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Woman gets Kadaga scholarship after flooring man in boxing
Salima Tibesigwa (in green trunks) sizes up against her male opponent ahead of the annual Kagulu Rock Climbing Challenge in Buyende District August 16, 2024. PHOTO/DENIS EDEMA
What you need to know:
- Busoga Kingdom tourism minister Hellen Namutamba confirmed the scholarship award.
First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga has offered to sponsor a female boxer who floored a male counterpart in a bout ahead of the Kagulu Rock Climbing challenge in Buyende District on August 16.
Salima Tibesigwa, a 19-year-old resident of Mafubira Ward in Jinja North City Division, dropped out of school ten years ago while in Primary Seven after her parents failed to pay her fees.
She says she fought a male opponent, which is against the rules of the game, “to gain some exposure.”
Kadaga, who watched the bout and kept cheering Tibesigwa throughout, has granted her a post-fight scholarship in Primary Six at Jinja City Junior School Day and Boarding Primary School, Kamaka in Jinja City to resume her ambition of becoming a lawyer.
The bout and several other sports were held under Busoga Kingdom’s Ministry of Tourism and Heritage.
Busoga Kingdom tourism minister Hellen Namutamba confirmed the scholarship award.
“Tibesigwa is on a full sponsorship courtesy of Kadaga. The girl dropped out of school and decided to join boxing,” Namutamba told Monitor on September 16.
She added: “Kadaga asked that she returns to school alongside her boxing career.”
Meanwhile, Tibesigwa said she is “very proud of Busoga,” adding that “it is why I always move with the Kingdom’s flag for identification”.
“The Bible says: ‘there is time for everything’, and God has now answered my prayers to return to school,” she said, adding that if it was not for her determination, she would now be a mother or wife.
Her fighting record through private arrangements in Dubai, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania stands at 12 fights with nine wins and three losses.
Asked how she intends to juggle books and boxing, Tibesigwa said she chose to study at a nearby school where she can have access to training.
The school director, Stephen Kissa, said Tibesigwa is in boarding section, and the administration allows her to go jogging every morning and evening.
“On weekends, she is facilitated to train with her coach in Mafubira, after which she returns to school,” he revealed.
