Donna, game driver and total badass

In early May, my mom, sister and I went on a safari in Murchison National Park. My mom had booked the trip through a local safari company. When I got word that our safari guide Donna would be picking us up, my ears perked up. Donna. Perhaps a woman safari driver? Huh. That would be cool. Were we that lucky?

Yes. Yes we were. It's rare to see women driving in Uganda, let alone driving a standard transmission vehicle, let alone driving tourists around, let alone while simultaneously spotting leopards and lions in a four-wheel drive safari van. Indeed, Donna Katesi is one of four female game drivers currently working in Uganda. People did stare a lot – construction workers literally stopped working and stared, mouths gaping, as we drove by.  

Donna is a skilled game driver and total badass. She joked that she makes her way among her male colleagues by being a bully. Case in point – when she sent us off on a boat tour one day, I heard her tell the guide that if he didn’t give us a small boat and drive slowly that she’d “kick his ass”. Watch out! And when people question her abilities ‘as a woman’, she likes to respond with the tone and crassness ‘of a man’, just because she loves to mess around with people’s assumptions of gender norms (“A woman would never say that! Is she even a woman?” they say). I love it. I asked her what her advice was for women who are pushing their way into occupations lead by men and she said the most important thing is not to get too used to your comfort zone. Push your self out of that zone, she says. You got it Donna.

We had a wonderful few days with Donna. Perhaps above all, I was appreciative of her patience when I wanted to watch giraffes for hours. If you’re going on safari in Uganda in the future, I can put you in touch- I give Donna my highest recommendation, as you can guess.

PS. Donna was recently featured in the Ugandan news – check it out here!