge computational platforms (hardware, software and research expertise) for biomedical research. As a Principal Investigator of various research and training programs that apply bioinformatics, data science and generative AI, his research interests cut across human genomics, cancer genomics and anti-microbial drug resistance. He earned his Ph.D. in bioinformatics as a Fulbright Scholar at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta USA, preceded by an MSc in bioinformatics and computational biology from the University of Leeds, UK, and a BSc in biochemistry from Makerere University, Uganda. He previously served as a bioinformatics consultant for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta.
Dr Sara Namusoga is currently a lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Communication at Makerere University. She is the e-Learning Coordinator and eLearning champion at the School of Languages, Literature and Communication. She was also the founding chairperson of the Editorial Committee of The Legacy, the Makerere University Alumni e-newsletter. She has also worked as a Hansard editor in the Pan-African and Ugandan parliaments.
She holds a PhD in Cultural and Media Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (2017), a Master of Arts in Journalism and Communication from Rhodes University, South Africa (2007) and a Bachelor of Mass Communication from Makerere University (2023).
From August 2024 to September 2025, Namusoga was a Humboldt Fellow based at the Technical University of Dortmund, Germany, where she explored African migration in Europe and the media. She is also an alumna of the Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) of Journalism and the Media 2015 cohort, that was hosted by Ohio University, USAand brought together 16 journalism and media scholars from Africa, Asia and Europe.
Furthermore, Namusoga has been part of several projects at Makerere University. The most recent and ongoing one is “The ‘Great Game’ of Media and Politics in Africa: Geopolitics and Media Intervention post-2022” that is funded by the Daimler Benz Foundation. From 2023-2026 she was part of the Communicating Migration and Mobility: E-Learning Programmes and Newsroom Applications for Sub-Saharan Africa (CoMMPASS) Project, which was co-funded by the European Union. In 2022, she won a grant under the Archives, Memory and Method from the Global South Project at Makerere University, where she studied multimedia storytelling for archiving COVID-19 experiences in Uganda.
She is a board member of Enactive Study Link and Debunk Media Initiative.
She is an Advocate of the Courts of Judicature in Uganda and a member of the professional bodies, thus the East African Law Society and Uganda Law Society.
Brenda, with 20 years of extensive experience in Banking, Microfinance, Compliance, Commercial transactions, and Litigation, currently serves as the Group Company Secretary and General Counsel at Centenary Rural Development Group. Her previous roles include Acting Executive Director (Deputy Managing Director), Company Secretary, and Head of Legal and Compliance at KCB Bank Uganda, a subsidiary of KCB Group-Kenya. She has also served at executive levels at FINCA Uganda (a subsidiary of FINCA International, headquartered in Washington, DC), Finance Trust Bank Uganda, Commercial Microfinance, and Pearl Microfinance.
Brenda’s legal career began with the Office of First Parliamentary Counsel, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, before she joined a private law firm and later entered the banking sector.
Brenda’s academic qualifications include a Master of Science in Leadership and Governance, a Mini-MBA for in-house Counsels from Boston University (MA- USA), a Bachelor of Laws degree from Makerere University (Kampala, Uganda), a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from Law Development Centre (Kampala, Uganda), and a host of professional training certificates.
Simeon is a Chartered Commercial Property Surveyor and a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce (Financial Services) from Makerere University, an MA in Real Estate Management from the University of the West of England, Bristol, and an MBA in Construction and Real Estate from the University College of Estate Management.
He brings experience across both the private and public sectors, having worked in financial services and local government in East Africa and the United Kingdom. In Uganda, he began his career in commercial banking before transitioning into commercial property in the U.K. In the UK, he has specialised in the asset management of major local authority property portfolios across South Wales and London.
Simeon has served on boards of local authority‑owned property companies and is an assessor for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He is committed to developing the next generation of Chartered Surveyors. He is passionate about sharing the knowledge, skills and experience gained in UK local government with emerging economies in East Africa.
Dr. Clare Kaijabwango Muhumuza, PhD, is the Founder and CEO of MIRIKA Foundation. She is a mentoring and coaching professional, a seasoned scholar, and an accomplished development worker. She is an ITD World- International Coaching Federation (ICF) certified mentor and coach, holds a PhD and MA Degree in Development studies, Bachelors in Social Work and Social Administration (all Makerere University-Uganda), Post Graduate Diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation (Uganda Management Institute) and a Certificate in Project Planning and Management (Management and Development Federation- Netherlands). Most of her 23year-professional work has been in results-based management, evaluation, Value for Money (VfM), strategic planning and grant development of programmes; designed and implemented by/for local and international Non-Government Organisations and Government of Uganda. Caritas Uganda and Denmark (DANIDA), Civil Society Fund (USAID), German Agro Action (GAA), Broaderlijk Delen, HIVOS, Common Wealth and Development Office, Irish Aid, European Union, World Food Programme, International Labour Organization (ILO) and DED; and Government of Uganda- Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development.
Her 2019 entry into the academic terrain, birthed not only a seasoned scholar but also a conviction to demystify PhD/ Doctoral education; in Uganda and across the globe; through experience-based mentorship and coaching; intentional triggering, strengthening and sustaining linkages between doctoral education and industry and lastly, building a crucible for data on PhD/Doctoral education.
It is this experience in the development industry, academia and leadership that were woven to build the bedrock and spirit of MIRIKA Foundation.
