Category Archives: News

Simon Mwima, recipient of a merit-based PhD scholarship at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

UCU’s Mwima has life molded by pain and pen

News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Business, UCU School of Social Sciences


Simon Mwima, recipient of a merit-based PhD scholarship at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Simon Mwima, recipient of a merit-based PhD scholarship at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Story and photos by Jimmy Siyasa
Two tragedies occurred in the early life of Simon Mwima. One, he lost his sister to AIDS. Two, the son of his departed sister succumbed to the same scourge. Those two deaths left an indelible mark on Mwima that later determined his career path.

“Due to structural and institutional barriers, poverty and stigma, my sister, Alice, could not access the care that she needed, leading to her death,” he said.

After watching his sister and nephew die helplessly, he made it a mission to fight against HIV and AIDS. And he is now a medical social worker, as well as an academic at Uganda Christian University (UCU). 

Mwima recently won a four-year, merit-based scholarship worth $70,000, including tuition and stipend, with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s School of Social Work. According to the Times Higher Education world university rankings, the university ranks number 48.  

The offer did not come on a silver platter for the 36-year-old who is the first person to pursue a PhD program in his family. 

“I applied to five PhD programs and I must thank God that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was impressed with my academic credentials and my research interests,” he said.

Looking back at the path of material scarcity that Mwima has trodden since his birth in the eastern Uganda district of Budaka, he cannot be more grateful for where he is now. 

Simon Mwima working in the UCU Department of Social Work and Social Administration staff boardroom
Simon Mwima working in the UCU Department of Social Work and Social Administration staff boardroom

Mwima also earns his daily bread working for the Ugandan government in the health ministry. He has been a medical social worker for the National AIDS Control Program since 2016. A celebrated national trainer for the Ministry of Health, Mwima has so far educated over 500 social workers, as well as spearheading various HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns.

He is a cog in the wheel of the COVID-19 Mental and Psychological National Taskforce. Here, Mwima has contributed to the development of the national psychosocial plan for COVID-19, as well as serving as a social epidemiologist.

Mwima, a son of retired primary teachers, Simon and Agnes Mukubba, previously worked as a clinical social worker at the Mulago Most At Risk Initiative (MARPI) clinic in Kampala. At the clinic, he managed cases of vulnerable adolescents. He is a research fellow for the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) implementation program, a new HIV prevention intervention. 

He holds two master’s degrees – the first in public health, from Lund University in Sweden (2015) and in sociology (2020), from Makerere University. His undergraduate degree, which he obtained in 2009 at Makerere University, was in sociology. 

When one knows what they are doing, they will not need to chase after opportunities. Opportunities will instead chase after them. Indeed, prospects sought Mwima, for him to start teaching at UCU.

Five years ago, he was invited to the university as a guest speaker. Kasule Kibirige, Mwima’s head of department at UCU, said the guest lecture excelled that they were left with no option but to ask him to join the institution. And he said yes to the proposal. 

From then, Mwima has been lecturing in sociology, anthropology and social works. He also supervises students conducting research at both undergraduate and master’s level at the institution.

“He is quite resourceful. He has come to the department with a wealth of practice experience because of his work and rich networks from the Ministry of Health and its partners,” Kibirige said. 

As a result, Kibirige said, Mwima took into the department consultancy work that has “helped advance some of our interests in the external world, as a department.”

Mwima considers his employment at UCU a blessing because it has offered him opportunity to translate knowledge through lecturing, an experience he believes has afforded him friendships with fellow academics and students. 

The teaching job also came in handy during his PhD application. 

“The teaching experience is critical and matters while PhD programs are assessing applications for admission,” he says. Mwima intends to invest plenty of his post-PhD time conducting research to inform sexual health policy and practice. 

Fiona Niyijena, a third-year student of Bachelors of Social Work and Social Administration at UCU said of Mwima: “He is an understanding lecturer. He often shared with us his personal story and encouraged us to pursue further studies. I look forward to pursuing a master’s course.” 

Dustan Katabalwa, another student, said Mwima gives them audience when they have issues they want to share with him.  

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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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Emilly Comfort Maractho, new Africa Policy Center Director

UCU’s new Director for Africa Policy Center narrates journey

Faculty, News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication


Emilly Comfort Maractho, new Africa Policy Center Director
Emilly Comfort Maractho, new Africa Policy Center Director

By Yasiri J Kasango
In 2012, two key things happened in the life of Emilly Comfort Maractho. 

One, she realised she was not going to benefit much from a master’s course she had enrolled into. Her sixth sense told her to change courses. She obliged.

The second thing to happen was that Maractho received communication from someone she had never met. Prof. Monica Chibita of Uganda Christian University (UCU) was convincing her to take up a PhD scholarship opportunity after completing a master’s course she was pursuing in Kenya. This communication was followed by Chibita’s physical visit to Maractho. 

When she met Chibita in Kenya, Maractho had only one option – to give the greenlight. Her positive response on both occasions have a bearing on who Maractho is today. The holder of a PhD in Journalism and Communication from South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal is UCU’s newly appointed Director for the Africa Policy Center (APC). The APC, initiated by American Lawrence Adams, is the university’s center that grooms policy researchers and political thinkers and provides a platform for learning and discussion of modern-day issues. 

Maractho’s switch from MA in development communication to MA in development journalism at Kenya’s Daystar University in 2012 was premised on the belief that she was not learning anything new in the communication course. This was her second master’s degree course. Five years before, she had attained Master of Arts in Development Studies at the Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi.

After bagging her second master’s at Daystar University, Maractho headed to the University of KwaZulu-Natal for her doctorate, sponsored by UCU, under a capacity building scheme for staff.

No sooner had she graduated with a PhD than she was, in 2018, named the head of UCU’s Department of Journalism and Media Studies, replacing Chibita, who had been promoted to the position of Dean in the Faculty of Journalism, Media and Communication, which had just been created. 

For 13 years, Dr. Maractho has lectured at UCU, starting out with teaching development studies before switching to journalism. And she says she is not about to call it quits. 

Maractho is not a sleeping scholar. The result of her efforts was the introduction of new course units in the department, such as Journalism and Political Communication, Economics and Business Journalism, Media, Gender and Social Justice. The new curriculum that Maractho masterminded was a direct response to the requirement by government regulator, the National Council for Higher Education, that institutions review their curriculum after every three years. 

She also often participates in debate and writes on public and social issues afflicting society. One such platform is the Daily Monitor newspaper, where she currently has a weekly column. In one of her recent articles, Maractho made a case for a national policy on public-private partnerships in the health sector, so as to ensure they complement public service.

Maractho hopes that the Africa Policy Centre will grow into a center that public policy actors will look to for alternative policy positions and still serve the university community. “My plan is to expand the centre’s reach and increase its relevance in research and policy engagement,” she notes.

Family background
Maractho was raised in Nebbi district in northern Uganda. She says in her community, education is not highly valued. Therefore, she did not have many people to look up to for inspiration. 

Maractho studied at Muni Girls Secondary School and Mvara Secondary School, both in north-western Uganda. At Mvara, where she had her A’level, the headteacher had tried to convince Maractho to study science subjects but she was not one you could easily dissuade from her goal – she wanted to be a communicator, so the natural choice were arts subjects.  

Maractho overlooked many challenges on her way to academic achievement, including financial constraints in the family and being raised by a single mother – Philemona Kapacho who was a civil servant. 

Maractho had intended to pursue either a Bachelor’s of Law or Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication, but the funds to meet the tuition requirements were not available. As such, she settled for Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies at Makerere University. 

She would later become the first woman in her family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree, to the joy of Kapacho. 

“My degree was disheartening because I was the first girl to graduate from my community, yet there are families where everyone has graduated with a doctorate,” she says. 

After her university education, Maractho worked briefly with The West Niler, a local newspaper based in north-western Uganda. She was later employed by the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) as a billing officer while still keeping her job at the West Niler. 

In 2004, when she was persuaded to teach at Makerere University, Maractho dropped the West Niler job, but maintained the one at UEDCL. In 2007, she resigned from UEDCL to fully concentrate on sharing knowledge at Makerere University, before later switching to UCU. 

We wait to see how Maractho’s innovative mind will lead the university’s Africa Policy Centre.

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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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John Livingstone Mutyaba on Lake Victoria, doing his research

Economic solution to something fishy in Uganda

Faculty, Faculty of Engineering, Design & Technology, News


John Livingstone Mutyaba on Lake Victoria, doing his research
John Livingstone Mutyaba on Lake Victoria, doing his research

(This story is supplemented with two short videos created by students at Uganda Christian University. The lead developer is final-year journalism student Jimmy Siyasa. The videos on cage fish farming and voices of farmers about fishing challenges around Lake Victoria are on the Uganda Partners YouTube page.)

By Patty Huston-Holm
John Livingstone Mutyaba is not a fisherman. He’s never baited a hook on a line, cast a net or set up a cage.

But he knows a lot about fishing.  So much so that the lecturer in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Uganda Christian University (UCU) is increasingly being acknowledged for his research on the topic – specifically about “the economic analysis of raising fish in cages in Uganda,” a case study in Lake Victoria waters.

Livingstone’s explanation for his lack of practical experience is simple.

He doesn’t have the time. He has all the knowledge required for cage fish farming business but a schedule packed with family, with teaching and with his own learning and research towards a doctoral degree. Plus, he has no desire to die. He worries about the careless capture fishermen who use very tiny boats and with no swimming skills and no life jackets in Lake Victoria waters that can be up to 276 feet deep.

“This is a very serious risk; no wonder there are many drowning cases these days,” he said. “To make matters worse, the majority go into waters when they are drunk.”

Capture fishing (with a net) is the most practiced activity in the fishery dependent communities in Uganda. Current statistics show that almost 99% of the people living in the fishing communities derive their livelihoods capture fishing and also use heavy alcoholic beverages and small non-motorized handmade boats.

Livingstone’s growing expertise is likewise easy to explain.

He has subject matter knowledge in agriculture, the economy, education, research and planning.  Livingstone, who is the only agricultural economist at UCU, is a testament to understanding how various academic disciplines intersect.  He uses information from multiple specialties in his Egerton University (Kenya) doctoral research focused on cage fish farming technologies.

The research, entitled “Effect of Information Links and Flow through Social Networks on Smallholder Farmers’ Awareness and Adoption of Cage Fish Technologies in Uganda,” involves new institutional economics, resource economics, social science and aquaculture.  While still working on chapter four (discussing results) for what will be a minimum 200-page thesis, Livingstone spoke via Zoom in late May, giving a sneak peak of his findings.

John Livingstone Mutyaba with his wife and daughter
John Livingstone Mutyaba with his wife and daughter

Regarding economics, Uganda could make more money in its fishing industry if the country took a lesson from the playbook of China, which is the world’s biggest fish producer. Uganda is geographically only 2.5% the size of China so the volume would never be as great, but water from such lakes as Victoria, Albert, Edward and George covers 18% of the country’s surface. With better planning and implementing cage fish farming technologies, Ugandans would improve their economic standing and reputation for quality fish.

“Are you sure you want to eat fish that comes from China?” Livingstone queried with a chuckle. He referenced China’s seafood that has been under repeated scrutiny for chemical additions that violate safety regulations. He added that with cleaner water and neutral pH levels of Lake Victoria waters, “Our fish tastes better, is better for you and is very unique in the world.”

Regarding societal relationships, Livingstone has found that most women and younger people in Uganda quickly embrace new ways of doing things, namely raising fish in cage technologies instead of capture fishing, while older men are reluctant to give up their traditional capture fishing lifestyle.

“Wives have a better understanding of what is needed to support their families,” Livingstone said. “The men come in during the selling process but often take the money for themselves. . . or destroy or steal from somebody’s cage.” Fortunately, he added, the Ugandan enforcement of laws for theft and destruction is more frequent to deter these incidences.

Livingstone is building expertise in aquaculture, which refers to raising fish in either earthen ponds or cage units submersed in natural water bodies. His father, who initially nudged him to follow in his coffee farm footsteps in Zirobwe Sub-county, Luwero District, now understands his son’s chosen career path. The father of nine children saw his son, John, going another direction when witnessing years ago the young boy’s excitement and curiosity after visiting Uganda’s first hydro power generation station at River Nile, Jinja.

Curiosity, Livingstone has found, can be a stronger driver to success than prior knowledge or expectations. One early suggestion for his research was indigenous vegetables, which, he said, “held no interest.” Dr. Richard Ogutu-Ohwayo of the National Fisheries Institute gave perhaps the best advice – to research something never researched.

“I recalled first seeing cage fishing promoted in 2010,” Livingstone said. “What I didn’t know then fascinated me as much as what I now know.”   

Once learned, catching fish in a mesh enclosure is a more reliable method than net casting. Tilapia, which is Livingstone’s favorite to eat followed by catfish, is the most common in Uganda. (Nile perch, according to Livingstone, is equally tasty but the smell lingers on your body for hours.)

As with all good researchers, the more he knows, the more Livingstone wants to know. Among his many mentors and influencers is Thomas Gurley, a former UCU Fulbright Scholar and a research and development director at Aerop Development. With Gurley, now living in South Carolina, the project was on land, focusing on tomatoes. Other projects have involved cassava and livestock, namely cows. 

Since completing Bishop Senior School (Mukono) and through studies at Bukalasa National Agricultural College, Martyrs University and now Egerton, Livingstone has found learning fascinating. 

While Livingstone’s thirst for knowledge will delightfully continue throughout his lifetime, his wife, Sarah, a teacher, pastor and UCU graduate; and teenage daughter, Katrina, hope his PhD part of learning will be realized by the end of this year. With his time doing research and four classes to teach, he has little time for family. 

Virtual teaching, expanded due to Covid lockdown regulations, has been a challenge for teachers and students. For his undergraduate and post-graduate students in environmental economics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, resource economics, project planning/management and environmental analysis, there is the issue of paying for their own Internet data, which is costly. As a lecturer, I also feel the hardship in buying Internet bundles, and even though his classes number half of what the, pre-covid-lockdown, in-person enrollment was, content understanding is difficult to discern without the face-to-face feedback.  

At that, Livingstone says that learning and research should be more than about grades and degree attainment. 

“I hope what I have informs policymakers, maybe even to provide incentives for the more economical cage fishing,” he said. “I hope that my engagement changes the traditional fishing mindset of some locals…that they can see the added market value not just locally but for loading onto trucks to Kenya, the Congo, South Sudan and even exported to the UK.”

Within Livingstone’s hectic schedule and ambitions, God is ever present, he said, quoting his favorite scripture from Joshua 1, verse 5: No one will be able to stand up against you, all the days of your life…I will never leave you not forsake you.

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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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Students carry food packs donated by the UCU Chaplaincy.

UCU chaplaincy donates food to hostel-stranded students

Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, COVID-19, News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Law


Students carry food packs donated by the UCU Chaplaincy.
Students carry food packs donated by the UCU Chaplaincy.

By Yasiri J. Kasango
The office of the chaplain at Uganda Christian University (UCU) recently donated food to students that the latest government-order covid lockdown has stranded in hostels around the institution.

Each student received a food pack containing beans, sugar, maize flour, salt and soap. A pack was valued at sh23,000 (about $6.5).

“When we got a report about students who are stranded in hostels and in need of food, the chapel council raised some money to help them out,” the chaplain, the Rev. Eng. Paul Wasswa, said.

Uganda on June 7 closed all schools and institutions of higher learning following increase in the positivity rate among the Covid-19 tests that were being done. Uganda is currently in the second wave of Covid-19.

Two weeks later, the country’s President, Yoweri Museveni, announced a 42-day lockdown, banning the movement of vehicles. Only vehicles belonging to categories of people government considered essential workers, such as the media, medical personnel, workers at construction sites and in factories, and trucks delivering goods, among others, were issued with travel permits.

The development meant that the students who were caught up in hostels had to stay there until the lockdown terminates at the end of July. However, in mid-July, it was not yet clear whether government will lift the lockdown after the 42 days. Government has said the positivity rate in the Covid-19 tests dropped from 18% when the lockdown was instituted to 10% a month later.

For the donation that was handed to the students, the chapel council raised sh1m (about $280) towards purchasing the food items. A total of 54 students benefitted from the generosity. The beneficiaries were identified by the UCU deputy guild minister for religious affairs, the Rev. Benson Amanya.

A recent UCU guild government survey indicated that there are at least 200 national and international students stranded in hostels.

Amanya said the needy students were identified through the coordination of class representatives. 

“When a class representative recommends a needy student, we interrogate them about the student. Their response would help to identify whether the student was actually in need of food,” Amanya said.

“I am grateful for the support rendered to us,” Edith Joseph from South Sudan said. “We are going through a hard time in the hostels.” 

David Kisakye, a final-year student pursuing the Bachelor of Laws at UCU, commended the chaplain’s office for the initiative. “Receiving some food, although little, is better than nothing,” he said.

The Rev. Wasswa acknowledged that the food relief given to students could not sustain them until the end of the lockdown and, therefore, called upon other well-wishers to donate more food to the students. He also asked students who may be in need of counselling to approach his office. 

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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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Charlotte Mbabazi attends to a customer in her shop on Wandegeya-Bugujju Road.

UCU recent education alumna shows resilience in covid lockdown times

News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Business, UCU School of Education


Charlotte Mbabazi attends to a customer in her shop on Wandegeya-Bugujju Road.
Charlotte Mbabazi attends to a customer in her shop on Wandegeya-Bugujju Road.

Story and Photos by Michael Kisekka
Fiercely independent, Charlotte Mbabazi disliked depending on her parents. For that not to happen, she started saving part of the pocket money that her parents gave her while a student at Uganda Christian University (UCU). Those savings became a pillar for her livelihood after school.

At the time Mbabazi graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Education degree in 2020, just like everyone else, she had not anticipated a lockdown due to the devastating effects of Covid-19. The lockdown meant she could not get a school to teach since schools had been shut in Uganda.

The 25-year-old, however, had a fall back plan.  It was the sh5m (about $1,300) that she had saved while at UCU. She had the money, but no idea where to invest it. After some thinking, she started a retail shop. Everything was on standstill at the time, but people still needed groceries. So, she thought the answer would be a grocery shop. The location was on the Wandegeya-Bugujju road, adjacent to UCU. She used the sh5m to pay rent, renovate the shop and purchase the groceries to sell.

At the time, businesses were folding because of the impact of the lockdown in Uganda. She did not tell her parents as she set up the business for two reasons: 1) She hadn’t shared that she was saving their money; and 2) selling groceries was considered something for the lowly educated. In fact, Mbabazi’s peers often mocked her about her choice of business. 

“People will always talk, regardless of what you do,” Mbabazi said. “But you have to remain focused and aim at achieving your goal.”

Mary, Charlotte’s sister, in the shop
Mary, Charlotte’s sister, in the shop

When she eventually broke the news to her parents, she said they were more than delighted. In fact, they even supported her with more capital to increase her stock in the shop.

As with all businesses, Mbabazi’s, too, was not short of challenges. She said she faced competition in the business, especially given the fact that she was just a beginner. Eventually when she opened the shop, Mbabazi worked on all days of the week, exposing her to burnout. However, her never-give-up attitude kept her afloat. She soon found ways to work around the obstacles. 

“I had to find out how people who owned retail shops around me operated their businesses and how they sold their commodities,” she said.  “I also found time to interact with customers, which gave me opportunity to get direct feedback and improve on how to handle the customers.”

When everyone at her home became aware of her new business, Mbabazi enlisted the services of her younger sister, Mary, with whom they would keep the shop in turns, so she gets some rest days. In effect, she feels the training she is giving her sister will be helpful if her sibling chooses to take that path one day.

Mbabazi says she has been able to manage her own finances, which has enabled the grocery shop to celebrate its first birthday. With the business, she has also been able to manage her own finances, thus reducing the financial burden on her parents. Being self-employed is something she always dreamt about; she is glad that her business is growing slowly and steadily. 

In fact, Mbabazi has applied to pursue the Master of Human Resource Management at UCU and she hopes to meet the tuition requirements from the proceeds from the business.

While an undergraduate student at UCU, Mbabazi contested for the position of the Guild President, but lost. Even with the loss, she believes she learned invaluable lessons in the campaigns, which she hopes to put into practice in the near future as she seeks an elective office in the country. 

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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

Also, follow us on, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

The Archbishop, His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu (left), receives donation from UCU student leaders, led by Guild President Kenneth Amponda (right). Behind them is Vice-Chancellor Aaron Mushengyezi.

UCU contributes over $31,000 towards Church House

Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, News, Students, UCU Alumni


The Archbishop, His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu (left), receives donation from UCU student leaders, led by Guild President Kenneth Amponda (right). Behind them is Vice-Chancellor Aaron Mushengyezi.
The Archbishop, His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu (left), receives donation from UCU student leaders, led by Guild President Kenneth Amponda (right). Behind them is Vice-Chancellor Aaron Mushengyezi.

By Yasiri J Kasango
A recent act by Uganda Christian University (UCU) is a reminder that when people are protecting something dear to them, they will defend it in spite of adversity. While digging into pockets was ever harder during the most-recent Uganda Covid lockdown, dig is what UCU did – for the church. 

Church of Uganda Archbishop Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu was recently at the UCU main campus during a visit as part of his duties as the chancellor of the university. That is when he was welcomed with a donation of about sh111m (about $31,000) towards the Church House project.

The donation, which was from the institution, its staff and student leaders, went towards clearing the sh60b (about $17m) debt that the Church incurred while constructing the commercial complex located in the heart of Kampala in Uganda.

Of the money that was handed to the archbishop, sh100m (about $28,380) was a donation from the university while the rest was collected from members of the University Council, the staff members as well as student leaders.

The university’s staff members used their social groupings – Christ centeredness, diligence, stewardship, integrity and servanthood – to collect the money. The social groupings are built on the institution’s core values of “a complete education for a complete person.”

Christ centeredness contributed sh2.8m (about $810), integrity sh2.2m (about $630), stewardship  sh1.3m (about $380), diligence sh460,000 (about $130) and servanthood sh420,000 (about $120).

The University Council members contributed sh2m (about $580) which they cut from their sitting allowance. The student leaders, under the Guild Government, donated sh1m (about $280).

Kaziimba thanked the university and its staff for the generosity, imploring other Christians to own the project by contributing towards clearing of the debt.

Kaziimba said the building is not fully occupied, with 13 floors lacking tenants. He said the church would advertise calling for tenants for the remaining space, to attract tenants.

In 2010, the Anglican Church, through its business arm, the Church Commissioners Holding Company Limited, secured a sh41b (about $15m) loan from Equity Bank to fund the construction of the commercial complex, the Church House. However, the Church faced challenges in repaying the loan, attributing it partly to the Covid-19 lockdowns.

On June 3, during the Uganda Martyrs Day celebrations, Archbishop Kaziimba launched “Yes, We Can! Yes, we can raise sh60b (about $17m) from one million people.” During the event, he asked individuals and institutions to contribute to the cause.

The idea of constructing the Church House was conceived by Janani Luwum, who was the archbishop from 1974 to 1977. Luwum was in February 1977 arrested and later died in what many believed was murder by the Ugandan regime at the time.

Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo later reignited the idea of the Church House project as a real estate when he was the archbishop from 1995 to 2004. Over sh720m (about $204,500) was collected, but it was not enough to start the project.

In 2010, the Church secured a loan from Equity Bank and the following year, the project started under the reign of Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi. Six years later, a sprawling 16-story building was commissioned by then Archbishop Stanley Ntagali.

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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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Kamanzi performing at a music festival in Kampala. Courtesy photo

From Massachusetts to Mukono: Kamanzi sings against the tide

News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication


Kamanzi performing at a music festival in Kampala. Courtesy photo
Kamanzi performing at a music festival in Kampala. Courtesy photo

By Jimmy Siyasa
Crossing through the United State’s Porter Square in Cambridge, to Harvard University, then Central Square on Massachusetts Avenue, to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and then to the Berklee College of Music was fun for Ruth Rwego Kamanzi. 

These are names of places she had only read about. Here she was, not just in those places, but also meeting world-renowned musicians, such as five-time Grammy winner and bassist Victor Wooten. 

The year was 2018. Kamanzi had travelled over 6,900 miles from Uganda to Massachusetts, to attend a five-week study program in voice and guitar. That is what her $10,000 scholarship could afford her at Berklee. 

While a student at the Word of Life International School, in Entebbe, central Uganda, Kamanzi presented a song to visiting students from the Berklee College of Music. Her performance wowed the students, who encouraged her teachers to support her to apply for a scholarship for a course at Berklee. Everything went according to plan and she found herself admitted to the U.S. school.

Kamanzi had the option of living within Berklee, but she opted to commute from a home of her Ugandan relative who lives in Boston. Commuting to college was the only way she would adventure, she reasoned.

Not even an attempted abduction on one of the days she headed to college could dampen her spirits. Kamanzi nearly got kidnapped by an American man on her way to Berklee. She said she was rescued by the Police.

Her earlier desire was to undertake a bachelor’s degree in song-writing, production and film scoring. Such a course had a price tag of $210,000, which neither her family nor the scholarship could meet.

Upon her return in 2019, she enrolled for a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication at the Uganda Christian University UCU.

“UCU offers a beautiful space for you to get to know God better,” she said. “It also offers an opportunity to discover yourself more and appreciate life and what you have more.”

At UCU, she actively participates in her faculty fellowship’s music activities and has performed a couple of times with her red and silver Resonator Bluegrass guitar. Such performances have, over time, won her some fans at the university. 

The professionally trained violinist hopes to be a career musician and to inspire young girls to be what they want to be. 

Kamanzi is renowned among Ugandan urban youth for skillfully playing the guitar and singing, usually alongside her sisters – Nduhukire and Royal Kaitesi. The trio has a band called Firm Foundation. Kamanzi and Nduhukire are currently acting in separate local television series; Prestige and Sanyu, respectively. The latter also features a UCU alumna – Tracy Kababiito. 

“She loves music and expresses her vocal agility each time she is singing,” says Rachael Nduhukire, of her elder sister.

Kamanzi’s YouTube channel, which started in 2018, as a prerequisite for her application to Berklee College of Music, now boasts nearly 1,000 subscribers.  

A family picture of the Rwegos. Kamanzi, at left, is with her parents and two sisters
A family picture of the Rwegos. Kamanzi, at left, is with her parents and two sisters

“That girl is incredibly talented,” says Frank Ogwang, a UCU Law School alumnus and former Guild Vice President.  “I love her music and, especially, her guitar skills.” 

Kamanzi, a daughter of Leonard and Ida Rwego, attended Word of Life International School from pre-school through grade 12. At the school, she was a lead vocalist and guitarist for a band. She is currently a contributing writer to two contemporary Christian music albums for Watoto, a Pentecostal church in Uganda. 

During the lockdown that was instituted in Uganda in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Kamanzi posted a short video clip, where she was performing a song dedicated to all people who had lost loved ones to the virus. That post attracted more than 16,000 views. 

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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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Ereu during his show Crazy Town on Next Radio

UCU classroom and real-life experience propel student into media job

News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication


Ereu during his show Crazy Town on Next Radio
Ereu during his show Crazy Town on Next Radio

By Fiona Nabugwere and Joseph Lagen
Lucky Reuben Ereu had a long-time dream to work at a media house. This dream led Ereu, then a first-year student of Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication, to 106.1FM Next Radio, to pitch a proposal for a radio programme.  

The year was 2018. Ereu had high hopes in his proposal because Next Radio had just been launched, so he knew there were slots in the radio’s programming. 

Ereu, age 23, did not just impress at the proposal pitching. He also was asked to present for a radio show called Crazy Town. The show is a fun, weekly show that features young inspirational personalities to show youths ways of creating sources of income while still in school. It airs every Sunday, at midday. He also is one of the content creators at the radio station. 

“My confidence levels have improved because of my work at the radio station and the presentations we always have in class,” he said. 

Courtesy photo of The Crazy Town presenters (left-right) Mark Munanura, Simran Merali and Lucky Reuben Ereu
Courtesy photo of The Crazy Town presenters (left-right) Mark Munanura, Simran Merali and Lucky Reuben Ereu

Ereu is excited about the practical projects they undertake at school because they offer him opportunities to improve what he is already practicing at Next Radio. 

“The UCU focus project that we did last semester opened my eyes about how news is produced, especially using mobile phones,” he said. “Before, I thought producing a news bulletin was so complex, but now I know that I can do it.”  

Because of such projects, Ereu’s performance at Next Radio improved tremendously to the point that he and his teammates were rewarded with performance bonuses at the end of 2020. 

“I use my monthly allowances for upkeep at the university and the performance bonus we received at the end of last year was what I used to pay my hostel fees,” said Ereu, whose first appearance on air was as a presenter on a TV teens show for NTV Uganda, said. His stint at NTV Uganda, which was in 2018, lasted three months.

He said former students of UCU, who are employees of Next Media Services, are always willing to guide and mentor him. 

One of the projects that Ereu is proud of having participated in is the 77 Percent campaign, a DW magazine for Africa’s youth. DW is a German public state-owned international broadcaster. The 77 Percent magazine focuses on reports, personal stories and debates on big issues that matter most to the African youth. 

Ereu, now a final-year student at UCU, says the three years he has spent at Next Radio have enabled him gain skills in operating radio and television equipment. Additionally, he says the Faculty of Journalism, Media and Communication has all the necessary equipment to enable students to practice what they learn in class. The skills Ereu has acquired, he says, have enabled him to get assignments for projects at the university. He says he videographed the university graduation in 2018 and that he currently does photography work for the E-learning team of UCU.

Passion for videos, photographs
Ereu shot his first film in 2012, while in Senior Two, using a friend’s mobile phone. He continued to shoot videos and take photographs using borrowed phones until he acquired his own smartphone a year later. Having noticed the passion he had for shooting videos and taking photographs, Ereu’s grandfather gifted him his first camera in 2017. That was the same year he began shooting videos for commercial purposes, during his Senior Six holidays. 

Ereu charges between sh200,000 (about $57) and sh400,000 (about $114) for birthdays and personal photoshoots. He also creates social media video clips for clients at sh80,000 (about $22). He usually posts some of his works on his social media pages: @simplyluckie on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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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

Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Dr. Joel Masagazi Yawe of Uganda Christian University (UCU) during his PhD graduation

No hurdles could stop Masagazi from PhD dream

News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Education


Dr. Joel Masagazi Yawe of Uganda Christian University (UCU) during his PhD graduation
Dr. Joel Masagazi Yawe of Uganda Christian University (UCU) during his PhD graduation

By Yasiri J. Kasango
Some people put the label “school dropout” on Joel Masagazi Yawe because after his A’level completion he stayed home for two years. The negative label was ill-placed as Masagazi faced hiccups in his education journey. The biggest barrier – not unlike many young people – was lack of tuition funding, blocking him from further education. 

Masagazi opted to do farming with his parents – Mr. and Mrs. Mukasa Kabanda – so he could raise the money that he needed for university tuition. The Kabandas were primary school teachers in Mityana district, found in central Uganda. Once he started his university education, Masagazi did not close his books until he achieved the apex qualification, a PhD. He got his doctorate in education management from the University of South Africa (UNISA) in May 2021. 

The 43-year-old is currently a lecturer in the Department of Education at Uganda Christian University (UCU). For overcoming a very torturous education journey, Masagazi’s children adopted the title “doctor” in their everyday reference to their father. To Bukirwa Mary Precious, Nankabirwa Annah Leah and Kabanda Joel Masagazi, their father is now “Dr. Daddy.” 

Dr. Joel Masagazi Yawe and family
Dr. Joel Masagazi Yawe and family

In 2002, Masagazi, who was 24 years at the time, joined UCU to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Education. To supplement the income for his tuition, Masagazi combined both work and study, like many other needy students at UCU often do. The work-and-study program was introduced by the university to help needy students raise money for their fees. 

“I worked both in the cafeteria and at the library to raise my tuition,” Masagazi said.

Oftentimes, he found it hard to balance work and books, but had limited options. He worked very hard during day and always spared time at night to read his books. He also had an understanding with his supervisors at work, who allowed him to attend classes and only work when he was free. 

In September 2005, Masagazi reaped from his sweat, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education. 

“I was overwhelmed with joy,” he said. “I couldn’t thank God enough that I had graduated despite the hurdles I had had with paying tuition fees.” He said his parents, too, were excited that he had not disappointed them.

Masagazi attended Turio Primary School in Mityana and Kasubi Church of Uganda Primary School in Kampala. Mityana and Kampala are in central Uganda. For his secondary education, Nyakasura School in western Uganda was his choice. 

Upon completion of his bachelor’s degree course, Masagazi was employed at UCU as the alumni relations officer under the Department of Development and External Relations. He also was a tutor in the Department of Industrial Art and Design.

Since Masagazi was not content with just a bachelor’s degree, he continued searching for education opportunities. Two months after graduation, he was admitted for a Master of Human Resource Management course at UCU. Two years down the road, he was a holder of an MA. But he felt he was not yet done with school.

When he applied at a university in Australia, he said he realized that the tuition fees he needed to pay were enough for him to survive in Uganda for the rest of his life. He was admitted, but he did not bother to attend any lectures. 

Masagazi later joined UNISA in 2014, where he had an opportunity to study as he worked. For the six years Masagazi was at UNISA, he says on most of the days, he woke up at 4 a.m. to attend to his books. He says he was lucky that his family, especially his wife, Susan, understood the amount of sacrifice he had to make to achieve his dream. 

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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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Maria Aloyo poses with one of her products.

UCU student lights future with candles

News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication


Maria Aloyo poses with one of her products.
Maria Aloyo poses with one of her products.

Story and Photos by Eriah Lule
Sometimes, ideas that end up transforming communities are borne out of ordinary incidents. Take the example of Maria Aloyo. Who would have thought a burning candle during a Catholic Mass would send business ideas into anyone’s mind? It did to Aloyo, in 2019. 

She was at Mass. She sat on the pew near the altar. When she smelled the scent from one of the burning candles at the altar, she thought of an opportunity – making candles. 

One of Maria Aloyo’s customers poses with her purchase.
One of Maria Aloyo’s customers poses with her purchase.

Two years down the road, the 23-year-old has not just created a job for herself, but also for Martin Asiimwe, a motorcycle rider, who distributes Aloyo’s products to her customers. Having hired a distributor gives Aloyo the opportunity to concentrate on making candles and attending to class work. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication course in her third year at Uganda Christian University (UCU).

Aloyo makes scented, artistically decorated candles that, she says, leave her customers no choice but to dip their hands into their pockets. In addition to candles, she makes car fragrances, reed diffusers, mosquito repellents, oil perfumes, heat diffusers and several others. 

She said she started making candles during the 2020 lockdown that was instituted in Uganda to reduce the rate of the spread of the coronavirus. During the lockdown, schools were closed for more than seven months. The initial opening, in October 2020, was only for the benefit of final-year learners. Since then, many more classes have been allowed to resume school, with the opening done in a staggered manner. 

Born to Annet and Akwello Muto of Entebbe in Wakiso district, central Uganda, Aloyo worked at her mother’s store during school vacations. It is from there that she raised her first capital of about sh1million (about $277). 

“I used my savings to stock what I needed to start the business,” she said. 

When one of her aunts, Lydia Aluka, was travelling abroad, Aloyo gave her the money to buy for her what she needed for making the scented candles. 

Enrolling for an undergraduate degree at UCU has been a blessing for Aloyo, whose web of clients and support base is largely people from the university. However, over time she says she has made inroads in other communities outside the university. 

“I hope to give back to UCU by teaching other students what I do, so they are able to earn a living,” she says.

Making candles is not the first business enterprise that Aloyo has engaged in. 

In 2017, as a 19-year-old, Aloyo saved sh500,000 (about $138) and used it as capital to stock belts, wallets, jewelry and African print cloth, which she would sell. However, she says the business was not fulfilling for her, since she was trading in finished products. She yearned to make signature items, which she hoped people would know her for.

Aloyo is organizing an event, Magic fingers – Color Series, intended to provide a platform for creative youth to not only showcase their works of art, but also to network once the second covid-related lockdown ends. She hopes to hold the event in August 2021. 

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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 

Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Joshua Rukundo (wearing glasses) with the children benefiting from their charity. Photo by Michael Kisekka

UCU student furthers his family’s philanthropic dream to help less fortunate

News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication


Joshua Rukundo (wearing glasses) with the children benefiting from their charity. Photo by Michael Kisekka
Joshua Rukundo (wearing glasses) with the children benefiting from their charity. Photo by Michael Kisekka

By Michael Kisekka and Jimmy Siyasa
Compassion, generosity and humanity are among the many words defining philanthropy.  Innocent Kanobana, who has a particular passion for helping the less privileged, embodies such a definition. In 2015, he formed an underprivileged child charity organization, the Rukicare Foundation. 

Two years down the road, when Kanobana wanted someone to run the charity as its chief executive officer, Kanobana did not look further than his teenage grandchild, Joshua Rukundo, a Uganda Christian University (UCU) student. Rukundo was 18 years.

Joshua Rukundo (left) with a colleague (white shirt) and some of the children benefiting from their charity.
Joshua Rukundo (left) with a colleague (white shirt) and some of the children benefiting from their charity.

Fast forward to 2021.  Twenty-three-year-old Rukundo is a UCU final-year student of the Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication. It is not only Rukundo who has changed, but his organization, too, has since grown. Rukicare Foundation that started with a handful of boys and girls now caters to over 50 children. Rukundo says the bedrock of the foundation has been his family’s deep-rooted culture of giving to those less fortunate.

On March 6, 2021, Rukicare joined hands with another charity, Noah’s Ark Special Needs Children Facility in Entebbe, Uganda. 

Noah’s Ark had earlier sent a call to the public to donate scholastic materials to their child-beneficiaries, who had to return to school. The children had been out of school since the Covid-19-related nationwide lockdown on education institutions in March 2020. A year later, schools were allowed to reopen but then closed again with a 42-day lockdown starting June 7.

Rukicare Foundation donated not only scholastic materials such books, pencils and pens that they had asked for, but also offered food, clothes and packs of medicines. 

“Since the government has opened schools, we decided to come in and provide the children with the necessary scholastic materials, to enable them to continue with their studies unhindered,” Rukundo explained before the second lockdown. 

While most charities focus directly on the beneficiaries in their custody, the mandate of Rukicare Foundation is a little different. Where possible, they also take care of the needs of the beneficiaries under the care of other organizations. 

“Sometimes, these children become too heavy a responsibility for their own parents, who end up dumping them, because they are unable to provide even the most basic of needs,” Rukundo, who believes abject poverty and negligence by many parents in Uganda is one of the reasons behind children ending up under the care of such organizations, said. 

Among the charities Rukundo’s organization supports are Kitgum Home of Children in northern Uganda, Mercy Hands Uganda in Mpigi district, central Uganda and Kireka home for people with a hearing impairment, located in Kireka, near Kampala. 

John Safari, the Chief Executive Officer of the Noah’s Ark Special Needs Children Facility, was delighted with the support received from Rukundo’s foundation. Hoping for more such donations, Safari said they intend to establish a medical center for the facility. 

“We are in the last stages of acquiring land to build a hospital for the special needs children,” Safari said. 

Despite being able to look out for other charities, it does not mean Rukicare Foundation is insulated from obstacles. Rukundo said even with being registered, and having a valid operation permit and a requisite certificate of incorporation from the Uganda National Board of NGOs, the NGO pays tax on humanitarian imports, such as medicines, which he says should not be the case for a registered company like theirs. 

“In January 2021, we imported humanitarian medicines from India, but we feel we were unfairly taxed,” Rukundo said.

Such challenges can intimidate an organization without a major funder, but mainly dependent on 20% of the salaries of each of the members of the Rukundo family. And because of financial challenges, Rukundo has occasionally reached out to fellow students at UCU and other universities, to mobilize resources so that his organization is able to realize the philanthropy dream of the Rukundo family. 

As he looks to his UCU graduation this year, Rukundo is grateful for his university education. 

“UCU enabled me get more connections to people that are already running charity organizations. Then, it also deepened our connections to certain partners,” said Rukundo about his UCU experience. “My Bachelor’s has bettered my communication to potential partners and sponsors. It has also equipped me with skills to start and run the organization’s social media pages.” 

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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

Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Honors College Student Chemutai Syndia with some of the pupils of Bishop West Primary School where she conducted her project

UCU Honors College: A hub hatching undergraduate projects

Faculty, News, Students, UCU School of Law, UCU School of Social Sciences


Honors College Student Chemutai Syndia with some of the pupils of Bishop West Primary School where she conducted her project
Honors College Student Chemutai Syndia with some of the pupils of Bishop West Primary School where she conducted her project

By Eriah Lule and Jimmy Siyasa
Christian mentorship. Leadership. Academic research. These are the three core goals that define Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Honors College. The 19-year-old college, whose concept is borrowed from the Dutch and American universities, admits only the institution’s crème de la crème students from the different faculties. 

Applicants must have at least a 4.0 Cumulative Grade-Point Average (CGPA) out of 5.0 to be enrolled to the college that offers talented students the opportunity to tap on their mettle through an extra certificate-program, alongside the regular bachelor’s degree course. 

The college, which is the brainchild of Prof. Stephen Noll, UCU’s first Vice-Chancellor, offers a multidisciplinary approach to scientific and social issues, which helps to enrich students’ projects and research.

Pamela Tumwebaze, newly appointed head of Honors College
Pamela Tumwebaze, newly appointed head of Honors College

Pamela Tumwebaze, the new head of the college, has hit the ground running, by grouping

students based on their interests, using invited guest lecturers and mentors to speak to the students and holding weekly workshops. Before her promotion to head the Honors College, Tumwebaze was the Executive Secretary of the UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academics. 

“I want to utilize the full potential of our students, by encouraging them to create solutions for the social problems that people face, through research,” she said, noting that it is such initiatives that will “lift the college to greater heights.”

Juan Emmanuella Zamba, a student of Bachelor of Human Rights, Peace and Humanitarian Intervention, has designed a project called Trash into Cash, which she hopes will be able to solve the challenge of high youth unemployment. Zamba collects inorganic waste, such as plastic and paper, which she uses to make jewelry and wall hangings.

“Honors College has enabled me to explore my potential and capabilities, through mentorship provided by the guest lecturers and our college staff,’’ Zamba said, adding: “I am now thinking of making my project a real business, so that I create employment to the youth, as well as skilling them.”

Thanks to the Honors College, Chemutai Syndia, a 21-year-old fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws, is currently working to combat sexual violence against children through advocacy. At Bishop West Primary School, located near UCU, Chemutai counsels children and also sensitizes them on the avenues through which they can report child-rights offenders. She also takes advantage of the opportunity to sensitise the teachers about the benefits of creating a favourable environment for their pupils, to share their challenges. 

Members of a group project called Share a Skill, spearheaded by Miriam Obetia, a second-year student of Bachelor of Human Rights, Peace and Humanitarian Intervention, went to West Nile early this year, where they engaged children, especially who had dropped out of school during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, in entrepreneurial skills.

Tumwebaze believes her tenure of service is a God-given opportunity to boost UCU’s undergraduate research and she has already started on this by making calls for proposals for projects from students. She believes her ultimate reward will be when students succeed by making a career out of the projects they will have championed. 

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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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UCU Public Health Student, Stella Mirembe

Writing, health care and acting blend as passions for UCU student

Faculty of Public Health, Nursing and Midwifery, News, Students, UCU School of Medicine


UCU Public Health Student, Stella Mirembe
UCU Public Health Student, Stella Mirembe

By Yasiri J. Kasango
Acting, health care and writing are Stella Mirembe’s passions. However, among the three, Mirembe would prefer she is not asked where her love is. She does not know. 

During her secondary school, Mirembe spent time fine-tuning her acting skills. After the six years of acting in secondary school, it was writing that earned Mirembe her first ever payment in life. Writing also brought her international recognition. 

While in Senior Six long holidays, Mirembe was writing articles for Upwork, a web-based platform that was linking her to people who wanted writers. 

However, when university studies came calling, she put writing on hold. She hopes to resurrect her writing passion later. In 2018, Mirembe joined Uganda Christian University to study towards a Bachelor of Public Health. She says her course in public health will help her engage different communities on good health practices as well as help her write better health-related articles. 

It was Mirembe’s late father who first saw her potential in acting. While in Senior Two, Elias Kyewalabye encouraged his daughter to act a play off the famous book, Betrayal in the City, by Kenyan playwright Francis Imbuga. He was impressed by Mirembe’s performance and encouraged her not to drop her passion. Kyewalabye has since passed on, and Mirembe is working hard to achieve the dreams of her father.

Stella Mirembe
Stella Mirembe

She currently graces the TV screens as an actress in a Ugandan series, Prestige, which airs on DStv’s Pearl Magic Prime.  The channel is dedicated to Ugandan local content. 

As a child, Miremebe used to act in Sunday school plays. She attended Uganda’s Gayaza High School and, later, Makerere College School for her A’level. Even while in secondary school, acting was part of Mirembe’s life.

“In Gayaza High School, I acted in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” she says. 

Internationally, Mirembe is a great admirer of Jennifer Aniston, an American actress, producer and businesswoman. 

The outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent closure of schools forced Mirembe to go back into acting. In August 2020, she exploited the chance of carrying on her dream. Her mother, Dr. Elizabeth Kyewalabye, encouraged her to audition for the Prestige series when calls were put out. And she was successful. She says acting helped to relieve her of some of the stress occasioned by the lockdown in 2020.

When the government announced the reopening of schools, Mirembe was excited to return for face-to-face classes so she fulfils her dream of becoming a health worker, so she is able to help communities around her to exercise better health practices. 

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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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Allan Kampame doing embroidery at his workplace

‘Passion for innovation made all things look possible’

News, Students, UCU School of Business


Allan Kampame doing embroidery at his workplace
Allan Kampame doing embroidery at his workplace

Story and Photos By Eriah Lule
Allan Kampame had just completed A’level and was facing a “long vacation” before starting his university education. What could he do to be productive with nine months? Kampame found the answer at Dembe Trading Company, a goods delivery firm that was operating in the Kampala business hub of Kikuubo. 

The year was 2015. Dembe employed Kampame as a delivery man in the business hub. 

“Moving in trucks day and night gave me the exposure I yearned for,” recounted Kampame, now a 26-year-old, final-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Public Administration and Management at Uganda Christian University (UCU). “I loved my work because there was a lot I was learning.” 

Dembe means freedom in Luganda, one of the dialects in Uganda. Kampame, however, says while he initially enjoyed working at Dembe Trading Company, he was far from being free. He worked like a horse for his bosses, yet he felt the returns were never commensurate to the energy he put in. 

Allan Kampame ready to start supplying products
Allan Kampame ready to start supplying products

“Our employers promoted many new people and I was skipped because of my low qualification of high school, even when I had more experience in the field than my colleagues did,” he said. 

Kampame, however, was not the kind to mourn. He turned the lemons life gave him into lemonade.

The best he got out of his experience at Dembe was exposure to the various manufacturers and other business owners whom he met as a sweaty errand boy while on delivery duty. From that toil, he learned the fundamentals of business, which he later applied in birthing his own.

For close to a year, he saved money and created networks to launch his own business before throwing in the towel of working for somebody else. Crown Supplies, a delivery company, was the baby that Dembe gave birth to. 

Crown Supplies now has a store in Mukono town and hires a delivery truck at about sh600,000 (about $168), per week, to transport customers’ orders to shops and stores elsewhere. Kampame has not only created a job for himself, but also for five others he employs.

Part of the proceeds he gets from the business is what Kampame uses to pay his tuition at UCU. And he is meeting his university’s financial needs not because his parents are unable to but because he can financially support his education on his own.

Abel Muhangi and Ruth Kirungi of Mbarara, a district in western Uganda, are Kampame’s parents. The Muhangis are prominent farmers in the district. 

Three years ago, Kampame’s aspiration to champion the fight against environmental pollution led him to a new entrepreneurial path – producing paper bags. 

“I realized it was possible to control polythene disposal in the environment while earning something from the venture,” he says. 

Kampame recently teamed up with his sister, Peruth Nankunda, and the two started a graphics design and branding business in Kampala. 

“I can’t believe how ambitious my sibling is,” Nankunda said. “I first declined his proposal of teaming up to start a joint venture because I thought we were not in position to pull it off. But, later, I accepted because his passion for innovation made all things look possible.”

With challenges of a tight academic schedule and what he calls the high taxes levied by the government on businesses, one would think Kampame would lose morale. Not at all. “Challenges are part of business and so, somehow, you have to find a way to continue in spite of them,” he says.  

After graduation, Kampame intends to fulfill his childhood dream of having a qualification in health sciences. He intends to pursue a master’s degree in epidemiology and biostatistics. 

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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 

Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

David Mugawe, UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration (in a blue shirt), leads NBS staff on a guided tour around the Mukono campus on May 20. Photo by Ivor Sempa

UCU, Next Media Services move closer to formalize partnership

News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication


David Mugawe, UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration (in a blue shirt), leads NBS staff on a guided tour around the Mukono campus on May 20. Photo by Ivor Sempa
David Mugawe, UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration (in a blue shirt), leads NBS staff on a guided tour around the Mukono campus on May 20. Photo by Ivor Sempa

By Michael Kisekka and Yasiri J. Kasango
Next Media Services and Uganda Christian University (UCU) are mooting a formal partnership where the two parties will support each other in developing journalism and communications in the country. Skilling students, conducting joint research on communication-related issues and content development are some of the areas where the media house and the university will channel their energies.

As part of the activities towards the formalisation of the partnership, the Next Media Services team, led by their Chief Executive Officer, Kin Kariisa, visited the UCU main campus on May 20 and held a formal engagement with Vice-Chancellor Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi and other top university officials. Next Media Services is the parent company of NBS TV, Next Radio, the Nile Post news website, Sanyuka TV and Salam TV.

The May 20 meeting follows an earlier one in March, where Mushengyezi and his team visited the Next Media Services offices in Kampala. In the March meeting, Next Media Services committed to opening its doors to some UCU students to conduct internships at the media house.

John Semakula, a journalism lecturer at UCU and coordinator of the UCU Partners e-lab, and Mildred Tuhaise, a journalist at NBS, chat during the May 2021 visit.
John Semakula, a journalism lecturer at UCU and coordinator of the UCU Partners e-lab, and Mildred Tuhaise, a journalist at NBS, chat during the May 2021 visit.

Frank Obonyo, the UCU Communication and Marketing Manager and one of the March attendees, explained that the potential partnership included student training as well as assistance with “publicising UCU programs and success stories, plus offering staff of Next Media Services the opportunity of guest lecturing.”

During the May visit, the Next Media services team engaged in activities such as meeting student leaders, attending the university’s bi-weekly community worship and giving inspirational talks to students. Both Kariisa and Mushengyezi addressed the UCU community during community worship at Nkoyoyo Hall. The two parties later engaged in a soccer game, which ended 3-0 in favour of UCU.

“We are looking forward to having some of our staff and students coming to Next Media Services to have hands-on training; we are certain this will benefit them a lot,” Mushengyezi said.

Kariisa noted that the partnership “we are putting together is exciting, bringing practicality to theories while exposing Next Media Services to great potential in talent.” Kariisa also talked about the depth in quality of the UCU journalism graduates on the market, noting that Next Media Services has found it worth employing them. The media house employs more than 40 alumni of UCU, according to Kariisa.

“Many times, we employ young people, but after giving them jobs, they get bored; they don’t even last three months,” Kariisa said. “They complain, they don’t have interest and are not groomed to work in those solid organizations. We need to work together to turn this around.”

The UCU Alumni Association chairperson, Emmanuel Wabwire, is optimistic the partnership between UCU and Next Media Services will “help us establish the association’s relevance, presence and vibrancy among the UCU fraternity as well as outside the university.”

Obonyo said the next step to move the partnership forward is a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). He said the signatures on the MOU should be in place by August. 

 “We already have a draft copy, which we shall send Next Media Services soon,” Obonyo said, adding that this collaborative further enables UCU to offer its students a holistic and productive education.

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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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Mark Bartels and Ashton Davey of UCU Partners pose with E-lab writers at the University in Mukono, Uganda, on May 18. Photo by Ivor Sempa

UCU Partners’ Bartels inspires e-lab program participants

COVID-19, News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication, UCU School of Medicine


Mark Bartels and Ashton Davey of UCU Partners pose with E-lab writers at the University in Mukono, Uganda, on May 18. Photo by Ivor Sempa
Mark Bartels and Ashton Davey of UCU Partners pose with E-lab writers at the University in Mukono, Uganda, on May 18. Photo by Ivor Sempa

By Eriah Lule and Jimmy Siyasa
Donning a baby blue shirt, khaki pants and quasi-safari shoes, Mark Bartels arrived at The Standard community newspaper office just in time for the 10 a.m. visit. Not even a downpour would stand in the way of the May 18 meeting. Bartels, the executive director of Uganda Christian University (UCU) Partners, was scheduled to meet UCU students engaged in the Partners e-lab program that was launched on the UCU Mukono campus in January.

John Semakula, the Partners e-lab communications coordinator, who had arrived with Bartels, ushered him to a round table in the middle of The Standard newsroom. At the table, Semakula and Bartels joined Constantine Odongo, editor of the Partners e-lab pilot and also with New Vision, and Ashton Davey, a Partners fundraising coordinator. 

The meeting, which was part of Bartel’s activities during his one-week visit to Uganda in May, started with some of the students sharing their experiences working for the e-lab program. 

Mark Bartels, executive director, UCU Partners, in Standard newsroom in May 2021.
Mark Bartels, executive director, UCU Partners, in Standard newsroom in May 2021.

“I have learned to tell success stories while observing journalistic integrity and ethics,” Jimmy Siyasa, one of the students, said. “While I was taught to do this in my undergraduate studies, I did not practice as much as I’m doing now, ever since I started contributing content for the UCU Partners e-lab blog.”  Siyasa has completed his bachelor’s program with the graduation twice canceled due to covid lockdowns. 

Grace Bisoke, an international student from the Democratic Republic of Congo, thanked the UCU Partners for being inclusive in its mentorship program.

“I am grateful for the opportunity that you have afforded us, as students, and more so, someone from another country,” she said. “Being part of this mentorship program has enabled me to have the nose for news and also be able to write a story.”  

Ivor Sempa asked for logistical support, especially 300mm camera lenses, so that the team is able to produce high quality photos, which will enrich the content on the blog.  

Semakula observed that the students on the programme have benefited in terms of skills acquisition and financially. 

“Thank you very much for the stipend,” he said. “They afford us our daily bread and enable the students to meet some basic needs, so as to continue working for UCU Partners,” he said. He referred to the stipend that Partners pays to students for their contributions in terms of articles published on the Partners blog and for Internet. 

Semakula beseeched Bartels to engage the university top management in order to facilitate the speedy revival of The Standard newspaper. Operations of the university newspaper were halted in March 2020, when the Ugandan government closed education institutions to reduce the rate of the spread of the coronavirus. The institutions were allowed to resume physical classes in March this year, only to be shut again on June 7, 2021 as Uganda imposed new restrictions following a second wave of Covid-19. Recently, the newspaper launched a digital platform. However, the print platform is still in limbo.  

“We’ve learnt that you’ve been meeting the Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor,” Semakula said.  “Please highlight our plight as a newsroom. We need funding so that we can begin to fully operate.”

Bartels commended the team for performing beyond the organization’s expectations. “You have proved our experiment right. I am grateful for your services,” he said. 

“The quality of work coming from the e-lab and the podcast team is really good and I appreciate the thoughtfulness, time and resources that the students are investing,” Bartels continued, reminding the students that telling a story is just as important as the story itself. 

Bartels said his meeting with UCU Vice Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, was to get to know him (Vice-Chancellor) and understand his priorities. He also later met with Prof. Monica Chibita, the Dean of the Faculty of Journalism, Media and Communication, among other top university officials.

He later visited the UCU School of Medicine in Mengo, Kampala, where he interacted with the Dean of the School, Dr. Gerald Tumusiime. 

“Currently, we are working on equipping the School of Medicine to match the standard requirements, in order for it to produce quality graduates,” Bartels said. 

Early this year, UCU shared with three hospitals in Uganda a donation of the sh520m (about $141,500) medical equipment that it received from the US. The beneficiary hospitals – Mukono Church of Uganda Hospital, Mukono General Hospital and Mengo Hospital in Kampala – are UCU’s training partners for its medical and dental students. 

Partners also has over time given scholarships and tuition top-ups to UCU students. 

“We are now planning to support faculties to do community outreaches so as to impact the society,” Bartels added.  

Uganda Partners, a nonprofit, based in Pennsylvania USA and in existence for more than two decades, started the e-lab this year to give a resume-building platform to UCU’s journalism and communication students through hands-on experience to supplement their in-class learning. The products benefit Partners by providing information to current and potential contributors to the NGO. 

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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

Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Gilbert Nyaika in complete attire of the Uganda Police Force

Nyaika: How UCU taught me to serve humanity

News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Business


Gilbert Nyaika in complete attire of the Uganda Police Force
Gilbert Nyaika in complete attire of the Uganda Police Force

By Ivor Sempa and Jimmy Siyasa
Adults, take note. Children are watching. Often, they dream of being like you. For Gilbert Nyaika, he looked up to three uncles who served in Uganda’s army, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces. He loved the way they conducted themselves and the respect they earned in society.

Someday, the young Nyaika told himself, he would be like them.

When he graduated with a Uganda Christian University (UCU) Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance in 2008, Nyaika got employed in a telecommunications company. But his heart was restless. That is not where he thought he belonged.

Seven years later, in 2015, when an advert calling for people to join the Police force was published in the Uganda Gazette, Nyaika saw it as his chance to join the armed forces. He applied and got the job. Nyaika was a regular Police officer at the Hoima Police Station.  According to the Police Act, the Police is supposed to protect people’s lives and property, as well as their rights, maintain security within Uganda, enforce the laws of Uganda, ensure public order and safety, detect and prevent crime in society, and perform the services of a military force.

In 2020, Nyaika was promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Police – the officer in charge of Police stations in Bunyangabu district in western Uganda. He reports directly to the Regional Police Commander.

One would think that holding such a demanding office of overseeing Police posts in the whole district would keep Nyaika away from the everyday law enforcement impact. Far from it. In fact, he says part of the reason for his promotion last year was because of how he was positively impacting communities, and those appointing him don’t want that work to cease.

UCU Alum Gilbert Nyaika
UCU Alum Gilbert Nyaika

Nyaika has contributed to the infrastructural development of up to 13 schools in Bunyangabu district. Through his resource mobilization skills, in 2020, Nyaika mobilized up to $40,000 (about sh145m) from donors. This money was used to build classrooms, and purchase furniture and scholastic materials for learners. Some of the beneficiary schools were Bunyangagu Progressive School, Hoima Advent Primary School and Hoima Modern Primary School.

Among the many who applaud Nyaika’s efforts are a former teacher at UCU. Vincent Kisenyi, the former dean at the UCU School of Business, said: “I am proud to see him prosper and that he learnt a lot of values from the university. Nyaika thrives to see change in the community, which makes me feel very happy as his former teacher and mentor.” 

So, what did he learn while pursuing studies at UCU? 

“My experience at UCU taught me to serve,” Nyaika said. “I was inspired to serve my community using my skills; UCU inculcated in us a sense of social responsibility.”

He is a recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s award by Professor Stephen Noll, who was the UCU Vice Chancellor at the time. Nyaika was awarded after spearheading a cleaning campaign in one of the suburbs of UCU. He served in the UCU guild government of 2006-2007 as a Member of Parliament of the business faculty. The following year, he was appointed the minister for agriculture. His achievements also were mirrored academically as he bagged a second-class upper degree. 

Nyaika attended Buhinga Primary School, before joining St. Leo’s Kyegobe Senior Secondary School, for O’level. For his A’level education, Nyaika studied at Mandela Secondary School. 

Nyaika’s well-rounded interests include sports. He sits on various sports committees in Uganda, including on the board for the Federation of Uganda Basketball Association (FUBA) and the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA). On the FUFA board, he sits on the ethics and investigations committee. Nyaika also founded a team, Kitara Soccer Club, which plays in the second division in Uganda.

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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.

Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Reagan Moses Muyinda sells ice cream to a client.

UCU fresh graduate mints cash out of ice cream

News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Business


Reagan Moses Muyinda sells ice cream to a client.
Reagan Moses Muyinda sells ice cream to a client.

By Simon Omit and Dalton Mujuni
When Uganda Christian University (UCU) convened on December 18, 2020, for a virtual graduation ceremony, not many graduands knew what was next in their lives in a world that had taken a beating from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The uncertainty did not reside within Reagan Moses Muyinda. The 26-year-old graduate, who had always dreamed of joining politics and now had a Bachelor of Public Administration and Governance Degree, was ready to sell ice cream.  

And this was not by accident. As soon as Muyinda joined UCU in 2017, he started saving part of his pocket money for capital for some sort of business. To supplement his savings, Muyinda also operated an online furniture shop.

Reagan Moses Muyinda, graduation gown, treats himself at his ice cream stall on the day he graduated on December 18, 2020.
Reagan Moses Muyinda, graduation gown, treats himself at his ice cream stall on the day he graduated on December 18, 2020.

As the graduate walked out of the gates of UCU on December 18 last year, he had savings worth sh4m (about $1,090) in his purse. To purchase an ice cream-making machine, Muyinda needed sh5m (about $1,370). A friend loaned him the balance of the money.  

Despite rebuke from his peers that selling ice cream was too low a job for a university graduate, Muyinda persevered. As a result, they isolated him. But he cared less. After all, his parents loved the business idea and have financed it as well. One of Muyinda’s classmates had introduced him to the business. He, therefore, knew full well what to expect. Ice cream is considered “comfort food” and a treat especially comforting during a pandemic.

To those who look down on him and others in jobs without prestigious titles, Muyinda advises them to work.

His business, located a several metres (about 20 feet) away from UCU’s Tech Park gate, is booming. In March, Muyinda was recording almost 100 customers daily. 

“I have been in the ice cream business just for a few months, but it has already picked up,” he said. “The business idea was good and the UCU students haven’t let me down, most of them are my customers.”

The high number of customers was not by accident. Muyinda recently introduced board games at his business premises, to attract more patrons. 

Muyinda’s day starts at 7:00 a.m. and ends at 9:00 p.m, the start of the curfew time in Uganda. The country remains under curfew, which was instituted last year, to control movement of people due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time this story  was written in March 2021, no movements were allowed in Uganda from 9:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m, daily. 

Muyinda dreams of becoming the most popular ice cream supplier in Mukono town, by expanding his business to different trading centres in the town. 

To achieve that, he first has to overcome some setbacks that are already afflicting the business. In addition to the curfew that shuts off customers after 9 p.m., landlords often raise his rent. 

“The landlords always think that I am making more from the business,” he said. “In two months, I have shifted to three different locations and this is affecting my profit margin.”

Muyinda, however, remains steadfast. “Challenges keep me going since there can’t be business growth without obstacles,” he said.

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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

Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

UCU’s oldest building hits her centennial mark

Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, News, UCU Alumni


By Esther Byoona
Gray hair. Walking stick. Wrinkles. These are perfect descriptions of a centenarian. If that centenarian is a building, its architecture is likely to be a sharp contrast to that of other younger buildings around it. The appearance of Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Bishop Tucker building, which will join the club of centenarians next year, will certainly seize one’s attention.

Its medieval architecture starkly differs from that of most buildings you would walk past on the campus. The neatly arranged baked clay brick walls tell of a time when such a building was associated with royalty and colonial administrators. A closer look over the center arch of the building’s entrance confirms this. The year “1922” is inscribed. This time next year, the Bishop Tucker building will make 100 years. Uganda was under colonial administration from 1894 to 1962.

With preparations for the event in its preliminary stages, a date is yet to be set for the celebrations. 

“We plan to hold a hybrid event – both physically for those that can make it and an online event to cater for as many of our friends and supporters in the U.S and Europe,” Prof. Christopher Byaruhanga, the Dean of the Faculty of Theology, says. 

It is then, according to Byaruhanga, that the faculty will publish two academic papers – one on the work of the Church Missionary Society and another detailing the over 30 years of service of Bishop Tucker after whom the theological college was named. The late Bishop Alfred Robert Tucker was an Anglican Bishop of Uganda from 1890 to 1911.  Prior to that, he was the Anglican Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa. The papers will become part of a book at some point.

The walkway to the building is paved with baked clay tiles, a sharp contrast to the tarmac walkways elsewhere on the campus, possibly to preserve the building’s medieval nature. 

A plaque at the easterly side of the building’s entrance tells the origin of both the faculty and the facility that houses it. “To the Glory of God,” it reads. “And the memory of Alfred Robert Tucker, D.D, LL. D, Bishop of Uganda 1890-1911…” Mahogany-wood arches serve as a ceiling of the building. They are held up by Y-shaped wooden columns that seem to be grayed by time.

“From a bird’s eye view, the Bishop Tucker building forms the shape of an E,” Byaruhanga says. “On one end, you have the Thornycroft Chapel,” he says, with a guiding hand. “On the other, you have the Principals’ Hall.”  

Between these are the equally storied offices and the Faculty of Theology. The Principals’ Hall is the university’s boardroom. In it are framed photos of the Bishop Tucker Theological College’s principals from inception in 1922 until when it became Uganda Christian University in 1997. The building also houses the office of the UCU Vice Chancellor.

The musty air of worn out wood welcomes visitors who walk through the Thornycroft Chapel door. Everything about the chapel signifies its age, except the new Yamaha speakers cleverly installed on either side of the altar. The aisle is hemmed by mahogany pews, made several shades darker because of age. All furniture here, from the pulpit to the pews, is sculpted, as opposed to being hewn. 

At the front right-hand side of the chapel, two unique instruments sit silently – an upright piano and a large drum. The piano’s lid reads “Ralph Alison and Sons-London.” Its keys are detuned and ivories yellowed by several decades of striking. The hide on the drum has been smoothened to baldness by countless years of drumming it. 

Together, these instruments tell of the intercontinental partnership that brought Thornycroft and the entire Bishop Tucker building into existence. “Resources for the building of Bishop Tucker College and the Thornycroft Chapel were sourced from well-wishers of the Church Missionary Society and those of the deceased bishop and slain King’s Army Rifle Militant,” Byaruhanga says, adding, “they were not the biggest funders, however. Royalty from four kingdoms gave building resources and labor to the cause.” 

The kingdoms were Buganda, Tooro, Bunyoro and Busoga. Buganda’s king at the time, Daudi Chwa, was also credited for providing building resources for the Anglican Church’s Namirembe Cathedral. A glance at Namirembe Cathedral and the Bishop Tucker Building exposes their striking similarity in architecture and age. Their identical high ceiling arches and long columns are telling. 

“The construction of the Bishop Tucker Theology College started in November 1919, only two years after the completion of Namirembe Cathedral,” Eng. David Kivumbi, UCU’s director of facilities and capital projects, says. “While buildings of the time were constructed using mud and cow dung or sun-dried brick and straw, baked brick and cement were used for these (Bishop Tucker and Namirembe). Deep excavations were made for their foundations, too.”

On the plans for the centenary celebrations, Byaruhanga said: “We plan to carry out renovations on the building, hold public lectures and, at the centennial celebrations, launch four academic (professorial) chairs for the four branches of theology – Church History, Systematic (doctrinal), Biblical, and Practical Theology.”

It is through this, he hopes, that the school that has trained the majority of Uganda’s Anglican bishops to date, will be better equipped to serve its purpose.

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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

Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. 

A student (right) is assisted with loading her luggage on a boda-boda as the university closed on June 7. Photo by Jimmy Siyasa

Schools shut again as Uganda imposes new Covid-19 restrictions

COVID-19, News, Students


A student (right) is assisted with loading her luggage on a boda-boda as the university closed on June 7. Photo by Jimmy Siyasa
A student (right) is assisted with loading her luggage on a boda-boda as the university closed on June 7. Photo by Jimmy Siyasa

By Jimmy Siyasa
The second Covid-19 wave is currently sweeping across Uganda, paralyzing life and livelihoods of many people. Education institutions have been hit, after Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni shut them once again, for 42 days, effective June 7.

Inter-district transport in both public and private means also has been banned for 42 days, starting June 10. Uganda’s health ministry says it has so far registered four Covid-19 variants – the Wuhan strain and the variants from South Africa, India and the UK.

On June 4, Uganda registered its highest number of corona virus cases in a single day – 1,259 out of the 7,424 tests done.

A female resident of Sabiti hall carries her duvet, leaving the hall of residence. Photo by Jimmy Siyasa
A female resident of Sabiti hall carries her duvet, leaving the hall of residence. Photo by Jimmy Siyasa

During a televised address on June 6, Museveni noted that the restrictions would prevent overwhelming the country’s health system. The current number of hospital beds to manage Covid-19 patients in Uganda stands at 3,793. As of June 6, Uganda’s cumulative number of Covid-19 cases stood at 52,929, reported confirmed deaths at 374 and recoveries at 43,487.

In response to the directive of shutting down schools, the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Vice Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, issued a statement on June 7, asking the institution’s staff and students to migrate to online learning.

“The Division of Academics and the Alpha MIS/UIS team should offer students and lecturers the support they need to ensure that e-learning is seamless, as we have done before,” Mushengyezi said.

In February 2021, the Ugandan government had given the greenlight for education institutions to resume physical classes for the first time since March last year. The return to school, which was expected to be in a phased manner, followed the October 2020 resumption of face-to-face learning of final-year learners, who sat for their national exams in March, April and May 2021.

In his June 6 address to the nation, the President announced  that when schools eventually re-open after the second wave, only teachers who will have been vaccinated will be allowed back on duty. UCU has been urging its staff and students to get vaccinated, starting with its health workers on March 12. On June 2, the university rolled out a mass vaccination exercise at its clinic, the Allan Galpin Health Center. An estimated 100 people took jabs on the first day of the exercise.

Staff and students queue up to get inoculated at the UCU clinic. Photo by Emmanuel Kizaale
Staff and students queue up to get inoculated at the UCU clinic. Photo by Emmanuel Kizaale

Uganda has vaccinated 706,000 people, with about 4,000 of those having received their second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. In the June 6 address, Museveni said the country was exploring possibilities of procuring China’s Sinovac vaccine, Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine and Johnson & Johnson. At that, it is not confirmed if any of the world’s current vaccines cover all variations found in Uganda.

Dr. Geoffrey Mulindwa, the Director of Medical Services at UCU’s medical facility, said the mass vaccination program at the university was an opportunity for the institution to join in the fight against the second wave of Covid-19. At the vaccination exercise, Mulindwa said priority was given to those who were due for their second jabs.

In March, the university commissioned a Covid-19 student task force, to ensure the safety of learners at UCU. The 244 students were tasked with coordinating health activities related to Covid-19 in the university. At the commissioning of the task force, Mulindwa said the university had lost two staff members to Covid-19. At least three others contracted the virus with one recovered and two still in recovery in June.

In early June, UCU had around 500 students living on campus. According to the University Halls custodian, Reverend Simon Peter Ddamba Anatoli, before the lockdown, there were 279 female and 218 male residents. With the latest order, all but a few international students and some athletes are required to leave.

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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

Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook