I get to meet Sheila Nduhukire at Kampala Serena Hotel, which is home to NTV-Uganda. She is dressed in tight-fitting blue jeans and a red top when she comes out to meet me at the reception.
Her easy smile adds a bit of colour to our quick pleasantries. And as we stroll around looking for the right spot to conduct the interview, our light chit-chat suggests she is an easy person to talk to.
We finally settle down somewhere in the gardens. Seated across from her, I can see that the TV screen does not lie about her effortless beauty.
She is good on the eye. Beauty, however, as she would later let me know, is cheap! “Every woman is beautiful. So, I would choose brains over beauty at any time. I would choose confidence, eloquence, and everything else other than a pretty face.”
Nduhukire talks with confidence and eloquence, the same way she comes off on screen, but this time, her light side bubbles to the surface. She does not hesitate to break into a fit of giggles, smiling and laughing at various turns of our interaction.
But she is selective with detail. In fact, if introverts and extroverts have a middle ground, then that is where she lies. As she also acknowledges, “I do not share a lot, neither do I say too little. And oh, I am humble.”
This is the girl that popped out of nowhere right onto our TV screens, first as a reporter, who now doubles as an anchor at NTV.
The 26-year-old has quickly risen to the top. “All this has been good for me. I’m totally enjoying this ride and my achievements to this point. But I would not say it is anything yet. This is just the beginning. There is a lot more I have to do,” she says.
A bishop’s daughter
The second born in a family of seven, Nduhukire was born in Kazo, Kiruhura District to Stephen Namanya, the Bishop of North Ankole Diocese; and Lydia Namanya, a teacher.
“They raised us in the true African fashion. We did every domestic chore; cooked, gardened, and even looked after cattle,” recounts Nduhukire adding, “I clashed a lot with them, often questioning their rules. But now, I realise all they wanted was the best for me.”
As a child, Nduhukire does not remember nursing definite dreams of becoming a journalist. But looking back now, she realises the spark was always in there somewhere. “We used to steal my father’s mobile phone to mimick Capital FM’s Desree Barlow then. We would take turns interviewing each other with my big sister and record the interviews.”
She also had private sessions reading Orumuri in her bedroom mirror, envisioning herself as an anchor. Nonetheless, her heart was elsewhere. By Senior One at Uganda Martyrs Namugongo, Nduhukire had already awakened to the fact that sciences would not be her cup of tea.
“I specifically wanted to be a lawyer. Even as I joined Bweranyangi Girls for A-Level, that burning urge to pursue a law degree remained intact,” she recalls.
Luckily, she scored the required points and UCU did offer her a place to take on Law on private sponsorship.
At the same time, however, Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) had admitted her for BBA on government sponsorship. Her father chose the government slot at MUST. “I felt cheated. I had really hoped for Law. But as it would later turn out, this was a blessing in disguise.”
Life on TV, and what comes with it
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