Wakiko Ohira (Ph.D. candidate, Graduate Program on Human Security, the University of Tokyo)
HYI African History and Cultures Training Program Visiting Fellow, 2022-23
“Institutional Transformation of Traditional Authorities: The Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom and Museveni’s Regime”
What got you interested in your research topic/field?
I went to Uganda for the first time in 2009 to do some volunteer work. Being a researcher was never my plan. But, the more I knew about Uganda’s history, the more I got interested in it. Writing a master’s thesis on the history of the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom opened up a road for me to dig deeper into the history and politics of Uganda.
Outside of work, where can we find you?
I love going to a theater for dance and music performances. So far, Drumfolk by Step Afrika! has been the best performance I’ve watched in Boston.
What would you want to do most as a career if you were not in academia?
Flamenco dancer. One summer, when I lived in Spain, I fell in love with Flamenco and took lessons 5 times a week. It has already been more than 10 years since I stopped dancing, though.
Read Wakiko Ohira’s bio on our website.