Former Member of Parliament and former Vice President of the Democratic Party (DP), Rainer Kafiire, has died, according to reports from Kibuku District.
Multiple sources from Kibuku and Pallisa confirmed that Kafiire passed away on Wednesday, June 3, following a period of illness. Her death was also confirmed by former DP member Dr. Lulume Bayiga, who expressed sorrow over her passing and reflected on her long political and constitutional journey.
“She has been sick for some time, and in the final months she could hardly recognize people,” Dr. Bayiga said, describing her as a committed political leader who “fought a good fight.”
Kafiire served in the Sixth and Seventh Parliaments of Uganda and later lost her bid for the Eighth Parliament to Saleh Kamba. Beyond elective politics, she also held a significant role in Uganda’s constitutional history as one of the members of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the 1995 Constitution.
She was among the few women in the 68-member National Caucus for Democracy, a key opposition bloc in the Constituent Assembly that advocated strongly for political pluralism. The caucus, led by the late Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere, played a central role in pushing for multiparty democracy during the constitutional negotiations.
Throughout her political career, Kafiire was closely associated with prominent opposition figures such as John Ssebaana Kizito and others who challenged the one-party Movement system that dominated Uganda’s political landscape at the time.
Under the restrictions of Article 269 of the 1995 Constitution, which limited the activities of political parties, she was part of legal and political efforts that saw opposition leaders repeatedly challenge the system in court. She worked alongside figures like Ssemogerere and others in constitutional litigation that shaped Uganda’s democratic evolution.
Dr. Bayiga further described Kafiire as a “hardworking leader and a creator of hope,” recalling her involvement in internal party struggles and key Democratic Party transitions that he said weakened the party’s cohesion over time.
“She was part of the difficult history of the DP, including moments when the party was deeply divided and politically weakened,” he added.
Rainer Kafiire is remembered as one of the pioneering women in Uganda’s opposition politics and constitutional development, leaving behind a legacy tied to the country’s long struggle for political pluralism.
May her soul rest in peace.
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