Category Archives: News

Ugandan study experience enriches American nurse

September 17, 2021Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, News, Students, UCU Alumni, USPPatty Huston-Holm

Lauren Elaine Nagy graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Messiah College, Pennsylvania, in May 2021. Courtesy photo

By Jimmy Siyasa
In September 2021, the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, welcomes a new staff member with Ugandan experience. Lauren Elaine Nagy, hired to be a nurse in the Pediatric Inpatient Rehab Unit, was part of the Uganda Studies Program (USP) at Uganda Christian University in 2018.

Nagy’s employment follows her May 2021 graduation with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the Messiah College in Pennsylvania and certification as a Registered Nurse. She most recently was a health care provider at a Christian summer camp, Woodcrest Retreat.

Lauren and her family shortly after her graduation. Courtesy photo

Two years before the Covid-19 pandemic, Nagy traveled more than 7,000 miles away from her home as part of the American students who went to UCU for a four-month study abroad program. The trip was under the USP, a two-decades-old program that earlier this year shifted from the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities to under the administrative umbrella of the non-profit, UCU Partners, headquartered in Pennsylvania.

While at UCU, Lauren and other USP colleagues were part of the Global Health Emphasis (GHE). GHE provides an opportunity for students pursuing biomedical and public health-related disciplines to complete global health coursework and international field internship in Uganda.

The USP affords international students an education within an African context. In addition to studies on the UCU Mukono campus, students get a chance to make trips to different parts of Uganda, visit the Equator and sometimes have a 10-day excursion to Rwanda. Some of the students live in the student dormitories on campus, while others are attached to host families.

For Nagy, nothing about UCU stands out more than the institution’s “commitment to integrating faith into all aspects of education.” She says it “created an atmosphere that pushed me to grow in my faith in more ways than I could have expected.”

While on homestay, Nagy lived with a Ugandan family about five minutes away from the university campus. Her camaraderie quickly acclimatized her to the Ugandan culture of the family of Robert Kibirango and Esther Nakato. In fact, she takes pride in the name Nakiryowa (Luganda word for a type of tree) that the family bestowed on her.

She has fond memories of the days she was involved in domestic work that included a unique way of peeling bananas. Clearly, the trip to Uganda gave her another family in addition to her biological one in Pennsylvania. Nagy is the daughter of Daniel Alan Nagy and Karen Lynn Nagy.

“We spent time wandering through fields, exploring plants and anthills, feeding the new calf, picking fresh beans from the garden, and cooking dinner together. It was a beautifully simple time with my family,” she recalls, saying she has continued to keep in touch with the family of Kibirango.

Nagy highly recommends that American university students consider the UCU experience.

“As many people as possible should experience the transformational growth that I did,” Nagy, who attended Chippewa High School in Doylestown, said.

She lauds UCU for the fusion of faith and books in the grooming of nurses because it enables them to dispense care, compassion and comfort. The culture of faith at UCU seemed to rhyme with Nagy’s sole goal in life – living in the center of God’s will for my life and glorifying Him to the fullest.

“It makes me happy to know that such an excellent school as UCU is producing hard-working, highly capable, Christian health care providers to send out into the communities and serve people as the hands and feet of Christ,” she says.

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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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From taking lives to saving them: One nurse’s story

September 15, 2021Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, News, Students, UCU AlumniPatty Huston-Holm

Denis Kutesa (behind) sharing a light moment with his classmates during their internship at Mukono General hospital. Courtesy photo.

By Eriah Lule
The life of Uganda Christian University (UCU) graduate Denis Kutesa is punctuated by a job where he was forced to take two lives to one where he is saving them. He’s most recently a nurse but formerly a security guard.

His is a tale of losing and regaining hope. His school cycle took a seven-year break because of finances. Kutesa’s father, Simon Nsubuga, who had been meeting his tuition requirements, suddenly lost his job when Kutesa had just completed his A’level. The year was 2009.

For the next seven years, Kutesa went through a storm. He survived the downpour by working as a guard, a primary school teacher – anything and everything to survive. Some of the odd jobs he did were a stark contrast for someone who not long before had attended some of Uganda’s elite schools.

Kutesa, who has freshly completed a Bachelor of Nursing Science course at UCU, studied at St. Mary’s College, Kisubi for O’level and Kibuli Secondary School for A’level. For his primary education, Kutesa attended Nkumba Primary School. All four schools are in central Uganda.

When his father lost his job and was no longer able to meet the tuition requirements of his children, Kutesa left home to seek a livelihood elsewhere. He reasoned that it was not wise for him to stay home, to compete for the little resources that his father and mother – Florence Nakalema – came across. Kutesa relocated to Kampala, where he was employed as a security guard.

“Although the payment was low, I was determined to work and establish myself,’’ he said.

Denis Kutesa inside one of the wards at Mukono General Hospital during his internship. Courtesy photo

In order to start earning sh150,000 (about $40), Kutesa had to endure training sessions under extremely harsh conditions. Worse yet, during that period, they were entitled to only one meal a day. Kutesa endured the training with good performance. He was relocated from Kampala to Masaka, a district in central Uganda. In Masaka, Kutesa mostly guarded banks.

Around the Christmas season of 2014, he was moved from the bank to guard a depot of the soft drink manufacturer – Coca-Cola. During the Christmas festivities, the demand for soda usually goes up and many of the areas are undersupplied. Thieves know this fact and, on the eve of the 2014 Christmas Day, they attacked the depot that Kutesa was guarding. In the battle with five thieves, he was forced to shoot, leaving two dead. Three others fled on a bodaboda.

That incident traumatized Kutesa to the point that his work place had to relocate him to another station in a neighboring district. There, his monthly salary increased to sh200,000 (about $56). However, due to tough working conditions and trauma from taking lives, Kutesa did not last at his new station, later switching to teaching in a primary school although he did not have the official credentials.

In 2016, Kutesa reunited with his father whom he had not seen ever since he left home in 2009. The financial situation at home had changed for the better. Nsubuga beseeched Kutesa to return to school – and that he was ready to meet the tuition requirements.

After consultations, Kutesa found himself applying for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at UCU. He wanted to be in a career that gave people better lives instead of taking them. While out of school for seven years, that did not reflect in the performance of Kutesa. There is no UCU semester where his GPA was below 4.0 of 5.0.

He says pursuing his course at UCU made it easy for him to get internship placements since the institution is highly respected. Now that he has completed an internship, Kutesa hopes to pursue a post-graduate course so he can specialize in nursing education or midwifery.

As he heads to the hospital wards as his new work station, Kutesa is fully aware that he needs to be strong enough to tolerate anything and soft enough to understand every patient he will work on.

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Faith helps nursing intern work in time of Covid

September 13, 2021COVID-19, Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of MedicinePatty Huston-Holm

Story and Photos by Jimmy Siyasa
It was a hot Tuesday afternoon. But the energy with which the medical workers carried out their duties made one think the afternoon heat was only in the mind.

“Right now, we are from the post-natal ward and from administering the 2 p.m. medicine to new mothers in the ward,” says one of the medical practitioners. She also had been assisting midwives as they helped mothers deliver.

This is the routine of Sonia Aturinda, a third-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Nursing Science, at Uganda Christian University (UCU). She is at the Mukono General Hospital, where she is on a three-month internship.

Sonia sanitizes her hands after attending to a patient inside the post-natal ward at Mukono General Hospital.

As an intern in the post-natal ward at the hospital, Aturinda is charged with offering maternal and neo-natal care services – mostly administration of medicine to new mothers.

However, because of her excellent performance, her responsibilities have expanded to sometimes offering umbilical cord care, counsel to new mothers, providing family planning advice and, occasionally, assisting midwives in executing deliveries.

Aturinda said she is on internship at the hospital with 23 other colleagues of hers in the same class.

Every morning, Aturinda walks from her hostel, located about 500 metres (about 1/3 mile) from the hospital and only returns after about seven hours. Sometimes, she works on Saturdays, too.

For Aturinda, her service, though unpaid, is more than just a mere mandatory three-month internship ritual that she must fulfil to merit a university degree. She is living her passion. And she tries her best to be the nurse she would want as a patient.

“I have passion for the medical field, especially being directly engaged with patients during their lowest and most vulnerable moment, so that I am able to support them through their recovery,” she says, adding: “I like the counseling session, especially when I am comforting and encouraging the patients.”

Sonia Aturinda stands at the entrance of the Mukono General Hospital Maternity Department at the end of her morning shift.

In May, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the WHO annual assembly that many medical workers became infected with Covid-19 during 18 months of work to save “countless lives and fought for others who, despite their best efforts have slipped away.”

So, looking at the statistics of health workers who have succumbed to Covid-19, does being in the wards bother Aturinda?

“Of course, it does, but I just need to have faith and be strong, while maintaining the Standard Operating Procedures that have been put in place for us to keep safe,” she says, noting that patients must be attended to.

While there was debate on whether or not nursing students should continue with their internships, especially during a time when the second wave of the Covid-19 had peaked and the number of deaths increased, the UCU administration decided that students whose internships were in progress by the time of lockdown could safely carry on.

The university reasoned that termination of the training would prove counterproductive, especially for finalists.

Upon reaching a consensus with students, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, issued a memo, giving the greenlight to the internship.

The head of the Nursing and Midwifery Department, Mrs. Elizabeth Nagudi Situma, believes their deployment is a blessing in disguise because they are adding to the national taskforce, given the shortage of health workers in the country. She said working during the peak of the pandemic offers the students a rare opportunity to learn the management of highly infectious diseases.

However, Nagudi and the Vice Chancellor say the students are always reminded to observe safety protocols.

Aturinda says the main challenge they face is insufficiency or delayed delivery of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). This includes gloves, which makes attending to HIV-positive mothers delivering or at the post-natal unit a challenge.

Aturinda is looking forward to her graduation in 2022, after which she intends to pursue a post-graduate diploma in gynecology, to buttress her love for the field of maternal child care and reproductive health – her childhood dream.

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Rev. Jessica holds torch for UCU online learning

September 10, 2021Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, News, Students, UCU AlumniPatty Huston-Holm

The Rev. Jessica Hughes, lecturer and online learning leader

By Joseph Lagen
Behind her glasses, the Rev. Jessica Hughes’ eyes carry a glint to escort her warm, inviting smile. She is a missionary serving at Uganda Christian University (UCU), Mukono, under the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders (SAMS) – an organisation based in the USA state of Pennsylvania.

The Rev. Hughes was recently appointed the head of the university’s Online Distance Learning (ODL) department – more commonly known to its students as eLearning and via one of its preferred teaching platforms, Moodle. The cleric inherited the role under unfortunate circumstances, after the covid-related death of Dorothy Mukasa, the former head of UCU’s eLearning department.

“It is an honour to serve in this capacity,” Hughes says. “I was a member of the committee that launched ODL in 2020.” She added that it is a pleasure for her to continue implementing and expanding virtual learning in her expanded leadership role.

The expansion and shift were timely. When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, education institutions were closed in March 2020. It was only seven months later that the schools were allowed to open for physical learning, but only for final-year students. In March 2021, the rest of the learners were allowed physically back in school. However, three months later, a Covid-19 second wave led to increase in the number of infections and deaths, leading to another shutdown of in-person classes at education institutions.

Thanks to the ODL department, UCU was one of the few Ugandan schools where learning quickly shifted online.

The woman of the cloth is a UCU alum. Being a former student and current lecturer in the University’s Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology gives Rev. Hughes an ideal vantage point for her new task.

“From 2009 to 2011, I studied at Uganda Christian University, where I received my Master of Divinity,” she says.

This was the second graduate degree of the Virginia-USA-born missionary. In 2005, she earned her first Master’s degree in Human Performance Systems at the Marymount University based in Arlington, Virginia.

Hughes’ undergraduate degree in psychology came from the George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia in 1992. She also possesses a 1993 certificate as a legal assistant from the George Washington University in the neighbouring Washington, D.C. area.

Her academic pursuits continue. Hughes is a candidate for a doctorate degree. “I enrolled in a PhD programme at the University of South Africa in 2014.” She is currently awaiting the results of her dissertation.

With all this training, one wonders how Hughes chose the missionary path, let alone being a clergywoman. She, too, had her reservations.

“I never wanted to go to Africa,” Hughes reveals in her eponymous blog.

“In fact, in my high school discipleship group of 12, 11 wanted to go to Africa as missionaries,” Hughes says, noting that she preferred to pray for them as they came to Africa.

“I now think that God was just tapping His watch (and probably chuckling), telling me to wait and see.”

The “about” page on the jessicahughes blog succinctly narrates her journey into study and service within Uganda – particularly UCU.

“My bishop, the Rt. Rev. John Guernsey, had suggested that I study abroad for my M.Div., and then suggested Uganda, since my home church (All Saints Anglican in Woodbridge, Virginia) had come under the Church of Uganda when we left the Episcopal Church.” Hughes says Guernsey then casually suggested that she remain and minister there after graduation.

Hughes has ministered from the pulpit of the Thornycroft Chapel at UCU. On weekdays, you are sure to find her either lecturing theology students or responding to queries of students or staff members using the online learning platforms.

Learning online comes with its challenges – and those are before the challenges specific to a developing country like Uganda are considered. UCU has a mission to be a centre of excellence in the heart of Africa. Yet, in her online spaces and world over, Africa is faced with a threat to excellence in education – degree mills.

Degree mills are fraudulent institutions that pedal “accelerated” degrees, some from legitimate schools. They promise certification within absurdly short periods. Because of degree mills, some people walk with both undergraduate and graduate degree transcripts attained within under a week. The growth of the Internet has helped to spread the scourge of degree mills. How does the ODL department plan to nip this in the bud with regard to UCU?

“One of the things I am grateful for is that UCU does take education seriously,” the reverend says, noting that the deans and faculties work hard to ensure that the curricula are up-to-date and that the lecturers follow the curricula.

“Within eLearning, we are working with the faculties to ensure that they are posting their materials well: Posting recorded lectures, current readings and creating opportunities for community engagement.”

She says they do not want the platform to become a content dump, but rather a place full of learning resources and collaboration.

Hughes’ strategy for the near future is to “solidify UCU networks and hardware,” which she and her team are already working on.

“I want us to overhaul our understanding of pedagogy (teaching methods),” she said. “We need to move from a teacher-based instruction model to a learner-based one. This will change how we approach online and blended education.”

With such a daunting task, it is an asset that Hughes has made Uganda her home. And she has no plans of returning to the U.S. permanently.

“I am happy serving at UCU, and I will remain, as long as the Lord and the community will have me,” notes Hughes. She says her mission in life is to teach and disciple those who teach and disciple.

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American couple relocates to Uganda to share career experiences with UCU

September 8, 2021Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Business, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

The Rangers at the Source of River Nile in Jinja, Uganda. Courtesy photo.

By Jimmy Siyasa and Lule Eriah
While growing up, the idea of Christian ministry on the ground in Africa did not cross the minds of Americans Richard Ranger and his wife, Catherine. But, as adults and later in life, two main incidents made the couple start pondering such a mission that now has them living on the Uganda Christian University (UCU) campus in Mukono.

First, it was a 2017 call by a friend, Prof. Brian Dennison, who, like the Rangers, also is a former Society of Anglicans Missionaries and Senders (SAMS) missionary and, like Richard, a Law lecturer at UCU. Dennison, then moved back to the United States with his family, reminded the couple that their love for the university as Washington, D.C., hosts for Ugandans had been noticed and that many students spoke highly of them.

The Rangers gave a thought to Dennison’s suggestion that they might consider doing more. They also consulted with Mark Bartels, the Executive Director of UCU Partners. After this consultation and prayer, they were still not yet persuaded.

The second thing to happen was an invitation extended to them by a UCU alumnus, friend and lecturer – Arnold Agaba – to serve at the institution. That, along with more prayer, sealed the deal.

The house where the Rangers reside at Tech Park in UCU. Courtesy photo.

“We came to UCU in particular, when Agaba Arnold offered us a specific role in the Faculty of Law,” says Catherine Ranger, who, like her husband, has a law degree. “It was a huge affirmation of our call.”

Soon, it was time to prepare for travel. This should have been easy because during Richard’s 43-year career, he worked at three different organizations, meaning the family had to relocate whenever he got a new employer.

This time around, though, there were added challenges. Richard Ranger had a brief bout with cancer. They had to be Covid vaccinated. And the Rangers were travelling to a country, Uganda, that was in a lockdown because of a pandemic surge.

“All the challenges, such as the Covid lockdown, Richard’s cancer, raising money for the support that came after making our decision and committing to coming, were viewed as bumps on the road, not demands to turn aside,” Catherine Ranger says.

Indeed, on their journey, more bumps emerged. For instance, the Rangers missed their flights at some point. However, whenever that happened, they had people who God used to come to their rescue. For instance, when they missed their flight from Dulles twice, they were hosted by a friend while their travel agent re-ticketed them at a subsidized rate.

When they landed in Uganda on June 20, 2021, their U.S. friends had made the necessary travel arrangement for them from Entebbe to Mukono. Together with their dog, Trooper, the Rangers were ushered into a duplex unit, at a section of the university called Tech Park.

Richard says that it is the prayers, encouragement, mentorship and financial support of friends that have sustained them.

A week into their stay at UCU, Richard, 69, and Catherine, 64, celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary. Their intention is to celebrate five of more such anniversaries in Uganda.

The benevolence of Richard and Catherine towards UCU is new on the ground but not new overall. In 2004, their friend, Dr. Mary Seagull from the United States Aid for International Development (USAID), persuaded the mission community at All Saints Church Chevy Chase in Washington, D.C., to give scholarships to nursing students at UCU. The Rangers were part of this church and they participated in the charity.

Five years later, through the Uganda Partners, they supported UCU students who were to compete in the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competitions in the US. The Jessup moot court competition is the oldest and largest in the world, attracting participants from close to 700 law schools in more than 90 countries.

“We had one free room and a sofa set and accepted to house three of the students from the team,” Catherine said.

The following year, they housed another team that had travelled for the moot court competitions, for two weeks.

Currently, Catherine serves as an administrator at the John Sentamu Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, an affiliate of the UCU Faculty of Law. Richard, on the other hand, shares his more than two-decade experience in the oil and gas industry with students and staff in both Law and the UCU School of Business. Richard will assist as a lecturer and advisor to students in the graduate programs in oil and gas, and energy in the Faculty of Law as well as some teaching/consulting role with the School of Business.

He also hopes to tap the knowledge of his professional colleagues back at home in the U.S. via online distance lectures so they can supplement his contribution.

In his work with the students, Richard envisages helping them to integrate questions relating to the economic development of the oil resource, the conservation of the surrounding environment, and the concerns and interests of stakeholders whom the project may affect, to be able to make informed recommendations to her clients or her management.

The beating that many education institutions have gotten from the Covid-19 pandemic has led to the adoption of virtual, as well as blended learning. Richard believes there is a contribution he can make on that front, too. Prior to his retirement, his last employer, the American Petroleum Institute, begun to increase its use of remote teleconferencing – skills Richard has carried into his retirement activities.

“Since my retirement, I have been actively participating in remote teleconferencing by Zoom, Skype, and Microsoft Teams for attendance at professional symposia, a project working group comprised of fellow graduates of my undergraduate alma mater, Dartmouth College,” he says.

He believes that virtual communication is a necessary and useful tool in learning across the distances of Uganda and the world.

For the next five years, the couple targets to contribute what they have learned and experienced in their different careers and in the 43 years of marriage and service to God. The couple also hopes to assist UCU’s law and business programs to educate Christian professionals hoping they buttress their careers with the university’s five values of Christ-centeredness, diligence, integrity, servanthood and stewardship.

For the time they will be at UCU, the couple says they will rely on prayer and financial support from generous friends, donors and churches back in the U.S. They do not see giving up on the mission as an option.

Both Catherine and Ricard graduated from law school, but have never practiced law. Catherine graduated from the University of Colorado in 1983. Richard graduated from the University of Denver in 1977. The couple has one adult child, Owen Ranger.

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DVC of Academic Affairs responds to tough questions: E-learning, cost, career preparation and more

September 7, 2021NewsPatty Huston-Holm

Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa, Deputy Vice Chancellor - Academic Affairs — Rev. Dr. John Kitayimbwa, Deputy Vice Chancellor – Academic Affairs

Uganda Christian University (UCU) continuing students have started their Advent Semester (August-December). The current term that started August 20, 2021, is being conducted virtually like the previous one, the Trinity Semester (May-August). The Advent is the Semester UCU admits the largest number of first-year students. Veteran journalist John Semakula, recently named head of UCU’s journalism department, talked to the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. John Kitayimbwa about the preparations for first-year students joining the University. A condensed version of this conversation is reflected here.

Why should parents bring their children to UCU during this period of the lockdown?
UCU is the number one university in this country when it comes to online learning. Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit us, a lot of institutions in Uganda have been struggling to get online, evaluate students and do exams, but UCU’s story of teaching and learning online is not a new one. Since 2014, we began preparing a virtual education infrastructure. Beyond the lecturers, our infrastructure has more than seven people specifically dedicated and committed to eLearning. As we speak today, a lot of universities have done what they call online teaching and that is why things like zoom and big blue button are common words in this learning arena. But online teaching is a bit different from online learning. It’s not enough to recreate the physical classroom online and get teachers talking to students online. That will not translate into learning. Online learning is more student than teacher centered. It’s more activity-based than what the teacher has said or not said. It demands more of the learner. It also demands more of the teacher in terms of preparation and getting the learning activities ready. To this end, UCU is still the number one university in doing this within Uganda. We have trained our students and lecturers, and we are ahead of the rest. So, the parent can rest assured that if they are to send their children to UCU, they will continue learning. UCU is one of the very few universities in Uganda that are up to date during Covid-19.

How are you helping first-year students fit into the University’s eLearning system?
We have a policy at UCU where each entering student is required to have a laptop, what we call a laptop policy. It doesn’t matter if that laptop is new or old but at least somebody should have a laptop. We are therefore enforcing the laptop policy so that these students can learn. But also we have thought about connectivity. Students are having challenges with the connectivity because it’s very expensive and so as a university, we have partnered with the Research and Education Network Uganda (RENU) to make sure that at least all our eLearning resources are zero rated on the MTN network, meaning that if you have an MTN line, you can access all our resources free of charge. They are not free because the University is paying for the access but they are free in that aspect for our students and staff. RENU has worked hard to ensure that they roll out the internet in certain hotspots around Kampala, Wakiso, Entebbe and Mukono where our students who live around those areas can connect to the University web internet and make use of the available resources without incurring a cost.

How would a first-year student who has no IT knowledge access the virtual classes?
It’s very true that the students coming to us have not used eLearning platforms before and so in September as we are recruiting, we are going to have a very elaborate process of introducing online learning to our first-year students. We shall have about two weeks of very serious orientation. Already, we have opened up some of our course offerings for potential students so that they can come and get used to the system even before the semester starts. For example, we have opened up our learning and study skills course unit, basic computing offering, Understanding World Views; students everywhere in this country can get access to those materials and try out what it means to do the new normal at UCU. We have also established a fulltime call center that is going to be responsive to the learners’ challenges. Real-time responses will be given to the new learners on issues pertaining the eLearning platform.

How about students who live in areas without access to the internet?
According to the Data that we have from National Information Technology Authority (NITA), Uganda, the government through development partners have been rolling out what we call the 3G network and if you look at the NITA website, it shows you that the coverage of the 3G network, what they call the last mile, is almost 90%. This means that in most parts of the country at least there is some kind of network coverage. At the same time, this challenge is not peculiar to UCU. All the universities in Uganda are affected by the internet coverage and should strive to see how they can reach each and every student in the hard-to-reach areas. This is not a problem to solve today or tomorrow but one of the challenges we must address. Maybe we need to repackage the learning websites so that when a student goes to a place where there is internet, they can download the content and be able to read the learning material when they leave.

How do you ensure quality for online studies?
Online learning is new in Uganda but it’s not new world over. Some people have been doing online learning even before the pandemic hit us. But Covid-19 has brought this closer to Uganda and that is why I told you that in UCU we started thinking about online learning in 2014 and so there are quality assurance frameworks that work within the context of online learning. Fortunately, these frameworks are much better than those of the physical learning. For example, I can see which student has logged into the system when and for how long. I can even investigate the kind of content the students have been exposed to. So, these resources on online learning materials are auditable that you can audit the attendance by both students and staff but also because the emphasis is on the learner and what the learner can do in terms of activities. The evaluation changes because whereas you could wait to give two tests in the semester, now because this is activity based learning, you need to evaluate this learner almost daily which means on a weekly basis you have a good understanding of how students have been able to learn on such a platform.

The National Council for Higher Education has raised some concerns about the quality of online exams. What is your reaction?
The quality of online examination is also the understanding of why a university exists and what kind of training the University has to give to its students. When you think about what possibly you can examine during a sit-in exam, you will find out that most of the skills that you can examine within a three-hour exam are skills of remembering, a bit of application but they are not very high-end exams. If you wanted to measure the high-end skills especially in the process of learning, you would have to do that as a project-based exam or a take-home exam, and these are the skills that the market is asking for. The market is requiring of us to produce learners who can be able to go to an environment and understand what is needed in that environment, consult with seniors, if possible, to get more information in order to solve the problems they have at hand and then be able to generate a solution. This is what the UCU online exams are introducing to the students. But there are also technologies for the online sit-in exams, where we can monitor you at your home as you do your examination paper.

And when are first-year students reporting for the Advent semester?
They are reporting on September 24 but we shall use the week between September 19-24 to introduce them to online pedagogies. The orientation will be the last two weeks of the month.

When is the University administering pre-entry exams?
We received the Senior six final examination results in late August and we are already opening up a two-week application period. The pre-entry exams for both law and medicine will be conducted the week of September 6th and applicants are already flooding our online application portals.

Why do you set pre-entry exams for some courses and not all?
Ideally, we would be setting pre-entry exams for everyone but for now we are looking at law, medicine, theology, nursing and public health. At UCU we are interested in offering a complete education for a complete person and in order to yield this kind of product, there are other ingredients that possibly the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) might not be measuring but we are interested in. We pride ourselves in training a doctor who is not simply a doctor who can treat somebody but one who can offer complete medical care and so the inputs into that doctor are very important and that is why we conduct pre-entry exams to test the applicants’ values and capabilities before admitting them.

What does it take a student applying for a course to join the University?
We have options where they can go to our website and access the online application form there that will also have details where they can reach someone in the admission office in case they want to be guided through the process. Our online application system is also working well in all the areas but if you are not good at using technology, you just have to send us an email and we shall reach out to you for help.

But isn’t UCU very expensive?
That is a very interesting allegation and I have been studying it. It’s not true–I was recently looking at the tuition fees charged at UCU compared to that charged in most public universities and they are comparable. What we have done as a Christian University is that we give you a full understanding of what else you will pay. For example, we have what we call other fees, which other universities do not declare on the face of these application forms. I think this is what has caused a bit of confusion for UCU. UCU being a private University, the amount of money charged vis-à-vis the value for money is very competetive and worth applauding.

And what does it mean to run a university during the lockdown?
This is one of the hardest things to do because of two main reasons: One is that most of the regulations that are made in this country are made with a public university in mind so that leaves an administrator in a private university struggling to catchup always. It would be very helpful for government and law makers to always remember that there are two kinds of institutions in the country, the public and then the private. For these two, the set up is quite different and what they need to succeed is also different. The second one is that you need to meet the expenses within the university 100% because you do not have any other help external to the university revenue to do that and therefore you have had to find a way of continuing business amidst a lockdown because if you fail to continue, it means that you are not going to earn so you can’t maintain the staff, facilities and everything else. It’s in fact that push that has helped universities such as ours to be more innovative during this time because at this point, it’s survival for the fittest. But Covid-19 is helping us to re-engineer ourselves looking at everything we do as a university to ensure that we are doing them in the best way that we should.

How are your former students fairing on the job market?
They are the best graduates that you will have in this job market. If you looked at the legal vocation, for example, UCU is changing the story of the legal profession in this country. If you look at the communication graduates, they are all over. I have even started seeing some adverts where the employers are saying that only UCU graduates should apply. We are even calling upon more employers to take that example.

The first 365 days: How successful was it for the new UCU Vice Chancellor?

September 6, 2021NewsPatty Huston-Holm

Uganda Christian University (UCU) Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi

By Patty Huston-Holm and Frank Obonyo

Uganda Christian University (UCU) Vice Chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi marked his one-year anniversary by listing achievements with a hint of what is yet to come. Despite walking into the leadership role in the middle of a pandemic, much positive occurred in this first 365 days.

He discussed these key accomplishments in a 36-minute video released Sept. 2 by UCU’s Communications and Marketing Department. A condensed list is below.

UCU One-Year Achievements (Sept. 1, 2020 – Sept. 1, 2021)

UCU e-campus transformation
National Council for Education permission for online learning and assessment
Achievement throughout all key academic areas
Recruitment assistance for Medicine, Law, Dentistry programs through online pre-entry tests
Two virtual graduations (December 2020 and, pending, October 2021)
ICT infrastructure online learning advancement with support by UCU Partners
Kampala campus property acquisition, allowing avoidance of rent
Service (security, food, etc.) outsourcing to private entities, saving internal costs
(Anglican) Church of Uganda strengthened relationship, including clergy training
Return of most staff with implementation of a performance-based system with motivation and reward incentives, including retirement benefits and Uganda Revenue Authority debt clearance
USA supplier donation of equipment for School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, Allan Galpin as well as for hospital partners
Academic program restructuring to eliminate those not viable with start of work to blend duplications
Reorganization of administrative units, including HR
Follow up to presidential pledges, including support of Guild, solar lights and Bishop Tucker Road upgrades
Donation of clock tower by Prof. Stephen Noll, UCU’s first vice chancellor
Improved partnerships that include funds and collaboration for Journalism and Media PhD training and internships; School of Business birding tourism and an incubation center; agriculture grain projects; theology e-learning equipment and training; research within the School of Research and Post-Graduate Studies; and privately funded student scholarships; among others.

Reflecting further on his life, the 52-year-old Vice Chancellor credited three main inspirations as drivers for his work. These are: 1) upbringing in a large, poor family with strong appreciation for education; 2) his wife, Patience, who has “walked the journey of faith” with him for 23 years; and 3) faith in God and salvation.

When asked about what might be next at the start of his second year at the helm, Mushengyezi talked about even stronger partnering with the Church of Uganda, ongoing improvements with the Mukono campus infrastructure (one-stop center with all student services under one roof), improved branding (i.e. signage) and more research innovation.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” the Vice Chancellor said, quoting Ephesians 3:20. “God uses people like us. By faith, the best is yet to come.”

UCU alumna Nakkonde: Helps the sick ‘even when heavy laden’

September 3, 2021Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of MedicinePatty Huston-Holm

Veronica Rachel Nakkonde with one of her friends at Mulago Hospital. Courtesy Photo

By Eriah Lule
The love for her profession more often than not makes this 25-year-old nurse forget her shift has ended, and, therefore, she should head home. Her name is Veronica Rachael Nakkonde and her level of devotion is just like founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale would put it “as hard a preparation, as any painter’s work.”

Many of the patients Nakkonde meets, she may never see again. But that does not affect the way she treats them – like kin.

Veronica at work at one of the AAR branches. Photo by Eriah Lule

“I am humbled to have Veronica on our team. She does everything wholeheartedly,” Dr. Isaac Kintu, Nakkonde’s supervisor at the Africa Air Rescue (ARR), a health service provider, said. “No wonder all our clinics want to feel her services.”

Nakkonde, a 2019 graduate of Uganda Christian University (UCU) with a Bachelor of Nursing Science, has a reputation of remarkable management and treatment of patients. This gets her on rotational duty at the various branches of AAR in Kampala, Uganda – something that does not happen with all her nurse colleagues.

“I can’t guarantee you which clinic I’m based because I am always transferred almost every day, to where there is bigger demand,” Nakkonde, who says she joined the profession because she desired to care for the sick and burdened people, explains.

“It is good for her because she gets exposure, moving from one clinic to the other,” Kintu notes.

So, how does Nakkonde manage to carry the heavy load on a daily basis? “I love my profession and that is why, even though sometimes I feel heavy-laden, I just pull myself back to deliver,” she says.

Nakkonde believes that if the UCU School of Medicine continues with the way it delivers knowledge, it will keep churning out health workers who observe ethical standards with high Christian values and professionalism – virtues she says the university imparts on its students, for them to have an edge on the job market.

Alice Bakunda, a nursing lecturer at the UCU School of Medicine, explains what takes place during the training: “We prepare our students for the field,” she said. “That’s why we take them to different hospitals to attain exposure and experience, which helps them tackle different issues and to be able to multi-task.’’

Veronica with her parents on UCU graduation day. Courtesy Photo

Upon graduation with summa cum laude status from UCU, Nakkonde had her internship at the Mulago National Referral Hospital. From Mulago, she joined AAR.

Nakkonde Background
She is the second-last born of the seven children of Joseph and Justine Kkonde who live at Seeta in Mukono district, central Uganda.

Nakkonde attended primary school at Seeta Boarding Primary School and Stella Maris Boarding School. She later joined Trinity College Nabbingo for secondary school.

“From childhood, my parents kept encouraging me to pursue sciences,” she said. “And, I also had the passion for them.”

No wonder, in 2015, when Nakkonde applied at UCU to pursue a course, her option was Bachelor of Nursing Science. She does not regret the decision.

Like it is the case with many other students, Nakkonde did not survive the perils of financial challenges, despite studying on a scholarship from a Church-founded organization, Caritas. At some point, she says the sponsors pulled out, so she had to resort to her parents to provide the additionally needed finances.

As a nurse, Nakkonde says she encounters many challenges, such as keeping calm while dealing with rude clients and a low salary.

“Sometimes, we feel our payment does not match the work load, because we find it difficult to cover most of our living expenses,” she said.”

Nakkonde intends to enroll for a Master of Nursing Science at the UCU School of Medicine. She is certain that a master’s degree will increase her chances for promotion at the work place and enable her to serve even more.

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Passion to save lives drives UCU nursing alumnus

September 1, 2021Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, News, StudentsPatty Huston-Holm

By Yasiri J. Kasango
They work late. They stay awake much of the night. They are witnesses to tragedies in people’s health. Despite all the challenges that medical practitioners face, Apollo Amanya had set his eyes on being one. All he wanted was to bring back good health to those who lacked it.

As a result, in 2011, when Uganda Christian University (UCU) admitted students for the course of Bachelor of Nursing Science, Amanya was among them. His determination to pursue the course was so strong that not even challenges of meeting the tuition demands could faze it.

At the time, students paid sh1.4 million (about $400) in tuition for the course and another sh550,000 (about $155) as “other fees” per semester. As such, the 31-year-old says he struggled to complete the four-year course. And it seems he was not the only student facing financial challenges. Many of his colleagues dropped out of the course over the four years.

Since Amanya’s parents were peasants, he did not expect much from them. He, therefore, took matters into his own hands, and started searching for scholarships. In his second year, he applied for one – the Muljibhai Madhvani Foundation Scholarships. However, he was not as lucky. He missed the offer. But Amanya is not one who can easily lose hope. In his third year, he applied for the scholarship again. This time, he was among the recipients.

After graduating in 2015, Amanya went back home to his parents – Godfrey Bahemurwa and Medius Biretsire – residents of Mitooma district in western Uganda. For one year he was in Mitooma, helping his parents with farm work before he got his first job. Bahemurwa has since passed away.

Amanya’s first job was as a nursing officer at Nakasero Hospital in Kampala. After a year at Nakasero, he left for UMC Victoria Hospital, also in Kampala. At Victoria, Amanya worked as an Intensive Care Unit nursing officer for four years. After five years as a medical practitioner, Amanya switched to academia.

However, due to the love to practice medicine, it did not take Amanya long before returning to applying his health care skills. In fact, the same year – 2020 – when he left UMC Victoria University, was the same year he joined the national army, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, as the acting principal nursing officer at the Senior Officers’ Diagnostics Centre. The facility, located in Mbuya, a Kampala suburb, treats soldiers from the rank of Major and above, plus their families.

“The principal nursing officer acts as the head of the nurses and the role includes coming up with working schedules for the them,” Amanya says, noting that the position is a busy one, requiring someone to work for extra hours on some days.

Many civilians are apprehensive to work in a community as reclusive as that of soldiers. Was that not the case with Amanya? He says his case was not any different. However, with time, he discovered that it was “amazing working at the center and that the soldiers are friendly.”

Amanya says the empathy that he applies in his current work is a virtue he learned while pursuing the Bachelor of Nursing Science course at UCU. He says he loved studying at UCU because the university teaches nurses to be empathetic to patients.

“The curriculum of nursing at UCU has also got foundation course units, such as Understanding Christian Ethics, which shape the world views of students,” he said.

The Christian World View course unit emphasises how students relate and handle their clients from a Christian perspective.

Amanya is married to Aisha Atwemerireho and the couple has a son, age two. Being a busy man at his workstation, he said, has not stopped his dream of becoming a consultant in nursing.

To buttress his qualification for consultancy, in 2019, Amanya enrolled for a Master of Nursing Science degree at UCU. He says he was inspired by some of his lecturer-colleagues at the Kampala International University who possessed the same qualification.

The two-year course is modular in nature, with each year having three modules and each module lasting five weeks. Students pay sh1.5 million (about $425) per module, in tuition fees. He also has to part with an additional sh751,000 (about $212) for other fees.

Despite being enthusiastic about nursing, Amanya expressed his pain about the working conditions of nurses in Uganda. He says they are “paid peanuts” and are sometimes not given adequate protective gear at work, exposing them to infections from the patients they treat.

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Partners-sponsored student Uwimbabazi on why studying at UCU was a dream come true

August 30, 2021Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, News, StudentsPatty Huston-Holm

Uwimbabazi graduated from UCU in 2020 with a Bachelor’s of Nursing Science. She specializes in sexual and reproductive health. Courtesy photo.

By Jimmy Siyasa
In 2019, Uganda Partners profiled Uwimbabazi Sarah, who was a recipient of a scholarship for her Bachelor of Nursing Science course at the Uganda Christian University (UCU). In the profile, when asked how she would use her degree, Uwimbabazi said: “I will go back to my hospital and deliver holistic nursing care to the people within and outside the hospital, with interest in maternal and child health for the betterment of our community and nation.”

Two years later, Uwimbabazi manages the Uganda Sexual Health and Public Education (USHAPE) project in Uganda. USHAPE is a family planning program owned by the Margaret Pyke Trust, a UK project. Uwimbabazi got the job in 2020. She also is currently undergoing her mandatory internship at the Bwindi Community Hospital in Kanungu, western Uganda.

Her work at USHAPE includes coordinating a team of health workers with whom she conducts community outreaches to sensitize people about family planning and sexual health. She says because she has a soft spot for mothers, they open up to her during consultations.

Uwimbabazi’s introduction to the field of medicine dates back to when she was in secondary school. She befriended an American couple, Scott and Carol Kellermann, who were Christian missionaries and medics, giving her an opportunity to appreciate what they were doing. The Kellermanns founded the Bwindi Community Hospital in 2003.

In 2009, as a nurse at Bwindi Community Hospital, a mother took her a sick child who seemed to be suffering from a respiratory blockage.

“At first, I feared, because I thought the child would die,” she narrated.

Overwhelmed by the fear that had overcome the mother, Uwimbabazi laid her hands over the child, and prayed fervently. She then sucked out the mucus-like substance that had blocked the baby’s respiratory system. In no time, the child’s condition stabilized.

“I felt so grateful to God,” Uwimbabazi, age 34, said. “That was my best moment as a nurse. I forgot about the cold, sleepless night that evening.”

Studying at UCU was a dream come true for Uwimbabazi. At some point, before 2017, she had given up the hope of enrolling for university education. She met the academic requirements to be admitted. In fact, she was even admitted, but did not have the financial muscle to pay tuition. At the time, she held a Diploma in Nursing that she had attained in 2012 at the Kinkizi School of Comprehensive Nursing.

“I had always wanted to pursue a course at UCU. It offers a unique experience which sets one apart,” she said. “They offer foundational course units, such as writing and study skills, which give us an upper hand at the work place.”

Uwimbabazi, her husband, Robert and their children during family time. Courtesy photo.

Her husband, Robert Kamugisha, also an alumnus of UCU, was partly the stimulant for her inclination to UCU. She recounted how he never ceased to sing praises of the institution. (See Partners’ link to his story in 2019.)

“He talked about how the institution impacted his life. All I wanted was to have the same experience. Indeed, I had the best time when I joined,” the mother of three children said.

In 2017, the miracle that Uwimbabazi had been praying for happened. An acquaintance, Sarah, from Israel, offered to sponsor her, through the UCU Partners organization. “That was one of the best moments in my life. I could not believe it, when I saw the email from Sarah, telling me to prepare for school…”

Uwimbabazi graduated from UCU in February 2020. While in her last year at UCU, she was worried about having to study for an extra year.

However, to her surprise, she says her lecturers were considerate and supportive. Uwimbabazi delivered her baby four days prior to exams. She would later display courage by writing all her exam papers. But it did not come that easy.

“There were days when I got off the seat, knelt or sat on the ground to write my exam papers. The pain was too much yet I was determined to complete my course,” she recalls.

Despite the challenges, Uwimbabazi shocked everyone by scoring a 4.6 GPA of 5.0 that semester. She hopes to enroll for a Master of Nursing Science course at UCU in 2022.

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UCU alumnus called to the Nigerian bar

August 27, 2021COVID-19, News, Students, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

Shalom Okeke, a UCU law school alumnus, was on July 29, 2021, called to the bar of Nigeria. Courtesy photo.

By Jimmy Siyasa
Faced with the career paths of music and law, which one would you take to deliver you to glory?

That is the question Shalom Okeke encountered years ago. He couldn’t choose, so he walked both. Today, Okeke is an accomplished music minister and a barrister.

Okeke achieved part of his childhood dream when he was called to the Nigerian bar on July 29, 2021, at a ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria. The development means the Uganda Christian University (UCU) alumnus will now be able to represent a party in a Nigerian court.

The news of Okeke’s being called to the largest bar in Africa quickly reached Uganda, with his former dean at the UCU Faculty of Law, Dr. Roselyn Karugonjo Segawa, tweeting: “When one of your best students is called to the bar! Congratulations Shalom Okeke!”

It is no surprise that Segawa, now the chairperson of the Leadership Code Tribunal in Uganda, still remembers Okeke. Her former student was the second best in the Bachelor of Laws class that graduated in 2019.

In 2013, upon completing high school at St. Christopher’s Junior Seminary in Onitsha, Nigeria, Okeke and his parents got busy scouting for law schools out of Nigeria, but within Africa. “My parent and I chose UCU, because I wanted to study under an environment where I would not just be built intellectually, but also grow in faith,” Okeke says.

Okeke (second-right) poses with his father, Rt. Rev. Henry Okeke (second-left) and mother, Mrs. Julie Okeke (First- right) and his sister, on his graduation day, at UCU main in 2019. Courtesy photo.

When the family had decided on UCU, he enrolled at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka in Nigeria for a Diploma in Law course, as he awaited his visa and admission into UCU. Everything went according to plan. Okeke, therefore, had to drop out of the Diploma in Law course at Nnamdi Azikiwe after just half a year of studies.

“Some of my colleagues (at the time) who didn’t know what was happening thought I had dropped out because the course was too tough,” he says during an interview from Nigeria. In 2014, Okeke set off to Uganda, to pursue his dream course in a country he had never been.

Activities at the Nkoyoyo Hall at UCU were the mainstay of Okeke’s spiritual development and feeding his passion for music. His skills and busy schedules had fashioned him into being one of the revered keyboardists in the university.

Asked how he struck a healthy balance between commitment to music and to the law course, in typical Christian modesty, Okeke attributes it all to God. He believes God guided him through tested strategies for academic achievers, such as relentless revision, knowing one’s best revision time and “learning to love all course units and the respective lecturers.”

Not all was smooth, though. He faced serious challenges as an international student while pursuing his course at UCU. Three obstacles were the language barrier, unfamiliar food and lack of exposure to Ugandan history.

“Constitutional history needed me to, not just know the native names and cases, but also know Ugandan history. And that is something I had no clue about,” he says.

To aid his academic progress, Okeke began to commit to memorizing some of the cases with Ugandan names. Sometimes, and incorporating his music talent, he says, he often “silently” sang some of the Ugandan names as he headed to the exam room.

Being a pastor’s child, Okeke got exposed to music and music instruments quite early; he lived within the church’s vicinity. And this granted him almost unlimited access. As a teenager, Okeke also pursued a certificate course in music.

It is no wonder that besides playing the keyboard meticulously, Okeke also plays a couple of wind instruments, too. He is also an instrumentalist to the congregation shepherded by his father, the Rt. Rev. Henry Okeke, the Bishop of Ideato, one of the Dioceses under the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion.

He is currently serving his country in the Nigeria Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a government program, whose aim is to involve Nigerian graduates in nation building and development. The ultimate tune is yet to come.

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UCU Guild President lightens burdens of needy

August 23, 2021COVID-19, News, Students, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

Amponda Kenneth Agaba (2nd left), with Herbert Mukuru (3rd left) visits parents and the administrators of Good Samaritan Primary School.

Story and photos by Eriah Lule
Amponda Kenneth Agaba believes that to rise, one must lift others. True to his belief, he has participated in many charity causes, while effortlessly also rising to positions of leadership at the institutions he has attended.

One of those recent leadership positions is that of Guild President of Uganda Christian University (UCU). And his most recent charitable cause is the founding of a not-for-profit organization, the Amponda Foundation, a vehicle to boost others.

Agaba packs relief items headed for a donation at the Good Samaritan School.

In 2016, when Agaba joined A’level at Gombe Secondary School in central Uganda, he successfully contested for the position of Scripture Union leader at the school. As a leader, he thought of a signature activity that would leave an indelible mark. At the time, there were brilliant, needy students who could not afford the fees at the school.

Agaba and his colleagues rolled up their sleeves and began a fundraising campaign among students and other members of the school community to help these disadvantaged students. On many occasions, they contributed money to the school’s financial aid purse. From this purse, the school got money to meet the tuition fees of the students in need.

At one point, they collected up to sh700,000 (about $200) from students, for this cause. And that was not all. Agaba also often rallied his fellow students to donate items, such as soap, which they would take to patients at the nearby Gombe Hospital.

Now a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws at UCU, and through the Amponda Foundation, Agaba has been pivotal in the lives of students living in distress during the two lockdowns that Uganda has had due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Uganda had a three-month lockdown from March to June in 2020 and for 42 days, from June to July this year.

“We came to the rescue of students, mostly those who were in hostels,” he said, adding that they provided food to students in hostels at Kyambogo University, as well as at UCU. In addition to the food items, Agaba said they gave out money to help students with other survival needs.

The university students have not been the only beneficiaries of Amponda Foundation. Good Samaritan Primary School, a school in Mukono for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), is one of the most recent beneficiaries of the foundation’s goodwill. The foundation teamed up with the UCU Guild government, students and well-wishers from the Mukono community and mobilized resources, such as scholastic materials, sanitary pads and foodstuffs to help children at the school.

The foundation also donated $225 toward the building of a PWD-accessible shopping center in Mukono.

While dishing out donations during the Covid-19 lockdown, Agaba’s charity is a victim of

Agaba interacts with disabled pupil at Good Samaritan Primary School.

the pandemic. He says the closure of education institutions has been a barrier to securing more funds. He cannot collect enough supplies from the university community to donate to the vulnerable.

There are high chances Agaba’s foundation would not be existing had he not met a UCU alumnus, Herbert Mukuru, who also runs a similar charity – Upendo Mikono.

“When I became the Guild President, I met Mukuru, who showed me his projects with PWDs, something which opened my eyes,” Agaba says.

Agaba first met Mukuru at the latter’s restaurant. The next time he met Mukuru, he was in their class, soliciting donations, which they could take to PWDs.

“When he saw me coming to their class to collect items, he also picked interest,” Mukuru said. “Agaba is an ambitious and optimistic man and I believe that with such an attitude, his foundation will help many people in need.”

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UCU’s new head of art promises to make industry more visible

August 20, 2021Faculty, News, UCU School of EducationPatty Huston-Holm

Dr. Eria Nsubuga, Photo by Stuart Williams

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.

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UCU theology student journeys from Islam to Christianity

August 18, 2021News, Students, UCU AlumniPatty Huston-Holm

Adiaka Matthew Ekonekatwaar with colleagues at UCU

By Joseph Lagen
Adiaka Matthew Ekonekatwaar, a Uganda Christian University (UCU) post-graduate student, is a naturally defiant man. He will defy the status quo if he believes his heart is elsewhere.

At the age of 10 years, Adiaka felt he had had enough of the Islam faith. Without consent from his mother, he started attending Christian praise and worship sessions at a nearby church. Adiaka often took advantage of the time when his mother was away at evening prayers at a mosque in their community. And he often made sure to return before she did.

Music attracted him to the church, but conviction kept him in the faith. Two years later, the 12-year-old was christened Matthew and confirmed a Christian in the Anglican Church. Adiaka, who had been given the name Yahaya at birth, did not meet much resistance from his mother, Esther Lorimo, as he switched faiths.

Ordinand Adiaka in front of the Bishop Tucker Building in UCU

Lorimo had changed from Christianity to Islam when she got married to Adiaka’s father, Abdi Zirabamuzaale, who was a famous traditional healer in the region. He died when Adiaka was still a toddler, leaving behind nine children.

To show commitment, Adiaka stayed true to his faith, even when he was far from home. While in secondary school at Busoga College Mwiri in eastern Uganda, Adiaka joined the Scripture Union, a club that uses the Bible to inspire people to know more about God. It was at the Scripture Union where he accepted Christ, at 14 years.

And his talent in public speech came in handy during evangelism, as well as taking up positions of leadership. Adiaka served as the deputy head of students at Mwiri and as the head of students at central Uganda’s Naalya Senior Secondary School, where he studied A’level.

Even when Naalya was a predominantly Catholic school, Adiaka and a few Anglican friends often met and prayed regularly. All students in Naalya were expected to attend only Catholic prayers, but, sometimes, Adiaka and his Anglican friends defied. Even if it usually got them into trouble, they still prayed and evangelised in the dormitories.

In May 2019, Adiaka again shocked his family with his defiance. He turned down an offer for an interview for a government job as the District Inspector of Schools, in preference for a Master of Arts in Theology course at UCU. The District Inspector of Schools is charged with ensuring compliance of education standards by all schools in the district.

The master’s program, which Adiaka is expected to complete this year, culminates into his ordination as a Reverend – what the 30-year-old has always desired in his life.

The interview whose invitation Adiaka turned down was for a position in Nabilatuk, his home district in northeastern Uganda.

“My elder brothers and relatives pleaded with me to attend the interview,” Adiaka recalls, saying they even fuelled a car and sent it over 210 miles away, to pick him at UCU, where he had already begun studies for his master’s course.

When he declined to travel for the interview, preferring to pursue his course, his family members cut off ties with him for the next year.

Adiaka graduated as a professional teacher at Makerere University in 2017. Even if he declined to sit an interview for a job in his home district, Adiaka says he has his affection for his home district.

“In 2018, I left teaching in schools in Kampala, in preference for a Catholic seminary back home,” Adiaka, the husband of Joy Lomokol, said. The couple has a daughter, named Hallelujah Ajokis.

“It was while teaching at the seminary that my home church, St. Luke’s Nabilatuk, suggested that I succeed the retiring reverend – they were even willing to contribute to my theology studies, that is how I knew they were serious.”

And that is how Adiaka got sponsorship for his master’s course from his home diocese, as well as the UCU Faculty of Theology.

He is presently serving at St. Luke’s Nabilatuk as an ordinand. Upon graduation at UCU, Adiaka is expected step in to fill the shoes of one of the five ministers who is scheduled to retire in two years.

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UCU law ambassador takes ‘pride in service and extending justice to the needy’

August 16, 2021News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

Razak Tibakuno, enrolled by the Uganda Law Council as an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda

By Eriah Lule and Jimmy Siyasa
Among the many turning points in the life of Razak Tibakuno is one in 2016. He says he will never forget the opportunity in that year in which he was employed as a development intern and a law teaching assistant in the Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Business. Later, Tibakuno became the development assistant. He also was offered an opportunity to teach at the Faculty of Law.

The salary that Tibakuno earned at the time was not just enough to finance his Master of Law degree course at Makerere University in Uganda. He also used the money to meet the tuition requirements at Uganda’s Law Development Centre. For one to practice law in Uganda, they must acquire a Diploma in Legal Practice at the Law Development Centre.

For all his efforts, the 28-year-old has been rewarded. The Uganda Law Council recently enrolled him as an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda and all subordinate courts therein. As an advocate, Tibakuno will be expected to represent clients in court, interpreting the law, rulings and regulations for individuals and lay people as well as present a summary of the case to the judge.

He pursued his Bachelor of Laws degree at UCU. Tibakuno, who currently serves as the academic coordinator at UCU’s Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs, opted to change to another university for his master’s course. He chose Makerere University because he wanted a change of environment and different academic exposure.

At UCU, an academic coordinator handles multiple tasks, including working on academic Memoranda of Understanding between the university and other partners, compliance and correspondences with the National Council for Higher Education, verification of academic documents, organizing and recording senate matters, verifying staff teaching load and coordinating academic activities, among others.

During his time away from UCU, Tibakuno engages in legal work at Denis Nyombi & Co. Advocates, located in Mukono town. This is where he spends much of his time over the weekends.

Just like anyone else, he experiences some frustrations about his work.

“Some cases take too long to be resolved in the courts of law while some people sometimes expect to receive an inducement in order to do what is required of them,” he said.

He noted that some clients who seek legal services get pushed away by the character of the officers who ask for bribes, referring to it as facilitation.

Born in the eastern Uganda district of Bugweri, Tibakuno is the fifth of the eight children of Omar Tibakuno and Monica Naikoba Tibakuno. He says his humble and God-fearing background has impacted who he is today.

“I take pride in service and extending justice to the needy on either pro bono basis or at a small fee,” he said.

From Namalemba Boarding Primary School in Busembatya, Tibakuno joined Bukoyo Secondary School in the neighbouring Iganga district for O’level. For A’level, he attended Kyambogo College School in Kampala before joining UCU for his bachelor’s degree. In both Kyambogo and UCU, Tibakuno was among the student leaders.

He noted that UCU molded him into a prayerful person and that the institution was able to inculcate in him virtues of time keeping, honesty and stewardship.

Christa K. Oluka, the Director of Admissions and Student Records, says Tibakuno is a cheerful employee who is passionate about his work.

“I believe many people will be accorded justice, now that Tibakuno has been enrolled as an advocate of the High Court of Uganda,” Oluka said.

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UCU law alum determined to be ‘a vessel for honorable use’

August 13, 2021News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

Edgar LDC: Ayebazibwe in his robes for lawyers

By Joseph Lagen
In Senior Five, and while studying history, Edgar Ayebazibwe observed that most change makers were lawyers or academics. He wasn’t crazy about criminal law, but wanted to be part of change, so he chose law.

Along that path, the now 25-year-old with a Uganda Christian University (UCU) Bachelor of Laws degree chose excellence over average. When Ayebazibwe graduated with a Diploma in Legal Practice at Uganda’s Law Development Centre (LDC) on June 11, 2021, he was among the 10% of the students who made it to the finish line in a class that registered one of the highest failure rates at the centre. To practice law in Uganda, lawyers must obtain a Diploma in Legal Practice from LDC after their law degree.

Ayebazibwe completed the course with a distinction, earning him a meritorious award – the Director of Public Prosecutions Prize – from the LDC.

Edgar-Ayebazibwe: Ayebazibwe completed his course at LDC with a distinction, earning him a meritorious award

Ironically, during the LDC graduation, he was awarded for excelling in Criminal Procedure, despite his disinterest in the field. He says as a Christian, he will find it difficult defending criminals because, oftentimes, they want a court of law, and not a court of justice.

He says part of his life principles are summarised in 2 Timothy 2:21: “If anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonourable, he will be a vessel for honourable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

Ayebazibwe was born in a God-fearing family. In 2007, while in Primary Six at Bweranyangi Junior School in Bushenyi, he says he made a personal commitment to follow Christ. This decision would determine several of his life’s choices, including his career.

He attributes his success in the nine-month Diploma in Legal Practice course to the lessons learned and the training received at UCU. He is already part of KTA Advocates, a Kampala-based law firm, where he hopes to pursue issues related to intellectual property, technology and commercial law.

As a Junior Associate at KTA, Ayebazibwe intends to dedicate his career to creating the much-needed reform in Uganda’s technology law.

“Our country has registered a higher uptake in internet usage in the recent past,” the son of Jackson and Jessica Muhwezi says, adding: “Sadly, our laws aren’t evolving at the same pace. For instance, we lack laws to govern drones (unmanned vehicles and devices) and virtual assets, such as crypto-currency.”

He says he would be honoured to be part of the team to cause the much-needed change.

Ayebazibwe attributes his dislike for advances in criminal justice to his grooming at UCU. “UCU is held in high regard for putting emphasis on ethics and integrity.”

He says the study environment at LDC was not any different from what he experienced at UCU – both are full-time, with intensive reading that are intentional about quality and application of legal knowledge.

He also credits his success to the ability to multi-task, something he acquired from juggling academics and leadership while at the university. Ayebazibwe held several roles during his four years at UCU, including the speaker of the students’ guild government.

At LDC, Ayebazibwe says he was part of a supportive and motivational discussion group that spent sleepless nights reading cases and discussing group work.

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UCU law student, activist and beauty queen says HIV does not define her

August 11, 2021News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

A campaign poster of Gloria Nawanyaga, when she was contesting in a beauty pageant in 2019. Courtesy.

By Israel Kisakye and Jimmy Siyasa
How will I deal with stigma and community negativity? What will my life be like with the side effects of taking antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for the rest of my life? These were among the questions Gloria Nawanyaga was confronted with when she discovered that she was HIV-positive. She was 11 years old.

Nawanyaga said that when her mother initially gave her the ARVs, she did not know why she was taking them. When awareness set in that she had HIV, she felt dejected, depressed and hopeless. Her self-esteem was crushed and bitterness grew. Her mother had introduced her to an organization that brings together children living with HIV, but she still suffered self-rejection.

Gloria Nawanyaga, renowned HIV and Human Rights activist. Courtesy.

She feared for the worst if her classmates found out the truth. She took the drugs secretly. When it wasn’t possible to take them in hiding, she skipped the medication for that day. Because of the inconsistency, sometimes her condition got worse.

However, at some point, the adversity served to make Nawanyaga stronger. She picked up the pieces and used them to build a formidable firewall against her scorners.

As a result of her rise in popularity, she was elected the head prefect while in secondary school, at St. Charles Lwanga International, Kakiri, located in central Uganda. As a students’ leader, she spearheaded a campaign for freedom of worship that saw Scripture Union established within the Catholic-founded school.

Not long after, Nawanyaga got involved in campaigns against stigma among people living with HIV. And hers is now a face of HIV and human rights advocacy in Kampala. The 23-year-old works as the Communications and Advocacy Officer at Peer-to-Peer Uganda, a not-for-profit organisation that empowers young people in rural Uganda.

To be molded for the advocacy role, Nawanyaga chose to study a Bachelor of Laws at Uganda Christian University (UCU). With her role at Peer-to-Peer, she is able to engage in debates with relevant stakeholders to influence HIV policy.

In June 2021, she was on national television beseeching authorities to prioritize Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV) during the government’s COVID-19 response activities because of their vulnerability.

“We need the Ugandan government to prioritize PLHIVs in the vaccination for COVID-19 because our immune system is already weak,” she said.

In 2019, she competed for the Miss Uganda Beauty Contest. Although she missed the top prize Nawanyaga was crowned the Miss Rising Woman for 2019/2020 at the beauty pageant.

Initially, many people found her participation preposterous and controversial. But she was unrelenting, and her efforts paid off. She walked home with a crown.

“I wanted to inspire fellow PLHIVs,” she said. “I also wanted to reach out to as many people as possible and urge them get to know their HIV status; for those who are negative, to keep themselves safe because it is not easy living with HIV.”

That advocacy has not stopped. Nawanyaga takes advantage of her presence on social media to further the sensitization.

In 2019, she started a music band, Y+, which had 15 youths, all living with HIV. They do community outreaches and also raise funds for the savings group that the band formed. The members can borrow money from their pool of savings to start income-generating activities.

She said she had learned a lesson from an unfortunate incident that happened to her family in 2017. Her father, who had been the bread winner in the family, died. Her mother then had to resort to bank loans, to finance Nawanyaga’s law degree course at UCU.

But Nawanyaga could not just look on. She says she decided to take up a day job, in order to cater for her daily living costs at the university, hence reducing the burden on her mother. From that experience, she learned the importance of belonging to a savings group.

Nawanyaga has shown that when there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can surely do no harm.

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Uganda’s star law student unpacks her secrets to excellence

August 10, 2021News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

Gloria Wanyenze was the best student in Trial Advocacy in the June 2021 LDC graduation. Courtesy photo.

By Jimmy Siyasa
Best Student in Trial Advocacy, read the accolade that Gloria Wanyenze took home on June 6, 2021. Wanyenze hit the target of excellence.

Wanyenze had graduated from Uganda’s Law Development Centre (LDC), with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice. To practice law in Uganda, lawyers must obtain a Diploma in Legal Practice from LDC after the law degree. What was even more special for Wanyenze was that she was part of a student cohort whose members had gritted their teeth and made it through bruising final exams that had a 90% failure rate.

Frank Nigel Othembi, the LDC director, attributed the high failure rate to student newness to on-line study during the Covid-19 lockdown.

However, he also attributed lack of academic success to the abolition of pre-entry examinations into the centre. Previously, LDC had been conducting pre-entry exams for students who want to pursue the Diploma in Legal Practice, which was not the case with Wanyenze’s class.

And the level of pride that Wanyenze has earned her family, to her, is higher than the accolade she walked home with from LDC.

“I am the first LLB (Bachelor of Laws degree) graduate in my family,” Wanyenze, who graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree at Uganda Christian University in 2019, remarks.

She says from the day she informed her family that she wanted to pursue a degree in law, they were supportive.

“My family encouraged me, guided me and pointed out the areas I needed to be strong in, as well as the areas where I needed growth,” she says, adding: “They supported my decision to study at UCU and funded that choice.”

Wanyenze has always wanted to be identified as a problem-solver. It is an element that gave her an edge in Trial Advocacy, the course unit in which she topped her class. In Trial Advocacy, one learns the skills necessary to make a case for those they represent. It happened that the tests for that particular course unit coincided with another field of law that Wanyeze is passionate about – Corporate Law.

She believes UCU had a hand in her exceptional performance at the LDC.

“UCU goes beyond teaching law – or any other profession,” she said. “It adds ethics and a Christian approach to every course of study that not only makes us more well-rounded, but also diligent.”

She says the university instilled in her the requisite skills, helped to trigger the virtue of integrity in her, as well as enhanced her Christian leadership skills.

Wanyenze also attributes her excellence to diligence and commitment.

“When you are at LDC, there are days you are amazed at your capability and there are days you are questioning it,” she says, adding: “But what will make the difference is your ability to put in the effort required.”

She says she also ensured she belonged to a discussion group, where they would take turns to talk about cases.

Now that she has qualified to practice law in Uganda, Wanyenze awaits the Uganda Law Council to enroll her as an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda so she can represent clients in court. As she waits to be enrolled, Wanyenze will concentrate on her role as a Legal Assistant at Crystal Advocates, a law firm in Kampala.

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UCU alumnus puts smiles on faces through interior art

August 4, 2021News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of EducationPatty Huston-Holm

Nasasira fixes a board ceiling during a renovation at client's residence — Nasasira fixes a board ceiling during a renovation at client’s residence

By Emmanuel Kizaale
Kareem Nasasira’s ability to beautifully work with granite, paint, wood, marble and board is striking. He does not just throw his energy willy-nilly. The level of concentration he puts in the art he is developing is usually seen in the quality of work he puts out.

Perhaps, that explains his choice to concentrate on interior art. Despite his finesse in many fields, gypsum walls and ceilings seem to be his calling. And he creates them with so much ease, giving out exquisite results.

The 24-year-old says he always cultivates a relationship with whatever art he is engaging with. “I have loved art since I was a child. Even when I am on a break, I just love to sit down and draw sketches of things, just anything,” he says.

The idea of venturing into interior design has been in Nasasira’s mind since secondary school at Namirembe Hillside High School in Kampala. His gratification comes from the smiles on people’s faces.

Little wonder that in 2017, he chose to pursue the Bachelor of Industrial and Fine Art at Uganda Christian University (UCU). He felt it was the only way to give his God-given talent a professional training.

A room designed by Nasasira's interior design company, Nas Interiors — A room designed by Nasasira’s interior design company, Nas Interiors

“When I was still at UCU, we used to go to other universities to attend exhibitions, and I discovered that the kind of art that was being taught in many universities was limited in scope,” Nasasira says. “UCU gives you a variety and it is up to you to choose where your passion lies.”

According to Nasasira, UCU offered choices in ceramics, sculpture, pottery, fabric and several others. “So, the options gave me an avenue to explore and understand where my strength was,” he says.

Now that he had chosen interior design, how would he launch himself into the self-employment world without any startup capital? Nasasira was battling with finding answers to that question. It kept him awake at night.

One particular sleepless night in his second year of studies, he determined to save some of his money he had to live as a student. Since he now had limited time, as well as money to save, Nasasira made a drastic decision to spend only 20% of the pocket money he was given. The rest went into the penny bank.

Kareem Nasasira on duty at a client's residence — Kareem Nasasira on duty at a client’s residence

When he completed his course, Nasasira had his work cut out. He had to buy the essential equipment he needed for the kind of art work he felt he was industrially ready for. That is how Nas Interiors company, the brainchild of Nasasira was born.

The company employs four other youth who work as electrician, painter, carpenter and fixer. He, however, dreams of employing more, when his business portfolio grows.

Nasasira was never afraid to jump in at the deep end as he launched his business. It was around the time when the whole world was shutting down to limit the devastating effects of the Covid-19.

And businesses were folding as a result of the lockdowns.

But he is grateful to the friends he made as a student. It is through their referrals that he has been able to keep in business.

“You come to UCU as strangers at the beginning of the course but, at the end, you leave as a family,” he said, as he enumerated the many people who have helped to advertise for him his business.

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Mixing work with studies: Muwanguzi scales music heights

August 2, 2021News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Muwanguzi during an exclusive interview on Spirit TV

(NOTE: This story contains hyperlinks to original music, including one dedicated to God, from a UCU student.)

By Nickie Karitas
Uganda Christian University (UCU) student Enock Muwanguzi is no Henry David Thoreau. In fact, Muwanguzi may not even be aware that Thoreau, an American poet, essayist and philosopher, ever lived.

However, the way the Ugandan gospel singer has lived his life in the recent past brings to mind Thoreau’s famous quote about music: “When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest of times, and to the latest.”

Indeed, at one point, Muwanguzi feared no danger because he had heard music. One afternoon, he precariously chose the option of making time to grant a TV interview to a media house in Uganda, instead of sitting a test at UCU.

“I knew the consequences of my actions, but this was an opportunity to promote myself on a big media house,” the third-year student of Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication says.

He said he chose the media interview over the class test because in class, there was the option of a retake the next time the course was offered. With the media interview, he was not sure he would ever get another opportunity.

He felt safe with the decision he had made. Muwanguzi thought he was invulnerable. However, he soon learned his lessons the hard way, after realizing that his actions could throw his grades off balance.

“The retake got me back in line, and I had to prioritize my degree,” the 23-year-old says. From then on, when it came to the business of studies, Muwanguzi had to mean that business.

With the pile of course work, projects and examinations, Muwanguzi says he sometimes had sleepless nights, trying to make a decision on whether it was worth it to load himself with studies, as well as a music career.

Handling the two concurrently seemed to take a heavy toll on him. But he quickly found an answer.

“Trust in God.” He believed that God could not give him a load too heavy for him to carry.

“It was at this point that I recorded my song, titled Trust,” he narrates.

Muwanguzi during one of his stage performances.

As Thoreau says, Muwanguzi seemed to see no foe when he heard music. During his Senior Six holidays, as he awaited admission into university, Muwanguzi often accompanied gospel artist friends to the studios to record their songs.

“Each time I was in the studio, I felt I had made it to the stage,” he recalls.

On one of his journeys to the studio to accompany his friends, he befriended a producer, Sam Ssemwogerere, who eventually gave Muwanguzi a chance to record his first song. He could not believe the opportunity that he had just landed. As a result, Muwanguzi composed a song Nze Ani? which means Who am I? He dedicated that song to God, for giving him an opportunity to record his maiden song.

Now that he had recorded songs, Muwanguzi had to promote them. “I had used up all the money for upkeep to solve some financial challenges I had,” Muwanguzi says, noting that, as a result, he could not finance the promotion of his songs.

However, Ssemwogerere was, once again, to the rescue. He says because Ssemwogerere had seen talent in him, he helped to share his music with people who had platforms to play it, so that Muwanguzi could get recognition. All this, Muwanguzi says, Ssemwogerere did for free. The goodwill that Ssemwogerere exhibited inspired Muwanguzi’s song, Onyambanga, (help me always) beseeching God to always help him.

Muwanguzi has been featured on several media platforms to grant interviews about his career and how he balances books and music.

Muwanguzi’s friend and classmate, Brian Kintu, attests to his conscientiousness: “The fact that Spid has managed to balance his course and music proves his hard work and passion.” Muwanguzi’s stage name, Spid, is derived from his amusement by the ‘speed’ at which God attends to his needs. His latest songs – Mukono Gwo and Enjegerre – are slowly gaining popularity in Uganda.

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