Emily Nakalema was born Emily Kyomugisha to Samuel and Teopista Kyomugisha in Mbarara[4] and is the third born in a family of five. She attended Kulumba Primary School after which she joined Allied Secondary School for her first year of secondary school. She was later admitted to Citizen High School, Mbarara on a sports bursary after which she dropped out of school in 2016[4] and moved to Kampala city.
Involvement in sports
Emily Nakalema started out playing football[5] and featured for Mbarara United FC in regional tours[6] before moving to Kampala and eventually taking up boxing in 2018.[4]
She boxes under a local club, Katwe Boxing Club[7][8] and has also represented Uganda at regional and continental level.