Leah Namugerwa is a 'climate activist' as she likes to define herself. Inspired by the renowned Greta Thunberg, this young Ugandan is one of the emblematic figures of environmental protection in Africa. A portrait of this young activist who fights for a greener future in Uganda and beyond.

Who is Leah Namugerwa, Uganda's climate action champion?

Leah Namugerwa is a young Ugandan who fights against global warming and advocates for environmental protection. Her journey began when she was just 13 years old. In 2018, she discovered, like much of the world, Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

Meanwhile, the young Ugandan, from Mukono district (a region affected by deforestation due to the expansion of the capital, Kampala), came across televised footage of landslides and flooding that struck Budula district, claiming 40 lives.

Soon after, the teenager felt a deep connection to Greta Thunberg's activism and drew parallels between her messages and what she was witnessing in Uganda.

"The consequences of climate change that Greta Thunberg was describing are things I know firsthand. The flooding on my way to school, classes interrupted because water seeps into our classrooms... I realized that children were particularly affected by all these phenomena threatening our future. And that if we did nothing, we would continue to suffer," she declared.

It was then that her calling took shape, and she began taking action similar to Thunberg's. Since then, the young woman has balanced school, demonstrations, public speeches, and countless field initiatives. Today, she stands among Africa's most prominent climate activists.

Leah Namugerwa's diverse climate action initiatives

Demonstrations and strikes with the 'Fridays for Future' movement

Frustrated by the Ugandan government's inaction on environmental issues and inspired by Greta Thunberg's sit-ins outside the Swedish Parliament, Leah Namugerwa organized the first school strike for climate, as part of the Fridays for Future movement launched in November 2018 by Greta Thunberg.

Every Friday, she skipped classes to take to the streets with placards bearing powerful messages. Working alongside Sadrach Nirere, Hilda Flavia Nakabuye, and her cousin Bob Motavu, she helped establish Fridays for Future Uganda. What started as a solitary protest soon gained momentum and grew exponentially.

Campaign to ban plastic bags in Uganda

After launching school strikes, the young activist decided in May 2019 to launch a campaign pushing for the enforcement of a ban on the use, production, and sale of plastic bags in Uganda. She even directly appealed to President Yoweri Museveni, urging the Ugandan government to enforce its own environmental laws.

As she explained, the plastic bag ban had already been decreed by the president in 2015 and 2018: "Within the East African community, Rwanda did it years ago, Kenya in 2017, and Tanzania in 2019. In Uganda, the law was passed but never enforced. Yet plastic pollutes our forests, prevents us from swimming in our rivers, kills aquatic wildlife..."

Leah Namugerwa's campaign went viral on social media, with the hashtag #BanPlasticUG spreading around the world.

Tree planting through the 'Birthday Trees' project

For her 15th birthday, the increasingly committed activist decided to celebrate in a deeply symbolic way: by planting trees to combat deforestation.

She chose to plant 200 trees in 2019, and the following year she doubled down by planting 500. Since then, she has celebrated every birthday this way, launching her 'Birthday Trees' initiative. She calls on loved ones, local communities, and businesses to do the same in the years ahead. In 2021, she planted 700 trees, and in 2022, 800 trees!

"I want birthday trees to become a cultural practice. Everywhere in the world, but especially here in my country. By 2040, we might have no forests left at all," she declared.

With forest cover having declined from 24% in 1990 to just 8% in 2019, Leah Namugerwa is determined to become an environmental rights lawyer.