Bisimwa Mulemangabo
The past and present of energy programming in displacement settings
Mulemangabo Bisimwa is a DPhil candidate in International Development at Hertford College. His doctoral research project looks at the politics of sustainable energy transition in humanitarian contexts, with a particular focus on the socio-political system within which improved cooking solutions are produced, distributed, and used in protracted refugee settlements. Using a case study of Kyaka II refugee settlement in Uganda, he is interested in understanding how sustainable cooking access is shaped by the interactions between the top-down humanitarian aid system and the bottom-up refugee-led organisations. This involves understanding the culture and practice of energy production, distribution, and use, and thinking about the implications of stakeholders’ power relations for the energy regime.
Prior to beginning his DPhil, Bisimwa spent over a decade as a humanitarian practitioner and consultant supporting the design and implementation of refugee policy and programmes with humanitarian and development organisations, including with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Refugee-Led Research Hub (RLRH), International Rescue Committee (IRC), World Renew, and Refugee-led Organisations (RLOs) in East Africa.