He attended Mbarara High School from 1963 until 1966, before transferring to Kings College Budo in 1967.
After obtaining his master's degree in 1974, he became a lecturer in the faculty of law at the University of Zambia in Lusaka.
Between 1986 and 2001, he served in various ministerial roles, in the ministries of defence, local government, education, and public service.
During that time, he also served as the member of parliament representing Igara East in Bushenyi District.
[3] Following the constitutional amendment that removed presidential term limits in Uganda in 2005, Mushega, who opposed the amendment, left the National Resistance Movement political party and joined the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).