Category Archives: Kabale

UCU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, accompanied by the Dean, UCU School of Medicine, Dr. Gerald Tumusiime, during a maiden visit to Kagando in 2021.

UCU Kagando College: A Beacon of Hope for Maternal Health in Kasese


UCU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, accompanied by the Dean, UCU School of Medicine, Dr. Gerald Tumusiime, during a maiden visit to Kagando in 2021.
UCU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, accompanied by the Dean, UCU School of Medicine, Dr. Gerald Tumusiime, during a maiden visit to Kagando in 2021.

By Jimmy Siyasa
Imagine an expectant mother, filled with anticipation for her newborn, yet gripped by fear—not knowing if she’ll survive childbirth due to maternal health challenges and systemic barriers. Beyond imagination is the stark reality confronting countless Ugandan pregnant and parenting women every day.

Thus, the news of the establishment of  the Uganda Christian University (UCU)-Kagando College sent a strong wave of hope and excitement both within the UCU fraternity and the Kasese, western region, community.

Here’s more of why:

  • According to the Uganda Ministry of Health Annual Health Sector Report for 2023/2024, the Institutional Maternal Mortality Ratio (IMMR) across 20 general hospitals with the highest rates reached a staggering 9,806 deaths in 2024. To put that in perspective, the USA-based Center for Disease Control  (CDC)defines maternal mortality as “the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.” At Kagando General Hospital in Kasese District —a region with nearly 850,000 residents—381 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births were recorded last year. That’s nearly 400 out of every 100,000 women who gave birth in Kasese, never getting the chance to hold their babies.
  • Compare this to the United States, where, with a population of 340.1 million, only 817 women died of maternal causes in 2024, per CDC data. Kasese’s population is just shy of South Dakota’s 886,667, yet its maternal death toll is disproportionately high—a sobering statistic that demands attention. Remarkably, Kagando General Hospital’s IMMR was among the ‘lowest’ on Uganda’s list of 20 worst-affected hospitals, hinting at the dire state of maternal care nationwide.
  • Leading drivers of maternal death in Uganda are obstetric hemorrhage (excessive bleeding before, during and after child birth), infections, delays in seeking care, and a critical skills gap among healthcare workers. The Uganda National Institute of Public Health identifies this skills deficit—particularly in emergency obstetric and newborn care—as an “avoidable” factor driving maternal deaths. The urgent need to train both current and future healthcare professionals is clear. No mother or child should die due to ignorance or negligence.

Earlier this year, the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) greenlit the transformation of Kagando Training Institution into a Constituent College of UCU following a rigorous four-year review. 

The final assessment, conducted in July 2024, saw Vice Chancellor Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi and UCU’s Cabinet showcase the college’s readiness—evaluating staff qualifications, library resources, classrooms, laboratories and management structure, among other elements. UCU’s Academic Affairs division worked tirelessly to meet every regulatory benchmark, leading to the approval later from the NCHE dated February 7, 2025. 

Inside the Nursing Skills Lab at Kagando Training Institution
Inside the Nursing Skills Lab at Kagando Training Institution

Set to launch operations in 2025 with an initial capacity of 540 students, UCU-KUC will offer three vital programs: Bachelor of Nursing Science, Bachelor of Midwifery Science and Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science. On April 5, 2025, the UCU Vice Chancellor and other top management staff were scheduled to officially commission the college at a ceremony in Kasese, bringing UCU’s total number of constituent colleges to three—Mbale, Kabale and now Kagando.

For Kasese, a densely populated district in western Uganda, this is more than an academic milestone—it’s a lifeline. Expectant mothers can now look forward to safer deliveries and the joy of nurturing their newborns, thanks to a new generation of skilled healthcare providers that will in no time emerge from UCU KUC. 

UCU Kagando College isn’t just a training ground; it’s a beacon of hope tackling one of Uganda’s most pressing health crises. UCU Management’s investment in this initiative means equipping healthcare workers to save lives, reducing maternal mortality and strengthening a community of nearly a million people. 

As such, it is an uphill, yet worthy and doable task, given the necessary support and collaborations that may further support the establishment of state-of-the-art labs, scholarships for aspiring midwives and nurses, and cutting-edge research to address local health challenges. 

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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.

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Dr. Alice Jossy Kyobutungi Tumwesigye, the Principal of UCU-BBUC, in her office.

Kyobutungi’s journey to first female principal at BBUC


Dr. Alice Jossy Kyobutungi Tumwesigye, the Principal of UCU-BBUC, in her office.
Dr. Alice Jossy Kyobutungi Tumwesigye, the Principal of UCU-BBUC, in her office.

By Irene Best Nyapendi
In September 2021, Dr. Alice Jossy Kyobutungi Tumwesigye stumbled on an advertisement that attracted her attention in the newspapers. The advertisement was seeking a person to fill the position of Principal of Uganda Christian University (UCU) Bishop Barham University College (BBUC). 

“My husband told me to apply for that job, saying it was mine.  I could also see that if I applied for the job, I would surely get it,” Kyobutungi said.

Kyobutungi, indeed, applied for the job. After several rounds of interviews, she was selected to lead the institution, thus becoming the first female principal of UCU-BBUC. A principal’s role is to oversee and manage all aspects of the university college’s operations.

The first thing that Kyobutungi did when she walked into her office after her appointment as principal was to pray to God and ask Him to walk with her on this journey. She even pinned up a prayer on her office wall, which she says every morning. According to Kyobutungi, her time at UCU has improved her spirituality, enabling her to put God at the center of her work.

From day one, when Dr. Kyobutungi joined UCU- BBUC, she was struck by the muddy road from the gate into the university. 

The writer conducting an interview with Dr. Kyobutungi in her UCU-BBUC office.
The writer conducting an interview with Dr. Kyobutungi in her UCU-BBUC office.

“An institution of higher learning should look better than a secondary school,” she said.

Although she was told that the budget for that year had already been approved, she did not give up on her quest to pave the road. With her team’s consent, Kyobutungi used the money that had been earmarked to procure a vehicle and instead obtained the car on hire purchase. In addition, they set up retainer walls and renovated the institution’s multi-purpose building. Other than the paving of the road, the other developments were achieved using the collections from the UCU Sunday. 

In 2017, the House of Bishops of the Province of the Church of Uganda resolved to designate the last Sunday of September as a UCU Sunday. UCU Sunday was established to mobilize financial resources to support the university’s projects, especially infrastructure and to raise awareness about the institution. This tradition spans across Uganda, with every Anglican Church in Uganda participating.

As the principal, Kyobutungi is committed to ensuring that the academic standards at the institution are upheld, particularly in terms of qualification among the faculty. 

One of her major achievements has been enforcing strict policies in tuition payments. On many occasions, students used to complete their studies without paying their fees, something which generated financial instability. 

She established a policy where students had to pay at least 45% of the tuition fee before sitting tests and allowed leniency for only one semester. She believes that unless the fees are paid on time, the university will never be able to meet its costs promptly.

“I have worked at several universities, but I can say that UCU is special,” she said. “At UCU-BBUC, we groom the students both morally and intellectually.”

A new face for UCU- BBUC.
A new face for UCU- BBUC.

Currently, BBUC has books but owns no library structure. It rents library space at the cathedral. But Kyobutungi has plans to resolve that. Five years from now, she hopes that the institution will have its own library. 

Kyobutungi is the ninth of 10 children, although most of her siblings have passed away. Only her family’s fifth-born, a brother, is still alive. Because of this, she grew up as the apple of everyone’s eye.

She is well-known for her passion of reading and writing. The love for reading, she says, was first lit in her Primary Three when she was asked to recite a folk tale before her class. She did not share any because she had none. However, when she returned home, she asked the wife of her brother to narrate folktales to her. 

It’s then that she learned that stories dwelled in books. From that moment, she dived into literature and read everything, from novel series to Bible stories. 

In primary school, she read all the books in their small library. By Primary Seven, she says, her teacher saw her as a candidate with immense potential after she scored 99% in essay writing. 

“If I can write a good essay, then I can write,” she told herself. 

After primary school, she joined Bweranyangi Girls’ Secondary School in western Uganda. Unlike her primary school, Bweranyangi had a large library. Here, they held class reading sessions, where books were brought in a box, and each student would pick one to read. 

At the end of the week, each student would discuss what they read. If a student completed reading the book, they qualified to receive another one. This motivated her to complete her books so she could continue to explore new ones. And that is how her love for literature was awakened.

Kyobutungi has held various positions, spanning from head of the English Department at Mbarara High School and, later, at Rutooma Senior Secondary School. Both schools are located in western Uganda. During her higher education teaching career at Mbarara High School, the students loved her so much that they gifted her a heifer when she graduated with a PhD.

She then graduated to the position of Head of the Languages and Literature Department at Bishop Stuart University and later became the Dean of the Faculty of Education. 

Kyobutungi has over 15 publications, including the poetry collection Dance of the Intellect, Building the Nation: A Romance, Gender and Rural Transformation: A Post-Modernist Perspective, Fireplace Experience in Ankole, Henry Barlow’s Poetry a Romanticist Reading Science and Development: Bridging the Gender Gap in Rural Communities of selected Countries of East Africa, The Hidden Princess, Wondering and Wandering of Hearts, Poems from Uganda among others.

Kyobutungi holds a BA Lit/Lin and Dip Educ. from Makerere University, and a Master of Arts (Lit) Makerere University and a PhD in Language Culture and Society (LCS) (Literature bias) from Bishop Stuart University. 

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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.

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