Ellinah Wamukoya - South African Bishop

Ellinah Wamukoya is the first women in Southern Africa, even the whole of Africa, to be elected as a bishop of the Anglican Church. However, it was not an easy road as it took seven rounds of inconclusive elections for her to become the Right Reverend Wamukoya, or the Anglican Diocese of Swaziland.

In 2012, Wamukoya was consecrated by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, who labeled it “a great occasion”. However, no official representative from the Swazi king was there to attend the ceremony. David Dinkebogile led the ceremony and declared that Wamukoya was now a Bishop not an African, nor a black woman, nor a Swazi woman, but a pastor to all.

Reverend Wamukoya became the bishop-elect at the age of 61-years-old. She is the first to hold this title in all of the 12 Anglican Provinces in Africa.

Wamukoya admitted that being the first female bishop in Africa comes with many responsibilities and it was a great task to prove that a woman could fulfill the role. She understands that the entire world is looking at her right now under a microscope to see if she can perform. She recently received some recognition, as BBC named her one of the 100 most influential and inspirational women of 2016.

The name Ellinah might be related to names like Ellen, Elaine, Eileen, Elliana, Elian or other such names. The name is very uncommon around the world.