Pamela Tumwebaze addressing people in Nkoyoyo Hall.
By Kefa Senoga When Pamela Tumwebaze joined the three-year-old Uganda Christian University (UCU) in 2000 as an undergraduate student, neither she nor the institution envisioned that it was the start of what would become nearly two decades of a symbiotic relationship.
In the 21 years since Tumwebaze completed her undergraduate course at UCU in 2003, she has worked both for UCU and other organizations beyond the university. The farther she moved away from UCU, however, the harder her heart beat for her to return to her alma mater.
When she left the country for a teaching job in Rwanda, she was there for just two years. When she went farther to Tanzania for yet another teaching job, it was not for more than one year.
Tumwebaze during one of the Honors College mentorship programs.
Tumwebaze eventually returned home, but was still hesitant to return to UCU. As such, she got a job in a non-governmental organization, but that was not for long, until she returned to her home, UCU. Today, she is the university’s new Director of Students Affairs (DOSA).
Tumwebaze recalls that in 2003, after attaining her Bachelor of Arts with Education from UCU, she took a job as a tutorial assistant in the Faculty of Education. Thereafter, she pursued a Master of Arts in Literature at UCU. She is currently completing another master’s degree, MA Strategic Communication at UCU.
At the university, she has served in the positions of teaching assistant, administrative assistant, Executive Assistant to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Affairs, Executive Officer to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Finance and Administration and the Head of the Honors College, a role she currently juggles with being DOSA, a position she has held for three months now.
As DOSA, Tumwebaze says she has to serve all the students in the university, as opposed to the job at Honors College, where it’s just a select few of the university’s top students. The Honors College, whose concept is borrowed from the Dutch and American universities, admits only the institution’s crème de la crème students from the different faculties.
Applicants must have at least a 4.0 Cumulative Grade-Point Average out of 5.0 to be enrolled to the college that offers talented students the opportunity to tap on their mettle through an extra certificate-program, alongside the regular bachelor’s degree course.
Tumwebaze says she enjoys working and guiding young people who are still going through formation. “I love to see them become adults, I also love the chaos that comes with being young because I guess it says much about them,” she notes.
“Being DOSA means looking at probably a 20-year-old troublesome young adult. But five or more years from now, that 20-year-old may be a CEO or a big-name journalist; so, what can we do now to make sure that they become that?” Tumwebaze asks.
As a mother, Tumwebaze views students as children, she understands that each child has weaknesses and uniquenesses and that there is something about each of them that needs to be groomed into something better. She is a mother of two boys and is married to Alexander Matsiko whom she met at UCU.
“As the older generation, we have the burden of putting things into perspective for the younger generation; if we don’t focus on that then we could lose the next generation,” Tumwebaze warns.
She notes that her job as DOSA requires a skill set that comes with having an open mind because “everyday has its own shocks.”
Tumwebaze comes from a large family in Mbarara, a district in western Uganda. She attended St. Helens Primary School Mbarara for her primary education and Kyeizooba Girls Secondary School in Bushenyi district for her secondary education. From Kyeizooba, she joined UCU for her undergraduate course.
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Former UCU guild presidents who were present at the prayer breakfast, from left to right: Kenneth Amponda (2020-2021), Prisca Amongin (2016-2017), Emmanuel Wabwire (2012-2013) and Timothy Kadaga (2019-2020).
By Kefa Senoga Any meeting of alums is often a convergence of memories of school days gone by. Sometimes, the sharing at such an event includes reliving the mischief committed during the younger years as students try to find a footing in the world as young adults.
All Saints Cathedral, Nakasero, in the heart of Kampala, Uganda, hosted one such Uganda Christian University (UCU) Alumni Association breakfast meeting in December. In addition to the usual catching up and reliving memories of their time as students at UCU, the event, according to the alumni association, was to provide a space for prayer and reflection, acknowledging that individuals may seek spiritual guidance and solace in their personal and professional lives.
Alums Jimmy Siyasa, Auma Shivan and Eriah Lule.
The Rev. Moses Senyonyi, Secretary Religious Affairs at the UCU Alumni Association, said events like such gatherings promote friendship among the alums, in addition to strengthening their bond as they seek spiritual renewal. According to Senyonyi, the alumni association is looking forward to organizing such a reunion every year.
At the December event, UCU staff members such as Prof. Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, the Director of Partnership, Innovation and Research, and Mrs. Bridget Mugume, the former UCU Director of Students Affairs, were present. Mugume led the “intercession” during the prayer time.
The Rev. Richard Mulindwa, the manager in charge of UCU Church Relations, represented the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi. He thanked the alumni for what he referred to as “marketing the university”and urged alums to partner with the university administrators in order to develop their alma mater.
In 2021, UCU alumni launched a projectin Mukono district, where members can buy land and settle in the same area. Twenty-seven members of an association of older students of the UCU Faculty of Engineering, Technology and Design bought 4.25 acres of land 20 miles away from Mukono town in central Uganda for the purpose of establishing settlement.
Some alums during the prayer breakfast.
That launch was followed by a similar one in Budaka district, eastern Uganda,where the association bought more than three acres that were subdivided for members to acquire smaller plots of 50 feet by 100 feet at a cost of sh1.5million (about $406). The grand vision of the project is to turn the area into an estate, with all the social services that the residents would need. Initiatives like these have helped to market the university before the community.
Giving a keynote address at the December event, Dr. Charles Kahigiriza, the chairperson of the Anglican Church of Uganda Heads of Education Institutions Association, demonstrated the relevance of alumni in the growth and development of their alma mater.
“As alumni, we should align ourselves with the university’s master plan and strategic plan in terms of development,” Kahigiriza beseeched the people present.
He suggested collaboration with the administration in capital projects, research, and grants to improve the university’s ranking. Kahigiriza also tasked the alumni with organizing occasional career mentorship and guidance sessions for all students, participate in community engagement and advocacy on behalf of the alumni association.
In response to Kahigiriza’s request, Emmanuel Wabwire, the president of the UCU Alumni Association, said they would take the lead in organizing support for the UCU sports department.A total of 10 million shillings ($2,631) was pledged to kick start the cause.
The Rev. Canon Dr. Rebecca Nyegenye, the provost of All Saints Cathedral who gave a sermon at the reunion, based her message on a passage in Psalm 86: “Revive us, oh Lord.” She encouraged the UCU alums to embody their alma mater’s identity in every aspect of their lives, urging them to live as missionaries, upholding a standard of ethics and integrity that sets them apart from others in the job market.
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Guests and staff members join Vice Chancellor Aaron Mushengyezi to cut the Christmas cake.
By Pauline Luba The Uganda Christian University (UCU) end-of-year Christmas party for staff and their children included music, cake and reminders of spirituality and accomplishments. Organized by the Department of Human Resources, it was held December 15, 2023.
Some of the members of the choir named Team Royals singing during the party. Right (wearing spectacles) is Monica Chibita, the Dean of the School of Journalism, Media and Communication.
UCU Chaplain, the Rev. Paul Wasswa Ssembiro, thanked God for the gift of the Christmas season, where he said God demonstrated his love for mankind. He centered this message on John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”Ssembiro emphasized that Christmas was not just about feasting, but also giving to those in need.
Several staff, many of them wearing traditional African wear, sang Christmas hymns on stage.
The Director Academic Affairs, Vincent Kisenyi, commended the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, for “keeping the UCU family together throughout the year.”
Staff member Josephine Namyalo Mawerere receives a plaque in recognition of 10 years of service to the university
Mushengyezi thanked the staff for the “diligent work” and offered prayers for those who had fallen sick, lost loved ones or were involved in accidents. He also challenged the staff to make assessments of how far they had achieved their targets as a department. He mentioned some of the year’s achievements such as landscaping of greenery on the main campus, cleaning, remodeling of buildings and roads, as well as the digitization of the campus operations.
Many staff members who had served at the university for 10 years were recognized and awarded plaques for their diligent work. Gift hampers were also given away during a quiz game on facts about UCU.
To crown the event, a beautiful Christmas cake was cut and served.
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Bibian Amito at her “get-to-know your workmates dinner” at MTN Uganda. A software developer at the leading telecom company, she was the best student in her class of UCU Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communication Engineering and was head-hunted by MTN.
By Irene Best Nyapendi Bibian Amito is more than an average, upstart software engineer. The Uganda Christian University (UCU) alum recruited for Uganda’s leading telecom company, MTN, before her recent graduation with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering has had her fingers and mind in client verification, help for sickle cell victims and more.
Amito didn’t even have to apply for her job. She joined MTN in March 2023, as a graduate trainee on a three-month probationary period. Impressively, her commitment and hard work secured her a permanent position.
Bibian Amito, a software developer at MTN and teaching assistant at UCU. Amito is doing research aimed at developing a smart wearable device for real-time diagnosis of individuals with sickle cell disease.
Since joining the company, she has delved into smart architectural software systems and diverse development tools. Recently, she was part of a team that developed a user interface called Tin Verification that was used by MTN’s internal administrators to check for verification of MTN clients. Previously, there was no system, and developers would query the databases and share raw data with the administrators.
“I have witnessed the dynamic pace of technology, particularly the transition from 4G to 5G,” Amito said. “I have successfully developed mock applications, websites, and APIs.”
Currently, Amito is actively involved in a research project focused on enhancing the lives of individuals with sickle cell disease, a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. Sickle cells that block blood flow to organs deprive the affected organs of blood and oxygen that can damage nerves and organs, including kidneys, liver and spleen.
The project involves the development of a smart wearable device for real-time diagnosis, monitoring and health management.
The device aims to facilitate proper follow-up on the health status of individuals with sickle cell disease. The goal is to empower users with continuous monitoring capabilities, enabling them to take proactive measures to maintain their health and prevent crisis attacks. The smart wearable device will also serve as an educational tool, offering valuable insights on healthy living practices for individuals with sickle cell disease.
Through the project, Amito is committed to delivering a comprehensive, efficient, and reliable wearable device that contributes to the well-being of those affected by sickle cell disease.
“I have some dear relatives I have seen living with sickle cell, and they are my greatest motivation for the project,” Mito said.
She envisions a long, prolific career with the telecom. Her future goals include specializing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning. She aspires to create innovative solutions tailored to her community’s needs, using technology as a tool for positive transformation. She also plans to engage in continuous study.
Leaving scholarship to join UCU
In the early stages of Amito’s academic journey, her aspirations were anchored in the pursuit of a career in surveying. Following the completion of high school, she secured a government scholarship to study surveying.
Her uncle and mentor advised her to study at UCU. He wanted her to study Civil and Environmental Engineering but Amito was offered the Electronics and Communication Engineering program — a field entirely unfamiliar to her.
This unforeseen development posed a challenging decision as she grappled with weighing the benefits of the government scholarship against the allure of private education in a new course.
Her mother encouraged to try out the new course, arguing that most people yearn for new things because “new” usually means better/improved.
“Who doesn’t like new things? Who doesn’t enjoy having a new piece of clothing or a new pair of shoes?” – her mother had asked, rhetorically.
“I lost the love for surveying after I started the new course,” Amito said of the UCU program she began in 2018.
Her four-year journey at UCU not only equipped her with a foundation in electronics and communication engineering, but also ignited her passion for the telecommunications industry. This passion was sparked by a combination of fascination with technological advancements and a profound recognition of the industry’s transformative impact on society.
“The rapid pace of innovation within the industry, from the development of cutting-edge communication technologies to the expansion of global connectivity, captivated my attention,” Amito said. “I found the prospect of being at the forefront of these advancements both exciting and inspiring.”
UCU not only provided her with a strong theoretical foundation, but also exposed her to hands-on projects, internships, and industry insights with experience to adapt quickly to new technologies and methodologies. These and her motivation have been a driving force in her journey from academia to her current role now as a software developer at MTN.
“The exposure to smart architectural software systems and various development tools at UCU has equipped me with the necessary skills to contribute effectively to projects in my current position,” Amito said. “I’ve been able to apply the principles learned in class to real-world scenarios, such as developing mock applications, websites, and APIs.”
Amito, who was the best in her class, also is a part-time Teaching Assistant at UCU in the Department of Computing and Technology.
++++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities, and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Rev. Assoc. Prof. Omona, shown attending a conference, says one of the most gratifying aspects of his academic journey is the friendship he has made while pursuing his studies and attending events.
By Kefa Senoga
The Rev. Assoc. Prof. Andrew David Omona has learned how he reacts to adversity is more important than the actual misfortune. His up-and-down life story depends on the value of strength and resilience. And these are skills he has mastered.
Take, for instance, the incident of 1996 when he tried to begin his theology career.
Born in 1970 in Adjumani district, northern Uganda, to the Rev. Andrew and Mary Olal, Omona completed his primary education at Biyaya Primary School before joining Obongi Secondary School in 1986, where he completed his O’level. In 1990, he joined Moyo Secondary School in northern Uganda, from where he completed his high school studies. Unlike many of his peers, he was not influenced by a mass recruitment of people into the Uganda Police Force. He decided to pursue a Diploma in Theology at the Bishop Tucker Theological College.
In 1996, Omona, the seventh of 10 children, enrolled for a Bachelor of Divinity course at what isnow the Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology. At the time, the college was under Uganda’s Makerere University. It became part of Uganda Christian University (UCU) in 1997. For reasons unknown to Omona, a week into his course, the Makerere University Council canceled his admission and those of some of his colleagues.
“When that happened, the Dean of Studies of Bishop Tucker at the time, the Rt. Rev. Canon Dustan Bukenya (now a retired bishop), gave me a letter to take to Bugema University,” Omona said, noting that with the letter, he gained admission into Bugema.
He was, therefore, allowed to enroll for a dual program leading to the consecutive award of two bachelor’s degrees — Bachelor of Theology and Bachelor of Arts with Education. The two degrees were combined because the programs shared certain elements, a practice that was acceptable at that time.
As Omona’s graduation at Bugema drew nearer, he encountered another hurdle. He got a challenge with the practical element in his theology course. He explains that despite having fulfilled all the requirements for graduation, there was one challenging course unit remaining — a practical component where they intended to assign him to a Seventh Day Adventist church.
“Whereas the head of department had agreed to supervise me in the Anglican church, the university management made it difficult for that to happen,” Omona says, indicating that when they reached a stalemate on the matter, he opted to only graduate with a Bachelor of Arts with Education.
After completing the BA with Education, he secured an admission at UCU to pursue a Master of Arts in Theology in 1999 and graduated in 2002. In 2005, his interest switched from theology and education to international relations and diplomacy; he enrolled to pursue a Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy at Nkumba University, graduating in 2007.
Soon after, a friend who was studying at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania encouraged Omona to enroll for a PhD in International Relations and Diplomacy. However, he says the advisor he was assigned turned out to be too busy for him. On many occasions, according to Omona, he would travel from Uganda to Tanzania, only to find that his advisor had traveled out of the country. So, in 2008, upon a friend’s recommendation, he transferred to Kenyatta University in Kenya, to pursue the same PhD course. He graduated from the university in 2015.
Upon acquiring his doctorate in 2016, Omona applied for a promotion at UCU, where he has been teaching since 2001. He was granted that request. However, three years later, when he applied to graduate to the higher rank of Associate Professor, his wish was denied. He did not lose hope, though. In 2021, Omona re-applied for the promotion. The good news reached him in May this year, when he was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Ethics and International Relations.
He said one of the most gratifying aspects of his academic journey are the friendships he has made while pursuing his studies and attending conferences. He said that whenever he travels, he forms acquaintances with people with whom he frequently collaborates on research publications.
The Rev. Omona is married to Anne Cheroto, a priest and the Principal of Ndegeya Teacher Training College in Masaka district, central Uganda. The couple has three biological children — two boys and one girl. Their first born, a boy, is pursuing a Bachelor of Laws at UCU.
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Kenneth Musasizi, a software engineer at Uganda Christian University (UCU) upon graduation with a Master of Information Technology in July, is a UCU lecturer.
By Irene Best Nyapendi Kenneth Kabinga Musasizi, a lecturer and software engineer at Uganda Christian University (UCU), chose to get a masters degree to expand his proficiency in software engineering and management of enterprise ICT infrastructure.
“I wanted to make a contribution to the body of knowledge,” said Musasizi, who got his advanced degree in IT in July. “I did research on developing architecture that reduces latency in web applications.”
The best male student in a 2020 undergraduate graduation who started loving computers as an adolescent, Musasizi juggled his Masters studies with teaching as well as software engineering work at UCU.
Kenneth Musasizi was the best male student in 2020 when he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology. He started work as a software engineer in 2021.
“As a software engineer, every day is like an emergency day, your availability is always imperative,” he said. “So, I carefully structured my engineering job to run from 9 a.m. to around 5 p.m., reserving the crucial hours from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for my academic pursuits.”.
ICT work is critical and integral in the running of a modern university. .
“We always have to make sure everything is perfect every day because there are many people using the ICT system,” he said.
As a software engineer, Musasizi has worked on numerous projects across the world in the domains that include academia, finance, health, science and research.
“I use technology to solve problems in the community,” he said. “That is what we do as software engineers.”
Full-time work while studying was tough, but he was resolute in finding a way to do it all..
“Commencing my day ahead of the usual schedule allowed me to have time for studies without compromising my professional responsibilities,” Musasizi said.
Musasizi commends UCU, specifically his directorate, and workmates for making it easier for him to balance his job and Masters program.
“Since I studied and worked at the same university, I didn’t have to travel to meet my lecturers or to get learning resources,” he said. “I utilized the UCU library and the lecturers around. I was also able to study online with the multifaceted e-learning system of the University.”
Musasizi joined UCU in 2017 for a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology. In 2020, he was among the special students who had a physical graduation at the university amidst the COVID-19 lockdown (Only first-class students were allowed in-person attendance on the graduation grounds.). He was awarded the best male student of 2020.
Musasizi started working as a software engineer in 2021. The following year, he started tutoring students. And this year, upon completion of his Masters, became a lecturer.
He fell in love with technology from a young age. At age 14, he had an interest in programming and cyber security.
“As a child, I always loved being on the computer and playing games on it,” he said. I would be on a computer until my parents told me to stop playing and do something else ‘productive.. So, I started learning about cybersecurity and programming.”
Musasizi is passionate about web and mobile development. His focus is on building scalable and high-performance systems using micro services and enterprise architecture.
During his free time, he enjoys exploring the latest trends in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and affective computing. He also searches for opportunities to share his knowledge and experience.
“Whether I am working on a new project or mentoring a team of developers, I strive to continuously learn and grow as a professional,” he said.
++++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities, and services, go towww.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
(Uganda Christian University has a reputation for research excellence. Examples include pioneering research in vegetables and solar energy, supported by funding from the European Union. The university also has been at the forefront of biomass and climate change research, receiving funding from the Fund for Innovation in Development (FID). This story focuses on nakati, also known as African eggplant.)
By Jimmy Siyasa Renowned for its research excellence, the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, previously led by Prof. Elizabeth Kizito, proudly presents three extraordinary varieties of Solanum aethiopicum shum, commonly known as nakati – the beloved African eggplant.
Introduced as the UCU-Nakati 1, UCU-Nakati 2, and UCU-Nakati 3, these innovative nakati varieties mark a significant milestone in Uganda and Africa. The varieties offer farmers a reliable and easily accessible source of African nakati seed. Previously, nakati farmers relied on saved seeds from previous seasons or obtained them from neighbors, friends, and relatives, leading to limited availability and inconsistent quality. One will no longer need to rely on uncertain or unreliable sources as UCU’s nakati varieties ensure consistent quality and ample supply for farming needs.
Liz Kizito, Directorate of Research, Partnerships and Innovation
The development of these nakati varieties involved making crosses over multiple generations, meticulous selection, and ensuring distinctiveness, and uniformity for improved yield and desirable plant characteristics. Each variety has been carefully tailored to meet the expectations of farmers and consumers, incorporating valuable feedback from end-users and thorough market surveys.
These varieties have received certification by the National Variety Release Committee: A Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries, ensuring the highest standards of excellence.
Characteristics of the Nakati varieties Each of the varieties has unique characteristics.
UCU-Nakati 1: UCU-Nakati 1 is green-stemmed, has green leaves and leaf veins, and the leaf margins (the boundary area of the leaf that is extending along the edge of the leaf) are generally whole. Nakati-1 is not drought tolerant. In sensory evaluations with consumers and market vendors, it was found to be relatively bitter. Its average yield per acre is 982.4 kg/acre.
UCU-Nakati 2: UCU-Nakati 2 has green, purple stems, green leaves, and green leaf veins. The leaf margins are moderately serrated. Nakati-2 has green-purple stems and green leaf blades. The mean fresh leaf yield at harvest is 936.9 kg/acre. Nakati-2 was identified as a drought-tolerant genotype. In sensory evaluations with consumers and market vendors, products had a generally appealing aroma, appearance, and flavour.
UCU-Nakati 3: UCU-Nakati 3, on the other hand, is purple-stemmed, has green leaves with green-purple leaf veins, and has a deeper serrated leaf margin. The leaf yield at harvest maturity, about 8 weeks after planting, is 976.3 kg/acre. Nakati-3 is moderately drought tolerant and has a generally appealing aroma, appearance and flavour in sensory evaluations with consumers and market vendors.
Implications and Applications The potential impact on the field or society The implications of these groundbreaking developments are far-reaching. Previously, there were limited systematic efforts to improve African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) in Uganda. The new nakati varieties are the first of their kind. UCU has developed nutritionally rich improved varieties of nakati. This intervention will not only offer farmers quality-assured varieties of AIVs but also set standards for subsequent variety evaluation for distinctiveness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) as well as value for cultivation and use. Releasing these varieties brings to the fore, especially for Africans, the availability of quality seed to meet nutritional and income security needs because these can now be potentially accessed in agro-shops or stores, something that was impossible until recently.
Practical applications and real-world scenarios With over 200 tons of nakati traded weekly in major markets, this crop plays a crucial role in Uganda’s urban and peri-urban areas, surpassing even the country’s main cash crop – coffee. The popularity of nakati extends beyond Uganda, reaching Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. Its nutritional and economic value makes it an indispensable part of traditional dishes and a means of livelihood for poor and unemployed women and youth.
AIVs such as the UCU Nakati varieties, hold immense practical applications and can address real-world challenges in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). These vegetables have the potential to alleviate hidden hunger (SDG 2 – End hunger) and poverty (SDG 1 – Zero poverty), particularly among vulnerable groups like women and children under five. In Uganda, a country with high levels of undernutrition, where 3 in 10 children under five are stunted and about 3.5% body wasting, the nutritional value of nakati is significant. It is rich in fiber, minerals, carotene, proteins, fats, ash, crude fiber, carbohydrates, calcium, magnesium, iron, and phytochemicals with therapeutic properties, making it essential in preventing nutrient deficiency diseases and non-communicable diseases. By improving crop varieties and enhancing productivity and incomes for farmers, poverty reduction and improved food security can be achieved, as farmers who cultivate improved varieties often earn more and enjoy better livelihoods.
Expert Reviews Dr. Ssebuliba James, agronomist and former head of the Department of Crop Production at Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences:
“This is a great addition to knowledge. Research plays a crucial role in the addition of new knowledge, which ultimately advances our understanding of the world and contributes to various areas of daily life. When new knowledge is curated and put in the right hands, it has the power to bring about high-value change in society.”
Dr. Godfrey Asea, Director of Research, National Crops Resources Research Institute, Namulonge:
“This is a good opportunity as a starting point to harness the indigenous vegetable resources.”
Dr. Flavia Kabeere, Seed Technologist and Consultant:
“These varieties will guarantee quality for consumers.”
Collaborations and Funding The UCU community, leadership, and researchers (Prof. Elizabeth Kizito, Dr. Sseremba Godfrey, Mildred Nakanwagi, and Pamel Kabod) expressed appreciation to the European Union, PAEPARD (Platform for African-European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development) and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) for their valuable support. Funding from the EU through PAEPARD initiated this research, while TWAS contributed to basic research and the selection of drought-tolerant varieties.
Call to Action Others are invited to delve deeper into this groundbreaking research and its potential applications. Seed companies or other stakeholders interested in the multiplication of seeds are invited to place their orders. For more information, visit the Directorate of Research, Partnerships and Innovation website (https://grants.ucu.ac.ug) or directly contact grants@ucu.ac.ug.
Recap
UCU researchers develop three Nakati varieties UCU-Nakati 1; UCU-Nakati 2; UCU-Nakati 3; with immense promise for enhancing food security, reducing poverty, and promoting better health in Uganda and Africa.
Nakati is considered an African Indigenous Vegetable.
Nakati is one of the most important local vegetable species in terms of providing income and food in urban and peri-urban areas of Uganda.
Dr. Elizabeth Namukombe Ekong and Dr. Faith Rosemary Sebuliba Kasumba are among the UCU nurse teaching staff
By Patty Huston-Holm Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) two lecturers with PhDs in nursing have reasons for their academic journeys not unlike those acquiring advanced degrees in other career fields. The passion for learning often starts with an interest through role model observations followed by personal growth and then understanding and application of how additional knowledge and skill improve people, organizations and systems.
This is especially true in health care, according to Dr. Elizabeth Namukombe Ekong and Dr. Faith Rosemary Sebuliba Kasumba. They hold a half dozen each of nursing credentials including master’s degrees from UCU and doctoral degrees from other countries. They teach students pursuing bachelor’s and master’s degrees under the UCU Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery.
Dr. Karen Drake of Bethel University, center, with UCU’s two lecturers with PhDs in nursing
“At the bachelor’s level, you are learning how you can improve yourself,” Elizabeth said. “At the master’s level, you enhance that while knowing more about policies and practices. With a PhD, you go deeper in questioning to solve problems, improve health, save more lives.”
Acquisition of these capabilities is especially critical for nurses and even more so for developing countries like Uganda. The World Health Organization reports the 27.9 million nurses globally reflects a shortage of 13 million nurses. According to the World Bank, there are 1.6 nurses and midwives per 1,000 people in Uganda, compared to nearly 12 per 1,000 in the United States.
On a July 31, 2023, morning when UCU nursing students were on a full break from classes or engaged in practical experiences, the university’s two nursing PhD holders shared their recollections about early experiences with health care that led them along their career paths. They elaborated on the value of advanced degrees in nursing.
Faith and Elizabeth received their doctoral degrees from Texila American University (Guyana, South America) and the University of Central Nicaragua, respectively. Both are married to medical doctors. Dr. Thomas Sebuliba has been the husband of Faith for 34 of his 37 years as a practicing physician; they have three children. Elizabeth likewise has three children with Dr. Ekong Joseph, who has been a doctor for 18 of their 24 years of marriage. The husbands had some influence on the wives’ advancement in nursing but not all, especially at the onset.
For Faith, her health care interest can be pinpointed to an injured ear at age five when living in the Fort Portal, western Uganda region.
“I pricked my ear,” she recalled of how she tried to imitate adults cleaning their ears with match sticks. “My siblings and I dared each other to see who could go the deepest, and I won.”
The damage put Faith in a hospital, now known as Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, for two months. During a series of surgeries leading to full recovery, she was surrounded by caring, nurturing nurses. It was them as well as a “retired nursing officer” cousin who started her direction to become a nurse.
On the opposite side of the country, Elizabeth was likewise young and watching happenings around a health facility in eastern Uganda’s Kamuli District.
“I was fascinated to see people go in a place sick and come out well,” she said. “I was surprised that somebody could identify your problem and help you get better…By the time I was in secondary school, I was looking for a profession where I could do that.”
When considering higher education options and given the choice between being a doctor or nurse, Elizabeth and Faith chose nursing that would allow them closer contact with patients. While their education journeys after high school are roughly eight years apart, both Elizabeth and Faith started out as midwives – an occupation in 2023 that, according to the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council chaired by Elizabeth, is occupied by around 70,000 men and women.
“To smile at a baby was pure joy,” Elizabeth said of her midwifery practice at Mulago. “I’m still passionate about newborns and identifying and helping mothers at risk.”
While helping mothers deliver their babies, Elizabeth and Faith worked at deepening their health care knowledge with the growing realization of the need to pass on what they learned. They began to understand the value in stretching the knowledge and curiosity of the next generation of nurses in their country.
“Until 1993, nurses were only at the diploma level here,” Faith said. That year, she recalled, Makerere University started a bachelor of nursing program that interested her but she couldn’t begin because of child rearing responsibilities while her husband was getting surgical training in Zimbabwe. She got a couple more diplomas before getting her bachelor’s degree at UCU in 2007.
Elizabeth, who got her UCU Bachelor of Nursing Science in 2008, also started to see the importance of teaching others while continuing her own learning. Like Faith, she worked her way up from tutor to lecturer. As teachers, they share both the academic and practical sides of nursing.
“I’ve seen a critically ill person, not able to talk or open the eyes and then functioning after treatment,” Elizabeth said. “As I am enlightened with deeper understanding and ownership, I pass that on to students.”
Faith and Elizabeth cite Dr. Karen Drake, emeritus professor of nursing, Bethel University (St. Paul, Minn.), as their mentor. Karen, who holds a PhD in educational policy and administration, has been a practicing nurse since 1968, including at the side of her late husband in East Africa; as well as a nurse educator at UCU for more than a decade.
The difference among bachelor, masters and doctoral degrees is primarily critical thinking and problem solving, according to the two UCU nursing doctoral holders. Those with undergraduate degrees are primarily applying what they have been told while those with advanced degrees are more likely to keep questioning.
“Many times, people say the PhD is for the sake of self-actualization,” Elizabeth said. “I don’t see it that way. I see it about more help for the patient, better services, improved policies and processes.”
For Faith, her advanced degree has reinforced the “importance of collaboration for change” with increased confidence and a “spirit of inquiry.” One area in need of louder, more informed voices is mental health that is “highly stigmatized” in an ill-informed East African culture that may label mentally ill people as “possessed,” she said.
In addition to what their advanced degrees offer for their students, Faith and Elizabeth are frequently at the table for policy and research discussions and conference presentations. Topics have included early postnatal care improvements, work-based learning, menstrual hygiene among adolescents and technology learning and application.
“We need to have nurse leaders at various levels,” Elizabeth said.
In addition to their on-paper credentials and reputations as esteemed lecturers and nurse practitioners, Christian walk is critical to UCU’s two PhD holders.
“God has called me to do this,” Elizabeth said. “My model is Jesus Christ.”
“It’s a calling,” Faith concurred, admitting that she initially didn’t want to teach but a higher power nudged her there. “When I feel almost like giving up, I know who is my strength. God is my strong foundation.”
++++
To support students UCU students, programs, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Dr. Edward (Ned) Kanyesigye (center) having a light moment with his students
By Irene Best Nyapendi Dr. Edward Kanyesigye (informally known as Dr. Ned) is a triumphant man. The founding dean of Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) School of Medicine (SoM) will this July celebrate the graduation of his pioneer students. Getting the SOM up and running was a lifetime achievement, and it gives him great joy to see his first students graduate.
A team of UCU Partners at the launch of the UCU School of Medicine with the founding dean Dr. Edward (Ned) Kanyesigye in 2018
“I can’t wait to celebrate with my students during their graduation in July,” a joyous Kanyesigye says.
Kanyesigye was no stranger to big projects, so when UCU envisioned a SOM, they were confident he would bring the dream to reality. He had a proven track record from the time he joined the university in 2009.
Kanyesigye joined UCU as a part-time lecturer. After serving in the part-time role for two years, he was requested to serve as head of department of health sciences by the then Vice Chancellor Rev. Prof. Stephen Noll after the sudden resignation of Dr. Michael Smith. He transformed the department into a faculty in 2013 and became the acting dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FoST) in 2013. The FoST gave birth to the new Faculty of Health Sciences but continued to exist as FoST comprising programs of basic sciences, agriculture and entrepreneurship, computer science, information technology and environmental health.
Dr. Edward (Ned) Kanyesigye
Starting SOM After a successful story of a meteoric rise for both the man and the faculty, UCU saw an even greater need to start a SoM. Impressed by UCU’s nursing school, many had started asking whether the university also had a SoM.
“UCU is without a doubt one of Uganda’s best private universities,” Kanyesigye said, noting UCU’s long-time reputation for being “very successful in health, with a masters in nursing and in public health which started as a program.”
Kanyesigye was the secretary of the committee that worked for about three years to birth the SoM.
“I was then asked to concentrate on the medical school project and leave the faculty of health sciences since it had department heads to oversee it,” Kanyesigye says.
In February 2018, the National Council of Higher Education licensed it for the two programs – medicine and dentistry. Kanyesigye was racing against the clock to find potential lecturers and students for the courses to start later that year.
The school opened with 60 students – 50 in medicine and 10 in dentistry. On September 14, 2018, the SoM was launched with the School of Dentistry on the heels – double milestone for Dr Ned, as he is fondly called by students, lecturers and administrators.
Dr Kanyesigye’s family. Front: Catherine Kanyesigye, Ned and Doreen Arinaitwe. Back: Lynn Louise Karungi, Isaac Asiimwe and Roselyn Sheila Mugabirwe
“He always told us to call him Ned, not even Dr. Ned,” Robert Alinda, one of his students recalls. Alinda describes Kanyesigye as a very social lecturer who always made them feel comfortable. “He assigned the session of Tuesday afternoon for visiting external speakers to talk about their professional life journeys including those from the United Kingdom, who mentored us,” he says. Kanyesigye picked ‘Ned’ from an English book (where Ned was an acronym for Edward) he read in P5, but it was in high school that it stuck with him, because the British teachers called him by the name.
“Dr. Ned always told us that we were not being trained to be doctors (because that’s what every other institution was doing), but doctors with a difference,” Zeddekia Ssekyonda, another student says.
To Kanyesigye, UCU students generally, are young professionals with integrity and commitment than those trained from a secular university.
“As a dean, I shared with my students the three Cs; I told them I wanted a graduate who is competent, conscientious and compassionate,” he says.
He emphasized compassion, citing a point where a patient visits a doctor without a penny, yet “if you don’t give them the medicine, they are likely to die.” He believes that in such scenarios, a compassionate doctor should be able to use their money to buy the medicine and save the patient’s life.
Kanyesigye is now retired and thankful that the university opened doors for him and entrusted him with much.
“I no longer need to go and convince anyone that I am capable of teaching at university and heading university departments,” Kanyesigye says, with satisfaction.
Even in his retirement, he has vowed to be available for the university, if they ever need his wisdom.
Always endeavor to do right
For Ned, the only all-encompassing value he endeavors to live by is: to do right. His last project, contributing further to UCU academic infrastructure – the two schools – now have over 250 students and are growing.
Kanyesigye is a man full of gratitude to God for life for he is soon clocking 71 years. He jokes about it saying he is living on bonus years because the life expectancy in Uganda is 60.
Kanyesigye is married to Roselyn Sheila Mugabirwe and they have been blessed with four children; Catherine Kanyesigye, Doreen Arinaitwe, Isaac Asiimwe and Lynn Louise Karungi.
++++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities, and services, go towww.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Dr. Anthony Mveyange shares a light moment with the UCU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi.
By Kefa Senoga Partnerships. Synergies. Everyone who attended the most recent Africa Policy Center’s (APC) public lecture likely left thinking about these two key words. The lecture, held in the International Christian Medical Institute (ICMI) hall of the Uganda Christian University (UCU) main campus (Mukono), featured Dr. Anthony Mveyanga, development economist and policy advisor.
(Dr. Mveyange also is featured in a June 2022 UCU podcast.)
Making a case for partnerships, Mveyange said they help to maximize impact to influence future policy changes. Like marriage, partnerships should be based on mutuality and coherence of interest, Mveyange, a renowned African scholar, argued during his presentation before senior UCU academic and administrative staff.
From (right to left) Prof. Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, Dr. Anthony Mveyange, Prof Aaron Mushengyezi, Dr. Emilly Maractho and the executive assistant at PASGR at UCU main campus.
Mveyange called for “multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary research synergy,” arguing that it will be difficult to get funding for a research project that has no evidence of collaboration “because of the perception that we cannot address public policy from one angle.”
To drive his point home, Mveyange offered lessons from the experience of collaborations that his employer has been engaged in in the recent past.
Mveyange, who has key competencies in strategic leadership, partnerships and collaborations, is the Executive Director of the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR), an independent, nonpartisan pan-African non-profit organization in Nairobi, Kenya. that works to enhance research excellence in governance and public policy.
“As PASGR, we are partners with different universities across the continent and this is because we realized that for us to achieve our mission and vision, we cannot deliver on our own,” Mveyange said during his presentation that he made in mid-June.
Director of the African Policy Center, Dr. Emilly Comfort Maractho, talks to Dr. Anthony Mveyange about the relevance of research.
He cited two significant African initiatives – the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and COVAX – which require different countries to work together and share data.
Despite Mveyange’s postulation, he is fully aware that there are some researchers who undermine others, and would, therefore, not embrace partnerships. He says such behaviour is toxic, and cannot offer a favourable environment for partnerships to blossom.
Members of the academia at UCU attending the public lecture by Dr. Anthony Mveyange.
At the public lecture, Mveyange also challenged the audience to ensure that their research influences public policy and aims at solving challenges within the communities where it is being conducted.
“If you are doing research by creating knowledge, there are other issues beyond generating that knowledge,” he stated. “How do you translate that research and knowledge into meaningful tangible outputs that can actually speak to the challenges that the people of the continent are facing?”
Director of the African Policy Center, Dr. Emilly Comfort Maractho, elaborated on the question, noting, “We recognize that a lot of research happens within the university, but little gets translated into policy or is known by the people outside of the academia…the APC seeks to bridge that gap between research and policy.”
She also explained that partnerships evolve by engaging stakeholders.
Maractho commended PASGR for their work in capacity building, noting that she is one of the people who have benefited from the organisation, ever since she joined in 2012 as a researcher trainee in the professional development unit.
Assoc.Prof. Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, the Director of Research, Partnerships and Innovation at UCU, thanked the team from PASGR for visiting the university and sharing their insights on the value of partnerships.
“As a university, we are excited about this opportunity because we know that partnerships are key,” Kizito said, re-echoing a saying: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
The APC was officially launched by UCU in 2016 as a think tank that creates a platform for developing indigenous capacity for ideas generation and policy formulation, analysis and research agenda setting from an African Christian perspective.
Speaking to Uganda Partners upon assuming office as Director of APC in 2021, Maractho said she hopes to see the center grow into one where public policy actors “will look to for alternative policy positions.”
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Vice-Chancellor Aaron Mushengyezi addresses the staff during the annual thanksgiving in December 2021.
By Yasiri J. Kasango Long-term and improved employment contracts are becoming more common at Uganda Christian University (UCU). The University Council resolved to offer staff long-term contracts at a meeting it held last year. The action benefits 344 employees, who are full-time staff members at the UCU Main, Kampala, School of Dentistry and Medicine, campuses.
While short contracts for employees hired to work 40-hour weeks have been commonplace for at least a decade at UCU, for the last two years, employment has been more tentative. UCU staff have been operating on short contracts, with some running for three months. The shortened employment agreements and in some cases job curtailments were more common with the disruptive effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the institutions of learning globally.
Staff members attending the annual thanksgiving.
In March 2020, Uganda closed all schools, including higher institutions of learning. Schools were only opened for in-person learning for final-year learners seven months later. It was not until March 2021 that schools were opened for in-person learning, only to be closed again three months later, due to the emergence of the second wave of Covid-19 in Uganda.
The lockdown on academic institutions affected UCU since students who are the source of revenue were not learning. During the university’s end-of-year thanksgiving ceremony held on December 17, Vice-Chancellor Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi announced that the University Council had passed a resolution to give the university staff long-term and better contracts.
In a bid to attract and retain more competent staff, the university has also restored most of the other benefits, including medical, that the staff were entitled to before Covid-19 struck.
The contracts awarded are in three categories, ranging from two to five years. The University Council also has approved the issuance of staff performance-based contracts with annual financial reward incentives.
The Director of Human Resource, Florence Nakiyingi, confirmed the changes, saying senior teaching staff were given a contract ranging from four to five years, while the lower cadres received three years. During thanksgiving, Mushengyezi commended staff for what he called “resilience, devotion, and determination” during the pandemic.
The UCU staff have welcomed the restoration of long-term contracts.
“We are grateful to God because we know that after the storm, some people were unable to get back to their work; but we did, and have better contracts,” said Ruth Manzede, the admissions assistant.
The long-term contracts will help the staff create better long-term plans for themselves and their families and enhance loyalty to the institution.
“The new contracts can enable a manager or anyone to plan effectively for the office in the period they have been given to serve,” said Walter Washika, the Financial Aid Manager.
Harriet Asiimwe Iraguha, a staff member, gives glory to God that she has a job. She said the pandemic has led to many job losses and pay cuts.
“I’m not any better than those that have not received contracts or those who were told to wait a little longer,” she said. “I give glory to God that I have a job.”
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
By Eriah Lule Dr. Eria Nsubuga has always known that being an artist is more than setting pencil to paper, or brush to canvas. He also knows that a new artist uses art to learn and an accomplished one uses art to teach.
Now, an accomplished artist, he is not only teaching art, but leading artists. Nsubuga is the new head of the Department of the Visual Art and Design under the Faculty of Engineering, Design and Technology at Uganda Christian University (UCU).
The 42-year-old has been rewarded with a leadership position with a challenge.
Nsubuga stands next to a collage painting at an exhibition in 2013. Courtesy photo
“Ugandan art is something that isn’t given enough visibility,” he said. “That’s why Africa is represented by western and South Africans yet the entire continent is a habitat for art.”
Nsubuga already has ideas up his sleeves on how to start injecting visibility into Ugandan art.
He hopes to influence grants and donations for the department, a development he thinks will open doors for some of his students to further their studies within the field of art. He argues that art in Africa, unlike other disciplines, is not taken as seriously as a scholarly endeavor worthy of major investment in the form of scholarships and grants. Nsubuga says the scholarship he got for his PhD was a partial one.
He holds a practice-based doctorate from the Winchester School of Art, at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.
Five years ago, from 2011 to 2016, Nsubuga was an ordinary staff of the department he now heads. In 2017, he got the partial scholarship to pursue the PhD course. He completed the doctorate study early this year. Upon his return, UCU found no reward fitter than a promotion.
Nsubuga has practiced art for more than two decades. He has exhibited both as a solo artist and as part of a group since 2002. His works have been exhibited in Germany, the UK, the Netherlands (2003), Greece (2004), Japan (2004), USA (2005), Kenya (2003), Tanzania (2005), New York, U.S. (2017) and in South Africa (2018), among others.
His works have also been published in various prominent journals and magazines, including the African Arts journal in 2017 and the 104th Transition magazine (Harvard University) of 2011, among others.
“Using the exposure I got from different art workshops and exhibitions around the world, I am sure the department is going to build a bridge between the class and the broader field of art,” Nsubuga, a father of two, says.
He intends to enroll soon for a post-doctoral fellowship at the Rhodes University in South Africa.
He has practiced art professionally ever since his undergraduate student days at the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial Fine Art, Makerere University, from 1998 to 2001. Nsubuga was ranked one of the best performing students at undergraduate level, with a CGPA of 4.56 out of 5. He also pursued his master’s in sculptures at Makerere, graduating in 2007.
Nsubuga previously worked with the Rainbow Art Club in 2008 and Naggenda International Academy of Art and Design (NIAAD) in 2009, before switching to academia in 2011.
He is the sixth of eight siblings, born to Samuel and Margaret Sserwanjja of Entebbe, in the central Uganda. All Nsubuga’s siblings were artists, though some decided to venture into other fields.
Nsubugs attended Lake View School for his primary school and King’s College, Budo for his secondary school.
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Emilly Comfort Maractho, new Africa Policy Center Director
By Yasiri J Kasango In 2012, two key things happened in the life of Emilly Comfort Maractho.
One, she realised she was not going to benefit much from a master’s course she had enrolled into. Her sixth sense told her to change courses. She obliged.
The second thing to happen was that Maractho received communication from someone she had never met. Prof. Monica Chibita of Uganda Christian University (UCU) was convincing her to take up a PhD scholarship opportunity after completing a master’s course she was pursuing in Kenya. This communication was followed by Chibita’s physical visit to Maractho.
When she met Chibita in Kenya, Maractho had only one option – to give the greenlight. Her positive response on both occasions have a bearing on who Maractho is today. The holder of a PhD in Journalism and Communication from South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal is UCU’s newly appointed Director for the Africa Policy Center (APC). The APC, initiated by American Lawrence Adams, is the university’s center that grooms policy researchers and political thinkers and provides a platform for learning and discussion of modern-day issues.
Maractho’s switch from MA in development communication to MA in development journalism at Kenya’s Daystar University in 2012 was premised on the belief that she was not learning anything new in the communication course. This was her second master’s degree course. Five years before, she had attained Master of Arts in Development Studies at the Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi.
After bagging her second master’s at Daystar University, Maractho headed to the University of KwaZulu-Natal for her doctorate, sponsored by UCU, under a capacity building scheme for staff.
No sooner had she graduated with a PhD than she was, in 2018, named the head of UCU’s Department of Journalism and Media Studies, replacing Chibita, who had been promoted to the position of Dean in the Faculty of Journalism, Media and Communication, which had just been created.
For 13 years, Dr. Maractho has lectured at UCU, starting out with teaching development studies before switching to journalism. And she says she is not about to call it quits.
Maractho is not a sleeping scholar. The result of her efforts was the introduction of new course units in the department, such as Journalism and Political Communication, Economics and Business Journalism, Media, Gender and Social Justice. The new curriculum that Maractho masterminded was a direct response to the requirement by government regulator, the National Council for Higher Education, that institutions review their curriculum after every three years.
She also often participates in debate and writes on public and social issues afflicting society. One such platform is the Daily Monitor newspaper, where she currently has a weekly column. In one of her recent articles, Maractho made a case for a national policy on public-private partnerships in the health sector, so as to ensure they complement public service.
Maractho hopes that the Africa Policy Centre will grow into a center that public policy actors will look to for alternative policy positions and still serve the university community. “My plan is to expand the centre’s reach and increase its relevance in research and policy engagement,” she notes.
Family background Maractho was raised in Nebbi district in northern Uganda. She says in her community, education is not highly valued. Therefore, she did not have many people to look up to for inspiration.
Maractho studied at Muni Girls Secondary School and Mvara Secondary School, both in north-western Uganda. At Mvara, where she had her A’level, the headteacher had tried to convince Maractho to study science subjects but she was not one you could easily dissuade from her goal – she wanted to be a communicator, so the natural choice were arts subjects.
Maractho overlooked many challenges on her way to academic achievement, including financial constraints in the family and being raised by a single mother – Philemona Kapacho who was a civil servant.
Maractho had intended to pursue either a Bachelor’s of Law or Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication, but the funds to meet the tuition requirements were not available. As such, she settled for Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies at Makerere University.
She would later become the first woman in her family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree, to the joy of Kapacho.
“My degree was disheartening because I was the first girl to graduate from my community, yet there are families where everyone has graduated with a doctorate,” she says.
After her university education, Maractho worked briefly with The West Niler, a local newspaper based in north-western Uganda. She was later employed by the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) as a billing officer while still keeping her job at the West Niler.
In 2004, when she was persuaded to teach at Makerere University, Maractho dropped the West Niler job, but maintained the one at UEDCL. In 2007, she resigned from UEDCL to fully concentrate on sharing knowledge at Makerere University, before later switching to UCU.
We wait to see how Maractho’s innovative mind will lead the university’s Africa Policy Centre.
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
John Livingstone Mutyaba on Lake Victoria, doing his research
(This story is supplemented with two short videos created by students at Uganda Christian University. The lead developer is final-year journalism student Jimmy Siyasa. The videos on cage fish farming and voices of farmers about fishing challenges around Lake Victoria are on the Uganda Partners YouTube page.)
By Patty Huston-Holm John Livingstone Mutyaba is not a fisherman. He’s never baited a hook on a line, cast a net or set up a cage.
But he knows a lot about fishing. So much so that the lecturer in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Uganda Christian University (UCU) is increasingly being acknowledged for his research on the topic – specifically about “the economic analysis of raising fish in cages in Uganda,” a case study in Lake Victoria waters.
Livingstone’s explanation for his lack of practical experience is simple.
He doesn’t have the time. He has all the knowledge required for cage fish farming business but a schedule packed with family, with teaching and with his own learning and research towards a doctoral degree. Plus, he has no desire to die. He worries about the careless capture fishermen who use very tiny boats and with no swimming skills and no life jackets in Lake Victoria waters that can be up to 276 feet deep.
“This is a very serious risk; no wonder there are many drowning cases these days,” he said. “To make matters worse, the majority go into waters when they are drunk.”
Capture fishing (with a net) is the most practiced activity in the fishery dependent communities in Uganda. Current statistics show that almost 99% of the people living in the fishing communities derive their livelihoods capture fishing and also use heavy alcoholic beverages and small non-motorized handmade boats.
Livingstone’s growing expertise is likewise easy to explain.
He has subject matter knowledge in agriculture, the economy, education, research and planning. Livingstone, who is the only agricultural economist at UCU, is a testament to understanding how various academic disciplines intersect. He uses information from multiple specialties in his Egerton University (Kenya) doctoral research focused on cage fish farming technologies.
The research, entitled “Effect of Information Links and Flow through Social Networks on Smallholder Farmers’ Awareness and Adoption of Cage Fish Technologies in Uganda,” involves new institutional economics, resource economics, social science and aquaculture. While still working on chapter four (discussing results) for what will be a minimum 200-page thesis, Livingstone spoke via Zoom in late May, giving a sneak peak of his findings.
John Livingstone Mutyaba with his wife and daughter
Regarding economics, Uganda could make more money in its fishing industry if the country took a lesson from the playbook of China, which is the world’s biggest fish producer. Uganda is geographically only 2.5% the size of China so the volume would never be as great, but water from such lakes as Victoria, Albert, Edward and George covers 18% of the country’s surface. With better planning and implementing cage fish farming technologies, Ugandans would improve their economic standing and reputation for quality fish.
“Are you sure you want to eat fish that comes from China?” Livingstone queried with a chuckle. He referenced China’s seafood that has been under repeated scrutiny for chemical additions that violate safety regulations. He added that with cleaner water and neutral pH levels of Lake Victoria waters, “Our fish tastes better, is better for you and is very unique in the world.”
Regarding societal relationships, Livingstone has found that most women and younger people in Uganda quickly embrace new ways of doing things, namely raising fish in cage technologies instead of capture fishing, while older men are reluctant to give up their traditional capture fishing lifestyle.
“Wives have a better understanding of what is needed to support their families,” Livingstone said. “The men come in during the selling process but often take the money for themselves. . . or destroy or steal from somebody’s cage.” Fortunately, he added, the Ugandan enforcement of laws for theft and destruction is more frequent to deter these incidences.
Livingstone is building expertise in aquaculture, which refers to raising fish in either earthen ponds or cage units submersed in natural water bodies. His father, who initially nudged him to follow in his coffee farm footsteps in Zirobwe Sub-county, Luwero District, now understands his son’s chosen career path. The father of nine children saw his son, John, going another direction when witnessing years ago the young boy’s excitement and curiosity after visiting Uganda’s first hydro power generation station at River Nile, Jinja.
Curiosity, Livingstone has found, can be a stronger driver to success than prior knowledge or expectations. One early suggestion for his research was indigenous vegetables, which, he said, “held no interest.” Dr. Richard Ogutu-Ohwayo of the National Fisheries Institute gave perhaps the best advice – to research something never researched.
“I recalled first seeing cage fishing promoted in 2010,” Livingstone said. “What I didn’t know then fascinated me as much as what I now know.”
Once learned, catching fish in a mesh enclosure is a more reliable method than net casting. Tilapia, which is Livingstone’s favorite to eat followed by catfish, is the most common in Uganda. (Nile perch, according to Livingstone, is equally tasty but the smell lingers on your body for hours.)
As with all good researchers, the more he knows, the more Livingstone wants to know. Among his many mentors and influencers is Thomas Gurley, a former UCU Fulbright Scholar and a research and development director at Aerop Development. With Gurley, now living in South Carolina, the project was on land, focusing on tomatoes. Other projects have involved cassava and livestock, namely cows.
Since completing Bishop Senior School (Mukono) and through studies at Bukalasa National Agricultural College, Martyrs University and now Egerton, Livingstone has found learning fascinating.
While Livingstone’s thirst for knowledge will delightfully continue throughout his lifetime, his wife, Sarah, a teacher, pastor and UCU graduate; and teenage daughter, Katrina, hope his PhD part of learning will be realized by the end of this year. With his time doing research and four classes to teach, he has little time for family.
Virtual teaching, expanded due to Covid lockdown regulations, has been a challenge for teachers and students. For his undergraduate and post-graduate students in environmental economics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, resource economics, project planning/management and environmental analysis, there is the issue of paying for their own Internet data, which is costly. As a lecturer, I also feel the hardship in buying Internet bundles, and even though his classes number half of what the, pre-covid-lockdown, in-person enrollment was, content understanding is difficult to discern without the face-to-face feedback.
At that, Livingstone says that learning and research should be more than about grades and degree attainment.
“I hope what I have informs policymakers, maybe even to provide incentives for the more economical cage fishing,” he said. “I hope that my engagement changes the traditional fishing mindset of some locals…that they can see the added market value not just locally but for loading onto trucks to Kenya, the Congo, South Sudan and even exported to the UK.”
Within Livingstone’s hectic schedule and ambitions, God is ever present, he said, quoting his favorite scripture from Joshua 1, verse 5: No one will be able to stand up against you, all the days of your life…I will never leave you not forsake you.
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org
Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
Honors College Student Chemutai Syndia with some of the pupils of Bishop West Primary School where she conducted her project
By Eriah Lule and Jimmy Siyasa Christian mentorship. Leadership. Academic research. These are the three core goals that define Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Honors College. The 19-year-old college, whose concept is borrowed from the Dutch and American universities, admits only the institution’s crème de la crème students from the different faculties.
Applicants must have at least a 4.0 Cumulative Grade-Point Average (CGPA) out of 5.0 to be enrolled to the college that offers talented students the opportunity to tap on their mettle through an extra certificate-program, alongside the regular bachelor’s degree course.
The college, which is the brainchild of Prof. Stephen Noll, UCU’s first Vice-Chancellor, offers a multidisciplinary approach to scientific and social issues, which helps to enrich students’ projects and research.
Pamela Tumwebaze, newly appointed head of Honors College
Pamela Tumwebaze, the new head of the college, has hit the ground running, by grouping
students based on their interests, using invited guest lecturers and mentors to speak to the students and holding weekly workshops. Before her promotion to head the Honors College, Tumwebaze was the Executive Secretary of the UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academics.
“I want to utilize the full potential of our students, by encouraging them to create solutions for the social problems that people face, through research,” she said, noting that it is such initiatives that will “lift the college to greater heights.”
Juan Emmanuella Zamba, a student of Bachelor of Human Rights, Peace and Humanitarian Intervention, has designed a project called Trash into Cash, which she hopes will be able to solve the challenge of high youth unemployment. Zamba collects inorganic waste, such as plastic and paper, which she uses to make jewelry and wall hangings.
“Honors College has enabled me to explore my potential and capabilities, through mentorship provided by the guest lecturers and our college staff,’’ Zamba said, adding: “I am now thinking of making my project a real business, so that I create employment to the youth, as well as skilling them.”
Thanks to the Honors College, Chemutai Syndia, a 21-year-old fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws, is currently working to combat sexual violence against children through advocacy. At Bishop West Primary School, located near UCU, Chemutai counsels children and also sensitizes them on the avenues through which they can report child-rights offenders. She also takes advantage of the opportunity to sensitise the teachers about the benefits of creating a favourable environment for their pupils, to share their challenges.
Members of a group project called Share a Skill, spearheaded by Miriam Obetia, a second-year student of Bachelor of Human Rights, Peace and Humanitarian Intervention, went to West Nile early this year, where they engaged children, especially who had dropped out of school during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, in entrepreneurial skills.
Tumwebaze believes her tenure of service is a God-given opportunity to boost UCU’s undergraduate research and she has already started on this by making calls for proposals for projects from students. She believes her ultimate reward will be when students succeed by making a career out of the projects they will have championed.
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org
Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
Bishop Joel Obetia and his wife, Joy, at their home, a week after being discharged from hospital
By Jimmy Siyasa
After recovering from Covid-19, retired Bishop Joel Obetia of the Madi and West Nile diocese in northwestern Uganda has stopped taking certain things in life for granted.
Bishop Joel Obetia drinking a concoction of Vitamin C to boost his body immunity.
“Many times, we forget to thank God for the free oxygen,” he said. “A disease like Covid-19 clogs your lungs and you are asked to pay millions of shillings for oxygen to support your breathing.”
Bishop Obetia, together with his wife, the Rev. Canon Joy Obetia, was in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Mulago Hospital in Kampala for around two weeks. Their health deteriorated from contraction of Covid-19.
On the evening of Monday, January 11, 2021, the twosome arrived back at their home on the Uganda Christian University, Mukono Campus. Their return from hospitalization replaced long-held anxiety with bursts of irrepressible joy among their family members.
Besides running a busy pastoral life, Obetia, 64, an academic, also doubles as a lecturer at Bishop Tucker School of Theology and Divinity at the main campus in Mukono. His wife, Joy, 62, is the Assistant Chaplain at St. Kakumba Chapel, located in Kyambogo, a suburb of Kampala. At St. Kakumba, she heads the weddings, welfare, women and prayer/ intercession ministries.
The two had been in ICU since December 27, 2020. Still frail and fragile by the time of this interview, they were under close medical monitoring. They can only resume their clerical and other activities when doctors say so.
Bishop Obetia and his wife, Joy, arrive at All Saints’ Cathedral Kampala in January 2020 before being diagnosed with Covid. He had gone to confirm new converts. (Internet photo)
“Their return is an answered prayer,” exclaimed Gloria Obetia, the couple’s oldest daughter and a health care worker 500 miles from Kampala, at Kuluva Hospital, Arua. “Such a relief! At first, we felt that they were going to die because they were badly off. But God has worked a miracle.”
She delivered healthy food daily to her parents ever since they got admitted. Gloria and other family members last saw the couple, looking lifeless, three days after the 2020 Christmas holiday. They were being whisked away to Mulago National Referral Hospital, dangling between the hands of the emergency team and death.
“It has been God since day one,” said a jolly, 22-year-old Miriam Litany Pakrwoth, another one of the couple’s daughters. “They could’ve lost their lives in the process of being transferred from Mukono to Mulago because their oxygen intake was so low.”
The Obetias’ initial arrival at the Mulago hospital was marred with tension, suspense and anxiety. One of the voices of fear and doubt that contributed to this unease was reportedly a nurse in whose hands the patients had been cast.
Mercy Dokini, 16, the couple’s youngest daughter, recalled the nurse saying, “5 to 8 people in your parents’ condition die every day. You better pray and fast for them.”
Triggered by the nurse’s pessimism, Mercy and her older siblings took to persistent prayer and fasting. Not only family but also friends and the faithful to whom the Obetias minister were constantly on bended knees and gave generously. Not on any single day were prayers and goodwill in short supply.
“I want to thank God for the faith he has allowed us to plant in our children,” said a contemplative Joy Obetia. “They have been praying and fasting for us ever since.”
She recalls pocketing about $100 as contingency cash, on their way to the hospital. But it stayed untouched throughout their admission. Their God through friends “supplied all their needs according to his riches in Glory.”
“God used so many people to support us,” said Bishop Obetia. “People were calling in from the USA, UK and all around the world. The support was overwhelming. UCU had close contacts who kept a close watch of us, to keep the community updated.”
Obetia and his wife believe that their place in the church somehow opened doors to the “overwhelming support and respect” they received while at the hospital. Another plus is that their admission caused a dramatic turn in not only meal scheduling, but also quality of the meals.
“Breakfast would be served late, at about noon and then lunch would come like at 3:00 p.m.,” said Joy Obetia. “I sympathize with those only depending on hospital meals.”
However, the tardiness in the hospital’s welfare department stopped at the intervention of State Minister for Northern Uganda in the Uganda cabinet, Grace Freedom Kwiyucwiny, a sister to Joy Obetia. This was to the advantage of the majority of more economically challenged, less high-profile patients who often endure helplessly within the healthcare system.
When asked where and how they may have contracted coronavirus, the two pointed to some of the congregations unto whom they had last-ministered before their health deteriorated on December 27, 2020.
“I personally officiated so many weddings – two of them on November 29,2020,” Bishop Obetia recalled. “And on December 12, 2020, my family attended a wedding of my niece at St. Johns Church, Kamwokya. Thereafter, I travelled from Kampala to Arua, where I officiated another wedding on December 19, 2020. Then, I began to show Covid-19 signs like an intense cough.”
Obetia confessed that by the time he travelled to Arua, his wife, Joy, was already severely sick. Hence, on return to their home on the UCU campus, they tasked themselves to test for the virus, only to realize that that the potential “angel of death” had visited their household. On February 5, 2021, they are grateful that it didn’t remain.
++++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org
Rev. Canon Moses Stephen Isabirye at the veranda of his house where he sometimes works
By Penelope Nankunda
When Jacob in Genesis (Chapter 47:1-10) is brought before the pharaoh of Israel and asked to identify himself, he says, “My years have been difficult.” Canon Moses Stephen Isabirye, an undergraduate degree alum from Uganda Christian University (UCU), has a similar story is as it pertains to his academic life.
“My years have not been easy, and some of the people that I studied with especially in primary school and secondary school would wonder why I have taken so long to get this Ph.D.,” he said. “I should have gotten it about 20 years ago.”
Isabirye’s story is one of triumph amidst challenges with his latest success in attaining his Ph.D. in theology from Kenyatta University (Kenya) on December 18, 2020.
With a narrow, stretched-out smile, and eyes glowing brightly with joy and humility, Isabirye spoke in early January 2021 from his home in Mukono. Dressed in a black coat, a deep-dark grey shirt accompanied by a clerical collar and an ashy grey trouser, at 8:09 a.m., he gently emerged from the right-hand corner of his long rectangular house just above the University Chapel.
“You are welcome,” he begins pausing briefly in his steps before resuming his gentle walk to the back of the house. He quickly lifts two bright green plastic chairs – one for himself and one for this student reporter – and a small squared, long-legged wooden table and places them in the center of the compound.
He sits comfortably under the one-sided leaning Jacaranda tree in the midst of a colorful green garden covered with peaceful grass and a short jasmine tree. Next to it is a row of striking yellow lily flowers and several banana trees within the fenced compound.
Canon Isabirye told his story.
He was born on October 23, 1962, to Agnes Namboira and the late Sudulaki Ibanda of Iwololo village, Butagaya, in Jinja District, eastern Uganda. His names – Moses and Stephen – are renowned for heroism in the Bible. The biblical stories depict Moses as the leader of the Israelites, while Stephen was the first Christian martyr whose martyrdom is reflected through the bravery and persistence of Isabirye in his pursuit for a Ph.D. despite numerous challenges and persecution. His third name, Isabirye, means “father of twins” a name that was derived from his grandfather who had had twins three times.
Rev. Canon Moses Stephen Isabirye and wife, Ruth
Married to Ruth who, like Canon Isabirye, is a teacher by profession, the couple has three children. The first born is Rachael Kyobula, a graduate with a Bachelor of Computer Science from UCU and currently employed at Equity Bank in Entebbe. The second born is Paul Mwesigwa Ibanda, a senior six candidate at Hillside Namirembe SS, and Paula Mwebaze Mukyala is the youngest.
Canon Isabirye’s journey at UCU began in September 1991 when he joined the Bishop Tucker Theological College to study a Bachelor of Divinity course offered by Makerere University through the college; he successfully completed that undergraduate degree in 1994 and graduated with first-class honors in January 1995. While at Bishop Tucker, he pursued several other short courses in youth ministry and chaplaincy at Daystar University Nairobi, which helped him attain advanced certificates from that University.
Owing to Canon Isabirye’s academic excellence during his undergraduate studies, his lecturer, Dr. Tudor Griffith, helped Isabirye secure a master’s level scholarship in the United Kingdom. Dr. Tudor Griffith also had just returned to Uganda with a Ph.D. from Bristol University and was eager to see Ugandans acquire similar qualifications.
“There was a requirement for my diocesan bishop who was a very good friend of mine to sign but he refused,” recalls Canon Isabirye about the forms that Dr. Tudor provided for the University of Leeds. “He said it was a good opportunity, but that I had just graduated and started working at the diocese, insisting that he would only sign the forms after I had spent three years at the diocese.”
The opportunity at Leeds was for a Masters in Theology, majoring in Christology. The decision not to sign his forms left Isabirye bitter but determined to pursue further studies. In 1997, he joined Makerere University to pursue an MA in Religious Studies, graduating on November 23, 2003. It was while he was pursuing his MA studies that Canon Isabirye was invited to work at UCU as a part-time lecturer.
In 2006, he was again invited from his Parish in Jinja, St. Andrews Cathedral, by UCU to teach full-time at Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology. Canon Isabirye, who now teaches church history, pastoral care and counselling as well as related subjects also heads practical studies and history in the School.
Although Isabirye enrolled for a Ph.D. in 2010, which he applied for in 2008, and was admitted in 2009, it took him 10 years to graduate. He attributes his delay to several challenges, one of them being having changed supervisors.
“When one’s supervisor is changed, definitely there is a delay, which forces one to go back to the drawing board,” he said.
Canon Isabirye’s Ph.D. is in the area of Theology called Church History, specifically African church history. For his thesis, he examined the Phenomena of African Indigenous Pentecostal Christianity in Busoga and Buganda regions in Uganda using the Deliverance Church as a case study. His comprehensive exploration includes how those churches emerged, and the reasons and the factors their founders had.
His desire now is to continue teaching and also do ministry work.
Reflecting back on his journey to accomplishing this great attainment, he acknowledges the difficulty. He attributes two stingingly memorable and important days in his life which brought a large wave of change that never left him the same again, as well as helped him remain firm, faithful and confident in God, preparing him for these challenges.
The first day was in 1974 when the late Rt. Rev. Cyprian Bamwoze (the former Bishop of Busoga Diocese) visited his church while he was in primary school and identified him out of many other pupils, prophesying “this boy will be a reverend.” The second memorable day on April 17, 1981, was when he came to the Lord (became born again).
“On that day, the preacher spoke of when Jesus had died the curtain tore into two, and as I was getting saved, I saw something get torn into two in my life,” he said.
Canon Isabirye urges the youth to depend on the Lord.
“My journey has been long, tedious and at times painful, but I do not regret anything because God has been in it,” he said with a reminder that regardless of age, people are in a pilgrimage for Christ. “I always ask God to lead me until the end.”
+++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.
In the wake of the global invasion by the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of research, especially in the health sector, has without doubt been fully uncovered. Health experts across the globe are working tirelessly to understand the nature of the virus and derive appropriate vaccines and treatment for it. In Uganda, researchers at the Uganda Virus Institute are equally trying to develop a home-based remedy for COVID-19.
The Uganda Christian University (UCU) dean of the School of Research and Post-Graduate Studies, Associate Prof. Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo, said in an interview that research and innovation are necessary for such developments to occur, and universities have a great role to play in developing the researchers.
“Having people that are teaching at the university and are not helped in developing their research career means that you are having people that are teaching and using information that is not of their own making,” Bacwayo said. “But also, it means that they are not contributing to knowledge out there and innovation that is needed for the country.”
Relating her point to the COVID-19 vaccine development, Bacwayo said there was need for Ugandans to develop their own solution to the pandemic.
Professor Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo
“If we are to rely on what other people are doing, I think you have heard [that] people have developed the [COVID-19] vaccine, but how many people will get it?” Bacwayo asked. “People will always first think of themselves and so we too as a country need to develop home-based solutions. We can only do that if we have a number of researchers who have been mentored and trained to do research.”
To that end, UCU recently entered into a collaborative research project with Makerere University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, and Muteesa I Royal University.
The first year of the five-year project is funded with sh157 million ($42,450) by the Government of Uganda under the Research and Innovation Fund. Its aim is to create an inter-university research and innovation community for early career researchers in Uganda. The project was launched on November 13, 2020, at the UCU Main Campus in Mukono.
Under the project, the partners seek to: strengthen the capacity of early career researchers in teaching, research, and innovations; establish an inter-university large-scale soft research data infrastructure; promote joint research and organize agenda-setting activities for cutting-edge research; and enhance research outcome dissemination by digital approaches to support policy and the national research and innovation agenda.
Assoc. Prof. Bacwayo said this research project is designed to address key challenges facing research in Uganda including inadequate capacity and perspectives of early career researchers, narrow inter-university research networks, limited and uncoordinated research and innovation-based solutions, and limited advances in modern research and innovation dissemination.
She also said that while most Ugandans still do research only as part of the requirement for their degree studies, the collaborative project is targeting to get as many Ugandans as possible to embrace research as continuous processes and as part of their lives and work.
“We want to get people who are still developing as researchers to get into the habit of looking at research as not just something you do once but something that you do and it produces information, it produces knowledge and it produces solutions to a country’s problems,” Bacwayo said.
To achieve that target, the project is holding virtual seminars to equip their academic staff with necessary research knowledge. They are also preparing them to write at least five joint review papers that will be published.
Uganda Christian University has continuously been ranked as the second-best university in the country. But according to former Vice Chancellor, Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi, the university has not made it to the top because of limited research output.
With this project in place, Bacwayo believes that the full participation of UCU staff in those seminars and review papers writing will help to unveil the university as one that also produces research.
“We have many staff but there are very few research products coming out,” Bacwayo said. “I am really hoping that many of UCU staff will get involved in these capacity development seminars that we are running so that they can gain that confidence and start thinking of research as an essential part of their lives so that we as UCU can start seeing many research products coming out of us.”
Speaking at the launch, UCU Vice Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, commended the project team for the “comprehensive move to raise research standards.” Mushengyezi urged them to create networks with the external world so that their works are published and their relevance and impact on society is felt.
The project launch was organized by Network for Education and Multidisciplinary Research Africa (NEMRA). But the collaboration is a product of a four-institution, joint application for a grant.
“I am passionate about research because I love to read, I love new knowledge and I know that now we are living in a world driven by knowledge where if you are not knowledgeable, you are left behind,” Bacwayo said. “I don’t want to be left behind. But I also want to be able to contribute to the knowledge creation.”
++++++++++++++++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org
As COVID-19 continues to spread in Uganda, academic institutions are increasing their efforts related to health and safety of staff and students. At Uganda Christian University (UCU), the management has put in place several tight measures to ensure that members of the community strictly observe coronavirus Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These include washing hands with the help of tippy-taps placed in different locations (gates, classroom blocks, residence halls, etc.). No person is allowed to access the University before washing or sanitizing their hands. Meanwhile students without facemasks are not allowed into the examination rooms and during community worship. In these pictures, Samuel Tatambuka, a University Communications Assistant, shows how measures are in place at UCU.
Security personnel takes body temperature of a UCU staff before letting her into the University premises.A University staff member washes her hands at the Bishop Tucker Gate before entering the University.Mass Communication students of UCU sitting at a distance from one another during their examinations in Nkoyoyo Hall on December 28.A University chapel warden takes the temperature of students before allowing them to access community worship in Nkoyoyo Hall.
The Archbishop of the Provincial Church of Uganda, Rev. Dr. Samuel Stephen Kazimba Mugalu, hands over a copy of the holy Bible to Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa during his ordination at All Saints Cathedral on Sunday, December 6, 2020.
By Douglas Olum
Atop the Nakasero Hill in Kampala, on a clear December 6, 2020, Sunday morning, sweet melodies from a Christian hymn song ring through the open doors and windows of a towering, red-tile-roofed, cream painted building, into the trees, houses and the open sky of the neighborhood. Men, women and a few children were trickling into the All Saints Cathedral premises, to praise and worship God as life returns to Ugandan Churches after six months of the COVID-19 induced closure.
Inside, 13 men and three women were set to be ordained into Christian ministry for the Anglican Church; two of them as deacons and 14 as priests. Among them was the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs, Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa. He was being ordained into priesthood. According to the Anglican Church of Uganda, priests are called to be servants and shepherds to proclaim God’s word.
Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa with his family shortly after his ordination.
With his hand raised up high, Dr. Kitayimbwa, the father of three and husband to Rev. Lydia Nsali Kitayimbwa, was singing and praising the Lord; his face lit with joy. Right behind him was his wife, equally full of joy.
“Seeing him join this great ministry really keeps me excited, and I know that not even the sky is the limit,” Mrs. Kitayimbwa said after the service, “I know God has a lot in store for us so we just pray that He humbles us and we remain under his Mighty hand that He may use us to the glory of His name.” She said having her husband join the Christian ministry was both a great spiritual support to her and a sign that the presence of God rests in their home, where their ministry starts.
As the service commenced, Kitayimbwa said that he felt a very heavy weight over his shoulders, presumably signifying the weight of the task ahead of him. But with God’s guidance, he believed he would weather the test of time and bear fruits.
“My major role now is that of a priest because when you are called to come close to God to be with God in His vineyard to work with Him, it is a blessing,” Dr. Kitayimbwa said, “Whether I am at UCU or outside UCU, this call on my life is to serve God’s people, and I will do it diligently.”
Asked what impact he thinks his ordination would have on his service at the university, Dr. Kitayimbwa said, “I am going to freely share the word of God even as I do my role as the DVC at UCU. I am going to try and follow Christ as I imitate Him in order to draw more people to the Kingdom of God. In whichever situation, I will ask myself what would Christ have done? And I think that is what is going to be my motto going forward.”
Dr. Kitayimbwa holds a PhD in Computational Biology, and he is a senior lecturer in mathematics. He was first ordained as deacon in 2019, the same year he was appointed as Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UCU.
Dr. Kitayimbwa said his calling to be a priest started a long time ago but it took him time to realize that he was being called. And now, whatever achievement he attained in his past life, he counts it but loss, like Paul says in Philippians 3:8-10 (8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.)
The Dec. 6 ordination service was presided over by the Kampala Diocese bishop who also doubles as the Archbishop of the Provincial Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Dr. Samuel Stephen Kazimba Mugalu.
The Archbishop reminded the new priests that their answer to the calling was a life-time commitment for God’s glory and strengthening of His Kingdom. He noted that they would only be able to maintain the call by praying, believing and relying on the strength of God and his grace given in the Word, and not their individual strengths.
++++++++++++
To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org. Also, follow us on FaceBook and Instagram.
You must be logged in to post a comment.