UCU Vice Chancellor Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushegyezi (second from left) helps cut cake at the birding course graduation. Also pictured are Mrs. Mary Kajumba of the Private Sector Foundation, Assoc. Dean of the School of Business Mrs. Elsie Nsiyona and Dr. Martin Lwanga, the outgoing Dean of the School of Business.
By Eriah Lule
Forty students who enrolled for the inaugural birding course class at the Uganda Christian University have flown the nest. The fledglings have fledged.
Birding course graduates and faculty
The students, who have been studying since February 2021, graduated at a low-key ceremony held at Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Nkoyoyo Hall on May 26. They were awarded certificates recognising them as birdwatchers. The three-month course, taught as an evening program, was conducted at the UCU’s Kampala campus.
The course was made possible through a partnership between UCU and the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, where the university won a sh238 million (about $65,000) grant to train students, especially those pursuing the degree of Bachelor of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
The students were taught the economic potential of the birding industry, important bird areas in Uganda, professional bird guiding as a career, marketing bird watching locally and globally, establishing and running a birding tour company, as well as conservation and protection of bird habitats.
Uganda has more than 1,000 bird species, according to the African Wildlife Foundation, making the country one of the richest destinations for birding in Africa. More than half of the continent’s bird species are in Uganda.
“We have a big gap in the tourism industry, but with such a training, the industry will grow faster,” Agnes Joy Kamugisha, one of the graduates, said.
“I had the opportunity to learn how to associate with my customers, how to develop good business ethics, bookkeeping and many other things that I believe when I put into practice, my business will live to see its 30th birthday,” she added.
Mary Kajumba, an official from the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, who spoke at the graduation ceremony, said one of the major aims of the agency is to equip citizens with employment skills and empower them to be able to set up projects that can solve the high level of unemployment in the country.
“Birding is one of the areas that doesn’t need much capital,” she said. “I am convinced we are training job creators and not seekers…We hope that this project is rolled out to other universities all over the country after being approved by the National Council for Higher Education.”
Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, the UCU Vice Chancellor, said the course fulfils his objective of imparting skills-based learning.
“I didn’t understand the aim of the project at first, until I was given a lecture on how practical it was, fulfilling my long-term desire of creating skills-based courses, that can bridge the gap between the industry and the classroom,” Mushengyezi said. “I now consider this course a success, so we can now enroll more birders.
He encouraged The Private Sector Foundation to keep “supporting us” so that UCU “can enroll more students.” UCU is the only institution of higher learning offering a course in birding.
Johnny Kamugisha, a professional birder and the CEO of Johnny Safaris, is optimistic about the impact of the birding project.
“This project will produce professionals for our industry. I assure you that with such a course, we shall uplift the tourism industry in this country,” Kamugisha, one of the instructors in the course, said.
Assoc. Prof. Martin Lwanga, the outgoing Dean of the UCU School of Business, which supervises the implementation of the birding project, expressed gratitude that in spite of the challenges they faced, the first cohort has graduated.
“Although we met different challenges, experts in the field of birding helped us design the curriculum, teach and mentor our students,” Lwanga said.
The project was a pilot, to evaluate how effective the short course would be in terms of learning, access to reading materials, lecturers, mentors and field work. Although much of the course content was delivered online, occasionally, students went to the field.
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Joram Kule (lower right, in black) seated with his family in a displaced people’s camp at his village, after escaping from the ADF rebel captivity.
Joram Kule is a theology student at Uganda Christian University. In 1999, Kule was abducted at age nine by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group that held him captive until his escape four-and-a-half months later. In the late 1990s, the ADF rebels terrorised part of western Uganda. In 2021, they have shifted their area of operation to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This abduction and escape as a child are part of Kule’s story as he works to bring others through their adversities to the way of Christ. Now age 27, Kule says it is the Lord who saved him, reunited him with his family and is now leading him to further be a witness for God’s strength. Kule, who is set to graduate from UCU in 2021, eyes a doctorate in his field of education.
Story as told to Gloria Katya
I was abducted on September 21, 1999, and memories of that night are still fresh in my mind. After supper, the practice usually was that we went to hide in a bush away from our home. We would hide so that when the rebels invaded at night, we would not be abducted from our house as others were. Rumour had circulated that our village, Mirimbo in Kasese district, western Uganda, would be attacked by rebels that night. We even built small grass-thatched huts in the bush, where we would take cover.
When the rebels eventually attacked our village, they came up to our home and followed a footpath that led them to our pineapple and sugarcane farm. And that was the same route to our usual hideout.On their way, the rebels ate pineapples. Sensing danger from the intruders, our little dog barked and my father woke up. When he got out, he saw the dog attack a stranger. That is when he called my elder brothers, who were also in the hut.
A fight ensued outside. It was my father and my brothers who were armed with spears, knives and machetes, on one side, against the rebels.
Joram Kule taking a reading.
For me, it was the noise from the fight that woke me up. When I moved out, I saw my father and my brothers fighting against a larger group of people, using spears and machetes. The fight went on for more than 10 minutes until my father and his team were overpowered.
At one point, my father speared one of the rebels who had attempted to shoot him. Another rebel had hurled a grenade towards my father, but it missed him by a whisker. It was the fragments of the grenade that ruptured part of my father’s ribs.
It was at that point that my father ordered us to retreat. My brothers and my father did. I was not as lucky. As I tried to run away, one of the rebels held me back. And they eventually went with me.
On our way back to their camps in the forests, the rebels raided more homes for food. They slaughtered people’s animals and carried meat in sacks. I was also given a sack of meat to carry.
After the raids, we crossed River Isya and climbed Kati Kati hills. After about two hours, we reached the top of the hill, where we retreated for the night. Very early in the morning, the rebels prepared some meat, which they ate. I did not eat what I was given. At that time, my bigger challenge was how to keep warm. After their meal, we then set off for our journey, deep into the forests. But before setting off, the rebel who was speared by my dad during the fight the night before died and he was buried at that spot.
As we moved deeper into the forests, I recalled what my mother, Masika Grace Maate, had once told me. She said that abductees are killed whenever they said they were tired. So, each time I was asked if I was tired, I would say “no.”
We walked the whole day, before we could get to our destination. At nightfall, we rested and the rebels prepared food. They also erected the shelters where we slept. The next day, we started the journey very early again. We moved through swamps, which made it difficult for us to move faster. At about noon, on the third day, we arrived at the main barracks of the rebels. I was shocked at the level of hospitality at the barracks. I saw rebels in rags, and quite many looking malnourished.
At one point, they brought a strong, beastly man who warned the new recruits that they would live to regret if they misbehaved. He was the hangman in the camp. I later established that the rebels at the barracks lacked food and, therefore, the ones who raided the villages did so with the intention of returning with food. And those who did were welcomed like heroes.
At the barracks, we prayed five times a day since the commanders were Muslims. Although I came from a devout Christian family, I started learning Islam and the Muslim culture. I was also given another name, Ismail. No one was allowed to call me by my real name.
After one week, another group of about 50 men joined us. It had a chief commander called Abdul Majidu. He came with a camera, and, sometimes, took photographs of us. Two of the other commanders at the barracks were Baruku and Mulangira. In my first two weeks at the barracks, I would get nightmares of my father, siblings and mother being shot and killed.
After about three weeks at the barracks, one morning, we were ordered to pack our belongings and leave. The boys and women were told to carry some of the luggage, and they moved ahead of the men. We were moving deeper into the forest.
Behind us were armed men, with cocked guns ready for battle any time. In the forest, we were greeted with heavy rains and fog. Sometimes, we moved under total darkness and also spent days without enjoying sunshine because of the canopy of the forest. Along the way, we would meet skeletons of people by the side of the paths, but no one seemed to care. I did.
After moving for several days and nights in the forests around Mt. Rwenzori, we came closer to an area where people stayed. For the first time in weeks, I saw civilians washing clothes, grazing cattle, and tilling their land. We camped at a place called Kasanzi in Bundibugyo district, in western Uganda. That evening, some men were chosen to go steal food from the gardens of civilians. When they reached the gardens, Uganda’s army, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), solders waylaid them and killed some of them. The few who survived returned the following morning, exhausted. They brought sacks of cassava.
One day, one of the rebels asked me to go fetch water for him from the river. I was so blessed that for the first time, I was trusted and sent alone to the river. I moved down to the valley and to the river. On the way, there was an inner voice telling me to escape. When I had established that no one saw me, I started my escape.
However, I walked for several miles without knowing which direction I was going. A thought even came to me to return to the ADF camp. But I soldiered on. The first night, I rested in a wild banana plantation that was like a cave. I discovered it was a shelter for wild animals because it had animal droppings.
In the morning when I woke up, I continued with the journey. I saw a military base from a distance. At one point, I was not sure if it was a base for the rebels or the Ugandan army. So, I took the direction away from the base. As I moved closer to people’s homes, I found a small path that led me to the main road, where I met people going about their business. I was very dirty and shabby and with a bad odour.
I later met a herdsman armed with a panga, who took me to the Ugandan army base in Bwamba village. I was interrogated by soldiers before I was taken to the village chairperson’s home, where I spent the night. For the first time in four months, I took a decent bath and ate well-cooked food.
The following morning, a woman who was the herdsman’s mother had heard my story and paid me a visit with food.
By coincidence, she recognised me. She happened to be one of my aunts who got married in the area and, as luck would have it, had heard about my abduction. I was taken to the district headquarters and then transferred to an orphanage, where my father picked me and took me to an internally displaced people’s camps, where my family and other 800 people were living. After about five years in the camp, we returned to our homes after normalcy had returned.
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By Yasiri J. Kasango The mineral-rich region where Pamela Mema was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo is playing a factor on who she becomes in life. Having grown up in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province in eastern DR Congo, Mema saw firsthand how her kinsmen were extracting minerals through artisanal means – and sometimes would not be paid for their labor.
The 18-year-old is out to overturn this unfair labor practice. She wants to participate in the exploration of minerals so the development in her region reflects its mineral worth. It is the reason she enrolled for the Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering course at the Uganda Christian University (UCU).
Mema is not in the course by accident. As early as secondary school, the daughter of Achille Biffumba and Christine Faida was studying science subjects, in preparation for an engineering course.
She attended Lycee Amani School in Goma. In her Senior Three, Mema specialized in biochemistry. Coming from a family of modest means, Mema’s parents struggled to raise the $500-a-year tuition. But that did not derail her concentration in class. She would later pass her exams with a distinction.
Despite passing her exams, Mema was stuck financially. Her parents could not afford to pay for her university education. Then, Mema’s friends introduced her to the Belgium Foundation scholarships, which were meant for the brilliant, but economically-imperiled students in Goma.
She applied. There were 200 applicants for seven full scholarship spots. The beneficiaries were to receive scholarships as well as accommodation fees from the foundation. Mema sat for the tests and did not disappoint. She was among the seven successful applicants. That is how she ended up in Uganda, at UCU.
Covid-19 and restrictions that included closing Uganda’s academic institutions in March 2020 brought added challenges. Mema had to live outside the Mukono campus gates. They were opened six months after, but only for final-year students. Higher institutions of learning opened their gates to the rest of the students in March 2021.
Being a first-timer in Uganda, culture shock occurred as expected. “At the hostel, I prepare my own meals because some Ugandan food caused me stomach discomfort,” she says.
Pamela at Uganda Christian University (UCU)
At UCU, international students are given a bridging course for a year, to help them adapt to the local curriculum. They are also taught the English language because some of them, like Mema, are not from English-speaking countries. DR Congo uses French as its official language.
Pamela’s dream is to return to DR Congo and to set up a factory in North Kivu, where people in the area can earn fair wages from their sweat, unlike today, where some owners of mining centres exploit their labor.
Grace Kesimire, a student of Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and a Congolese national, says Mema is one of the most ambitious Congolese students, she has ever met. Mema advises her fellow Congolese students to concentrate on their studies so they are able to perform well and return “home” because their country needs their expertise.
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The Rev. Liberty Muhereza, who has degrees in law and divinity from UCU, receives an award from the Uganda Police in recognition of ALARM’s contribution towards the improvement of the force. Courtesy photo.
By Eriah Lule Muhereza means “servant leader” in various parts of Uganda. According to Forebears, the world’s largest database of name meanings and distributions, more than 14,000 Ugandans are called Muhereza. One alumnus of Uganda Christian University (UCU) is among them, and appropriately so as he serves as a social justice leader for communities.
The civil rights activism of the Rev. Liberty Muhereza led him to write a training module focused on civil rights ideals to be imparted into society. When he shared his curriculum with leadership of the Uganda Police Force, they did not hesitate to take it up. Today, the module that Muhereza developed is part of the curriculum that is taught to trainees in police academies in Uganda.
Rev. Liberty Muhereza with his family. Photo/ Eriah Lule
“Since childhood, I have always dreamt of a world where there is equity and social justice,” Muhereza says.
It is this dream that even after completing his law degree course, the 38-year-old opted to work with civil society organisations, where he thought he would make more impact than setting up a law firm. He studied a Bachelor of Laws course at UCU, after which he pursued a Diploma in Legal Practice at Uganda’s Law Development Centre.
Muhereza is the Country Director of the African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM), a not-for-profit organisation that deals with conflict resolution, servant leadership development, social justice and reconciliation, as well as community transformation. ALARM, a Christian organization that was birthed in 1996, is based in Ntinda, a suburb of Kampala.
The organization operates in six countries in the Great Lakes region: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda, where it started in 2002.
Muhereza, a father of two, started working with ALARM when he completed his Diploma in Legal Practice course. He joined the organisation as its head of the peace and justice department. It is while heading the peace department that Muhereza developed a module on social justice that was eventually integrated into the curriculum of the Uganda Police Force.
Police officers being one of the major enforcers of social justice, Muhereza explains, ALARM found it necessary to train them in servant leadership development, peace, justice and reconciliation. He said they also mentor a section of lawyers under the Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity.
As a Country Director, he has created partnerships with Civil Society Organizations, Government agencies and many churches in Uganda to train pastors or church leaders. Muhereza says they have held sessions with leaders in the Church of Uganda, the Roman Catholic Church and the Pentecostal churches.
To champion their goal of fostering peace and reconciliation, the organisation set up a vocational school, the ALARM Technical Institute in Pader district, in northern Uganda, to equip former child soldiers, wives of soldiers and illiterate teenagers with self-sustenance skills. Northern Uganda was a hotspot of a two-decade civil war, from 1986, with the atrocities of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels forcing communities into internally displaced people’s camps.
At the technical institute, Muhereza says: “The youth are empowered with skills like carpentry, computer literacy, building and concrete practice, electrical installation and many more, in order to establish a job-creating generation rather than a job-seeking one.” He is the institute’s board chairperson.
Muhereza resigned from his job as the head of the Peace and Justice Department at ALARM in 2015 to pursue the Master of Divinity course at UCU. Upon completion, he joined All Saints Cathedral Nakasero, as part of its clergy. However, due to his exceptional service at ALARM, it did not take long for the organisation to call him back, this time as its Country Director, a position he holds to date.
“Attending UCU ignited my Christian values and leadership skills,” says Muhereza, who was a fellowship leader, choir master and was also involved in various ministries as a student at UCU.
Currently, Muhereza is a board member of Hope Children’s home, a not-for-profit that looks after underprivileged children. He also is the general secretary of the Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity, and the board chairperson of Fashion and Compassion, an organization that empowers women with skills for economic development.
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Students walk on campus during the Easter Semester
By Israel Kisakye and Joseph Lagen The parents of Eriya Lule, a final-year student of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication at Uganda Christian University (UCU), are just emerging from the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
Lule’s father is a real estate broker, while his mother is a beautician. The two spent much of their time last year at home, due to the lockdown that was instituted by the Ugandan government to reduce the rate of spread of the coronavirus. Operations of salons, where Lule’s mother earns her daily bread, were suspended from March to August 2020.
When the Ugandan government allowed final-year university students to resume studies on October 15, 2020, Lule was among those who breathed a sigh of relief, returning to school after a seven-month lull.
However, the sigh of relief did not extend to Lule’s parents. Where would they get the money to pay the full tuition for their son to complete his studies? That question lingered in their minds.
The normal UCU policy requires that students pay either half of the tuition at the start and the balance before sitting for examinations or pay the full tuition at the start.
“The university only has two registration stamps to indicate half and full payment,” said Joselyn Mukisa, a final-year student of Bachelor of Business Administration. “Without the full payment stamp, it is near impossible to sit for exams, which worried most of us.”
Parents of Mukisa lost their jobs during the lockdown, something which made the 21-year-old contemplate registering for a dead year at UCU. Tuition fees per semester for many of the undergraduate courses at UCU are a little over $800.
Lule and Mukisa were not the only ones going through financial challenges. As a result, the university adjusted the policy for the two and many others with similar economic challenges. Unlike before, where one sat for examinations only after paying full tuition, this time round, the university, through the Financial Aid office, temporarily relaxed its fees policy, granting permission to over 1,000 students who had paid half tuition to sit for their exams. Lule and Mukisa were among the beneficiaries of this goodwill.
“Many students sat for their exams without completing their tuition,” Walter Washika, the manager of the UCU Financial Aid office, said. “We didn’t want to be so hard because we knew what was going on out there, and, besides, we are also parents.”
“Last year, 642 students approached our offices for assistance,” Washika noted. “This number was only for the finalists who had been allowed to report back to school.”
But hundreds more who were studying remotely using online platforms also reached out to the Financial Aid office to be permitted to sit for their end of semester examinations before completing the fees payment, and Washika permitted them.
Washika noted that before Covid-19 struck, only between 40-60 students would run to his office per semester to ask for pardon to sit for the examination before completing their fees payments.
Lule explained what the arrangement entailed: “About 30 of my classmates, myself inclusive, were given exemption letters by the Financial Aid office, so as to be able to sit for the exams. The letters allowed us to sit for our examinations after paying only half of the tuition required and we were asked to complete the outstanding balance before graduation.”
Washika confirmed that a number of students who were allowed to sit for the examinations before paying full fees have since paid their balances and continued with the new semester. For the finalists who have not yet paid he said they will not graduate until after the balance is settled.
This year’s first phase of graduation will take place on July 2, in a virtual nature. The next virtual ceremony will be held in October.
The Financial Aid office has, since inception of the university, offered a life-line to thousands of students, ordinarily contributing a little under $100 to each of its beneficiaries’ tuition balances.
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UCU’s Civil Engineering students take measurements on Bishop Tucker Road in Mukono, recently.
By Sempa Ivor and Joseph Lagen To them, it is coursework. To the community, it is a solution to a longstanding challenge. As Joseph Wasswa, 21, and Freanor Akora, 22, embark on pre-repair road tests on one of the roads adjacent to the university, there is hope from the community, especially the vendors who have been spending a considerable part of the day wiping dust off their merchandise on display.
Wasswa and Akora are part of the seven-member team of third-year students of Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering undertaking a class project on the Wandegeya-Kauga section of the Bishop Tucker Road. It’s a section outside the gates of the Uganda Christian University (UCU) main campus in Mukono.
The pre-repair road tests are expected to help inform decisions of government contractors on which resources are best suited to durably reconstruct the road that is riddled with potholes.
UCU Civil Engineering students
“We are doing a Dynamic Cone Penetration Test, which combines onsite and laboratory tests to determine the traffic load on the roads, the soil type and quality, among others,” Wasswa said. “Our findings will be shared with Mubarak Construction Company Limited, which has been contracted to repair the road.”
Stephan Ntwari, a final-year student of UCU’s program leading to Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering, is using his final research project to sort out the issue of dust on the road. Using scientific research and a unique salt, the 24-year-old Burundian national intends to make dust clouds a thing of the past on the Bishop Tucker Road.
“Having been here for five years, I took the issue of the dust on the Bishop Tucker Road personally,” Ntwari says. His answer to the dust is a spray of a calcium chloride solution.
“As opposed to using trucks to spray water on the roads daily, because of the soil’s poor water retention abilities, calcium chloride can only be applied once in three months – which, in the long term, is way cheaper than water,” Ntwari explains.
While less expensive, would that not come at a cost to the environment? Ntwari’s answer is no.
“The amount of calcium chloride used is too negligible to cause any harm,” he said.
However, the part of the road being sprayed should be more than eight meters (26 feet) from any natural water source. Anything closer would mean runoff water, especially during rain, can pollute the water source with the chemical.
The project works of the students are made possible through a partnership between UCU’s Faculty of Science and Technology and the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA). UNRA is a government agency authorized to develop and maintain the national roads.
“This partnership came into being in 2018 and serves two purposes – building the experience of our students and developing the surrounding community,” said Rogers Tayebwa, the head of the Department of Civil Engineering at UCU. “We have seen its fruits and we are optimistic for more.”
Certainly, there are challenges in the projects on the roads.
“It has been raining and rain is not an ideal weather for road works; but we are grateful for the chance to apply our classroom knowledge,” Akor said, beaming under her construction helmet. “Many do not get such an opportunity until they go for internship.”
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Guild officials who are part of the UCU Covid-19 Student Taskforce pose for a photo after being commissioned.
By Ivan Tsebeni Uganda Christian University (UCU) management and student leaders have commissioned a Covid-19 Student Taskforce to further ensure the safety of learners.
The group of 244 students was tasked with coordinating health activities related to Covid-19 in the university.
The team was equipped with several skills, such as how to maintain a clean facemask and how to detect students with high body temperatures. This, the university argued, is intended to help the task force identify possible Covid-19 cases among the students and how to offer health assistance to those affected while keeping the larger student body and staff safe. They are, thus, expected to ensure that students practice social distancing, wear masks and always wash their hands at the different water points within the university.
All education institutions in Uganda were shut down in March last year in order to eliminate concentration centres for the coronavirus. After six months of lockdown, final-year students were allowed to report to school in October 2020. Universities and other tertiary education institutions were reopened to the rest of the students in March 2021.
Some of the UCU student coronavirus task force
During the launch of the UCU student taskforce on March 19, Dr. Geoffrey Mulindwa, the Director of Medical Services at the university’s Allan Galpin Clinic, urged members of the student task force to encourage students to adhere to the set standard operating procedures.
Mulindwa, who is the vice-chairperson of the UCU Covid-19 Taskforce said the university lost two people to the deadly virus since March 2020 and that there were some who had contracted the virus, but got healed.
“We are not immune from the pandemic; our staff, about six of them, got infected,” he said. “But I thank God that since we reopened for physical classes this year, we have not had any new cases.”
Mulindwa used the opportunity to rally people to get the Covid-19 vaccination, saying it is one sure way of protecting oneself. He thanked the university employees who had heeded the call and got vaccinated.
UCU Guild President Kenneth Agaba Amponda welcomed the idea of forming the Covid-19 Student Taskforce. He said the main priority of the guild government is to ensure that students are safe by adhering to the Ministry of Health guidelines.
He asked the university to provide T-shirts and tags to students, to help intensify the campaign against the pandemic. He promised to contribute some money from the coffers of the guild government, if the university buys his idea of intensifying the sensitisation campaign about the effects of Covid-19 and how to keep safe.
The student in charge of health affairs in the UCU guild government, Benjamin Bikongo, noted that the adherence of the students to the Ministry of Health’s Covid-19 prevention was good. “I can testify that many students are minding about their health. I, however, urge them to continue observing the set guidelines,” he said.
Garry Murungi, one of the members of the taskforce, lauded the university for the initiative, saying it would keep many students safe.
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Lynn Komugisha received the award of “Best NCDs journalist” 2021 in the Broadcast category, in a contest organized by the Non-Communicable Disease Alliance for East Africa.
By Jimmy Siyasa Journalists are trained to be messengers of news. Not many of them are the news. Uganda Christian University (UCU) graduate Lynn Komugisha was both in 2020. The attention was on her and her reporting of non-communicable diseases (NCD).
The East Africa Media on NCDs Awards (EAMNA Awards) 2021 has acknowledged Komugisha as the best NCD journalist at the national level – Uganda. Her reporting was recognized as exemplary for highlighting the dangers and means of prevention for non-communicable diseases. Such diseases as diabetes, cancers, strokes and heart attacks cause more deaths globally than conditions that are contagious.
Komugisha told stories of Ugandans suffering from NCDs such as diabetes. Through these stories, she called upon relevant stakeholders to sensitize masses about diabetes. Her reporting covered the dangers of this condition that keeps the body from processing food properly, its causes, and what individuals and communities can do to support persons suffering from diabetes.
Her media message stood out above other entries from the region that includes Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and Zanzibar.
Komugisha, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication degree from 2010, says health reporting is her passion. In 2020, when understanding that people with underlying, non-communicable health conditions were more at risk of Covid-19, she reported it.
Lynn Komugisha, TV and radio news anchor and hosts of a Talk Show on Urban Television
“The award encourages me to do more. An award is not only an appreciation for the work you are putting in. It is also a reminder that you can do more,” she commented from her office at Vision Group, the largest media conglomerate in Uganda.
At Vision Group, Komugisha hosts a TV show on Urban TV, reads news on TV, as well as on Vision Group’s radio, XFM. She reads and reports the news.
Komugisha is driven by both her passion for the news and a strong work ethic. She gets up at 3 a.m. and is at work two hours later, researching and preparing copy for the Urban TV show that she hosts. At 6 a.m., Komugisha is brainstorming with her producer. Some days, she anchors radio news on 94.8 XFM. She eventually retires for the day at 7:30 p.m.
Komugisha’s intense schedule pushes much of her role as a mom to an eight-year-old son to the weekend.
“Sometimes my son is not with me, so I get to see him whenever I really can. But I make time over the weekend to see him, my family and the people I care about,” she says.
While she appears tough on the surface, Komugisha has an easygoing and genial side. She says the tough demeanor is a shield she puts on herself to ward off some men who harass her, including male engagement in catcalling.
When asked how she is able to manage the pressure of working in a media house, Komugisha points to the sky to signal divine power. Every morning, when she wakes up, prayer is among the to-do items on her list.
“My faith in Christ, is my grounding force, for every move I make, He is my guide and the only one that keeps me on the right track,” she said, adding, “I am grateful to Uganda Christian University because it cemented my faith in Christ. I believe it nurtured me into the faithful woman that I am.”
Komugisha attended St. Hellen’s Primary School in Mbarara, a district in western Uganda, before joining Masheruka Girls Secondary School for secondary education. Masheruka is found in Sheema district, also located in western Uganda.
Komugisha says she was advised to pursue journalism at UCU by one of her former high school teachers who believed she had great potential in that profession.
By the time she acquired her undergraduate degree in 2010, Komugisha had worked as an intern or volunteer at least at four radio stations in Uganda – Spirit FM (2007), FM J, Kampala FM and Capital FM. Upon graduation, she worked at Vision Radio, located in Mbarara, her hometown, for four years, after which she quit to join Vision Group.
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Trials I: Participants in the 100m race setting off during the annual athletics trials at UCU recently
By Ivor Sempa and Joseph Lagen The Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) was until mid-March staring at a possibility of cancelling their season opener activity, the national athletics trials. The athletics body was contemplating cancelling the event after their usual venue, Namboole Stadium, was ruled out because it was a holding facility for Covid-19 patients. Their other option, the Kyambogo University grass track, was unavailable because Uganda’s electoral body had camped at the facility during the 2021 general election.
However, the trials finally took place on March 13 after Uganda Christian University (UCU) accepted to host the event at the Mukono campus track field station.
“We are happy to have been granted this field, free of charge, by UCU,” Mr. Dominic Otuchet, UAF’s president said.
The events at the trials included several track races, such as the 5,000m, 4,000m, 1,500m, 800m, 200m and 100m. Athletes also participated in events like javelin, shot put and long jump.
Uganda has embarked on the preparations for Tokyo Olympics that were postponed from last year to July 23-August 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. The 2020 Olympic games were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Trials II: Participants in the 1,500m race during annual athletics trials at UCU
The trials were graced by some of Uganda’s elite sports athletes. These included: Halimah Nakaayi, winner of the women’s 800m in 2019’s DohaWorld Athletics Championships; Stephen Kiprotich, a long-distance double gold medalist for the Olympics and World Championships in 2012 and 2013; and Joshua Cheptegei, the current world record holder for both the 10,000m and 5,000m.
UCU also had its representatives that Saturday. They included undergraduate students Juscent Nyamahunge (100m, 400m), Sidonia Atto (400m, long jump), Williamson Oroma (400m) and Linda Evelyn Achan (100m). Nyamahunge and Atto are from the Faculty of Education, while Oroma is pursuing a Bachelor of Governance and International Relations course. Achan is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration course.
In addition to the athletics teams from the Uganda Police, Uganda Wildlife Authority and Uganda Prisons, universities of Ndejje and Makerere also had representatives at the trials.
Nyamahunge, UCU’s team captain, said the trials were the first opportunity for them to compete nationally since the lockdown was instituted in March 2020. As part of the lockdown measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus, government banned sports activities in the country. The ban was later lifted after more than six months.
“Running alongside Uganda’s athletics stars, including a World Record holder, helps the student athletes create realistic benchmarks for themselves in preparation for the trials’ second heat in July this year,” Nyamahunge said.
Sam Lukayire, the sports department’s administrator at UCU, shared the same sentiments. “Not many young Ugandan athletes get to run alongside their heroes; that is what makes today special,” Lukayire said.
UCU athletics coach Timothy Kabuye, a certified International Athletics Association Federations (IAAF) trainer, beams with pride over the performance of his team.
“Given the times, we have done well. We can only improve from here,” he said. “I thank the university for offering us this opportunity.”
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UCU students of Bachelor of Governance on a study trip to Sipi Falls that was coordinated by Ecstacy Ventures Tourism and Travel
By Gloria Katya The ultimate goal of many students who pursue a course in law in Uganda is to join legal practice. However, for Joackim Mumbere, the story was different.
After spending four years at Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Law School, the 26-year-old did not proceed to the Law Development Centre to pursue a diploma in legal practice, which would enable him become an advocate.
CEO of Ecstasy Ventures, Joackim Mumbere, with Miss Tourism Eastern Uganda at Sipi Falls
Mumbere instead opted to venture into tourism. While a student at UCU, Mumbere started a tour and travel company. He realized that tourism was a lucrative venture when he joined the Rotaract Club of UCU in 2014. As the chairperson of the club, he was put in charge of organizing trips, dinners and picnics for club members.
The experience Mumbere garnered from organizing such events soon changed his career path.
In his second year, Mumbere started a tourism and travel company called Ecstasy Ventures. Mostly on weekends, he promoted and conducted business of the company.
In 2018, following his graduation with a bachelor of laws from UCU, Mumbere returned to his company, as his colleagues hit the streets to search for jobs.
With him in the steering of the business, it expanded its clientele rapidly. Mumbere organized dozens of trips, weddings, parties, graduation parties and boat cruises for clients.
“I also worked with many corporate companies, such as Jumia and banks, and my network grew,” he says. He credits the rate of expansion of his business to the special services that he says he offered.
“My company organizes movies, campfires and celebrates birthday parties during the trips.”
Mumbere earns between sh500,000 (about $136) and sh1,00,000 (about $272) per trip he organizes.
“I organize two-three trips every month, but my dream is to double the number,” he said.
Mumbere’s company is online, but his dream is to secure physical space (offices) for it soon.
Studying law has helped Mumbere to realize the importance of documenting every transaction with clients, so that people don’t cheat him.
“With my law background, I am not easily intimidated by certain classes of customers because I know what the law requires,” he said.
Mumbere’s dream in the next five years is to grow the company so that it can acquire more assets, travel cars, land and at least a lodge in one of the national game parks. He urges students to embrace academics, as well as their talents.
“UCU has a lot of co-curricular activities that can make students successful in life, if well exploited,” he said.
Mumbere says his parents – David and Teopista Mayanja of Kasese district in western Uganda – are proud of his business acumen. Mumbere’s law lecturer at UCU, Samson Wanambuko, says he is not surprised by what his former student has achieved.
“He was a good, inquisitive student who used to participate in class, and was always eager to learn. He is very intelligent,” Wanambuko said.
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Wabwire sensitizing the youth about their rights in the Kampala suburbs in a campaign designed by Faraja Africa. Photo/Faraja Media Team.
By Lule Eriah It is not the first time that Wabwire Emmanuel’s name is being etched on the annals of Uganda Christian University (UCU). From 2012-2013, Wabwire was the university’s guild president as he pursued a Bachelor’s in Development Studies.
When he left the university in 2013, if some people thought it was the end of his relationship with the institution, they were wrong. On March 5, 2021, Wabwire renewed his leadership relationship with UCU, when he assumed another role – chairperson of the UCU Alumni Association.
Those who have been close to Wabwire narrate how the 30-year-old has been a leader throughout his life. To close associates, Wabwire’s victory in the polls is simply one more testament to the fact that he never tires from service.
Wabwire is currently the Gold Award Winner of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, a non-formal education and learning youth program currently operating in more than 130 countries. The awards were founded in the UK in 1956by the late Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Wabwire during the alumni presidential debate held early this year.
Wabwire, a holder of a Master’s in Business Administration from the Catholic University of Milan, is currently the Executive Director of Faraja Africa Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that deals in digital story-telling and youth leader-mentorship.
Former students speak glowingly of Wabwire’s tenure as UCU guild president.
“He created a bridge between student leadership and the administration, which was quite a hard thing to do during that time,” Ronald Awany, a former student and now a communications assistant at UCU, says.
But that was then. Now, Wabwire said he wants to establish a leadership and business incubator for both UCU alumni and the entire UCU community. He intends to use the incubator to mobilize resources in order to avail UCU alumni, among other beneficiaries, loans and/ or grants for businesses.
Besides his impeccable leadership background, Wabwire also credits his tech savviness for giving him an edge over his competitors in the race for the alumni association chairperson. The campaigns were digital and the elections online, through the E-Chagua – an online voting application created by the university’s ICT department. Eligible voters would receive links through their email addresses registered prior to the voting day and, follow it to vote for the candidate of their choice.
Daphine Kumakune, the alumni office administrator, says voter sensitization and calls for voter registration were done on different social media platforms and reminders sent through emails to active members.
“I know it was a low turn-up, but, still, I was very sure of victory because I had campaigned very well and my voters knew what I had in my manifesto,” Wabwire said.
Background Wabwire is the third of four children of Henry Nicholas Wabwire from Mbale in eastern Uganda. Growing up from a simple, God-fearing background, Wabwire’s spirit for leadership erupted at a tender age.
“I have been a leader from nursery school, where I was the class monitor. In primary school, I was a prefect and eventually became the head prefect,” he says. “In secondary school, I held many leadership positions in school clubs. However, the highest of them all was deputy head prefect.”
From 2008-2009, he worked with the Red Cross as the National Youth Council Treasurer for Mbale district. Later, in the same organization, he was assigned to lead the task force that oversaw rescue and rehabilitation at the occurrence of a major landslide that had left many homeless in Bududa and Butaleja districts, in the eastern Uganda. He was also the District General Secretary for the Uganda National Students Association for Mbale district.
Wabwire believes his service with Red Cross tickled his soft spot for charity work. “Initially, I wanted to be a lawyer, but after the Red Cross experience, I changed my mind into community service and social work,’’ Wabwire said, noting that the change of mind shifted his interest to development studies.
Like it usually is with many students, Wabwire struggled financially. During one of the semesters, he had failed to raise tuition fees. However, Uganda Partners was at hand to intervene.
“But I was saved by Uganda Partners, which topped up sh500,000 (about $137) on my tuition,” Wabwire said. “And I give them credit for their support toward students,” he added.
For now, we wait to see the fruits of Wabwire’s business incubator idea that he plans to implement during his term of office.
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ASP Beyanga Cornelius poses in his police official uniform at one of the events at Naguru Police Headquarters. Photo by Police Media Team
By Lule Eriah
When Cornelius Beyanga was completing his Bachelor of Laws course at Uganda Christian University (UCU), he attended a talk during the institution’s Career Week. The presentation facilitator, then Uganda’s head of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, made a case for why it was beneficial for graduates to join the Police force. He made specific reference to a need for recruits with legal knowledge.
Having had a background of family members serving in the armed forces, Beyanga already saw working in the police or military forces as one professional option. Beyanga had three uncles who were serving in the military. The magnetic pull toward that work was made stronger during the career week talk.
When he completed school, Beyanga enrolled into the Police. And he was not alone with his legal background.
ASP Beyanga conducts a workshop in one of the Uganda police academies in the country early this year.
“During our entry into Police in 2014, we were 47 lawyers who joined,” Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Beyanga, a UCU 2011 Bachelor of Laws graduate, recalled. “I thank UCU for the Career Week that it organized. It is because of those career talks that I am what you see.”
He currently works in the Directorate of Human Rights and Legal Services of the Uganda Police, where he sits on a panel of six prosecutors of a Police tribunal. The tribunal was established as an internal mechanism for trying errant Police officers and guiding the Police disciplinary process. Beyanga’s work includes orientation of new recruits on the Police ethical codes of conduct in Police academies all over the country.
Before his current position in the Police, which he assumed in 2018, Beyanga was the deputy officer in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in Lwengo, a district in central Uganda. He also served as the Officer in Charge of Lamwo district in northern Uganda, from 2016-2017.
Dr. Anthony Kakooza, a former dean of the Faculty of Law, said: “I am pleased to see my students prosper in different fields. This encourages me to share knowledge more and enforce discipline in order to develop our nation.”
Edith Kamakune, the outgoing speaker of the UCU Alumni Association and Beyanga’s former classmate, is not surprised by achievements in the Police. “Our class was full of serious people. No wonder, Beyanga is in the Police to fight for the oppressed as he used to say,” she added.
When he rests his gun, Beyanga’s other hand picks up a hoe. He owns an agro-produce company called Cousin Factor Uganda Limited, established in Mbarara, western Uganda. This produces coffee, bananas and also deals in livestock farming.
“I am working hard to become one of the remarkable farmers in the country,” Beyanga, who hopes to make a demonstration, says. The father of two children, he is married to an alumna of UCU.
He hopes his colleagues in the forces can borrow a leaf out of his entrepreneurial endeavors, so that they diversify their sources of income while making a positive impact in various careers.
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Retiring Librarian Monica Nabagala Ntenge and guests enjoy a meal outside the UCU Learning Commons Room at Ntege’s farewell party.
Story and Photos By Jimmy Siyasa
“Time limits are good things. No matter how good a dancer you are, you must leave the stage.”
This quote, attributed to former Congolese politician Patrice Lumumba, came to mind when Uganda Christian University (UCU) bid its recent farewell to the campus’ long-serving librarian, Monica Nabagala Ntege.
For half of the time she has spent on earth, Ntege has been serving UCU. She retires at 65, which is the university’s age of passing the baton.
“UCU has been my home. UCU has made me what I didn’t even expect to be. And I thank all of you for being part of that making,” Ntege told guests at a farewell party organized in her honour on April 26, by the Human Resource Department.
“It’s been a long journey. Some people were asking me to request for a contract extension. But the university retirement age is clear and we have to uphold it.”
Ntege is credited for many initiatives during her tenure, including starting a library choir whose sweet melodies always formed part of the ambiance outside the Hamu Mukasa Library whenever they met to practice.
Ntenge serves cake to Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi and former Vice-Chancellor, the Rev. Can. Dr. John Senyonyi, at her farewell party.
Top UCU managers, led by the Vice Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi and his two deputies – John Kitayimbwa and David Mugawe – as well as former Vice Chancellor, the Rev. Can. Dr. John Senyonyi and his wife, Ruth, were part of the team that convened at the UCU Learning Commons Room to celebrate Ntege’s dedicated service.
Senyonyi exalted Ntege for upholding Christian values and inspiring her subordinates.
“As Vice Chancellor, I visited the (library) staff several times,” he said. “And I saw her to be a mother, so caring and loving to the staff. Thank you for leaving the library without a scandal.”
Senyonyi added: “She could have actually served very easily as an Assistant Chaplain. Her interest in the spiritual life and spiritual vibrancy of this university is something that I can attest to.”
Ntege’s strong Christian values are reflective of a conventional brand of Christianity that was popular in the early 1930s, as espoused by an Anglican movement then known as the East African Revivalists.
Her not-beating-around-the-bush approach to life could have rubbed some students the wrong way, but it, no doubt, won Ntege admiration from not only “people that matter,” but also those to whom truth matters.
“I am so obliged to celebrate your hard work. I have not worked for long with Monica, but for the few months I have been here, a few things have struck me about her; she is someone who is natural.” Assoc. Prof. Mushengyezi said.
One of the things the library staff will miss about Ntege are the pancakes that she would bake for them. “Every small thing she had, she shared with us. She made sure we had something, especially for breakfast,” Annet, a front desk officer at the library, said.
A daughter of Mr and Mrs. Isaac and Ekiria Ntege, who were both primary school teachers, Ntege is the eighth of 14 children. Both her parents have since died. Ntege joined Nabisunsa Girls School for O’level at 11 years and later proceeded to Trinity College Nabbingo for A’level. It was at Nabbingo where she gave her life to Christ, at 17 years. She later enrolled to pursue a Diploma in Library course at Makerere University.
Ntege joined Bishop Tucker Theological College on June 1, 1988, as the Assistant Librarian. Bishop Tucker Theological College became UCU in 1997. Before joining Bishop Tucker Theological College, Ntege worked at Kibuli Secondary School in Kampala as a librarian.
To sharpen her competence edge, Ntege flew to England to study a bachelor’s degree in library studies, which she completed in 1996. At the time, there were plans to transition from a theological college into a university, so she needed the academic qualification to work in a university library. World Council of Churches sponsored her course in England.
In 1999, Ntege returned to England to pursue a master’s degree in library services at the Loughborough University.
Upon her return, Ntege was employed as the Deputy University Librarian, a position she held till 2015, when she became the Librarian, upon the retirement of Dr. Frederick Mukungu, who held the position.
As a child, Ntege’s parent taught her to appreciate reading. While she says her father did not know much English, he often bought for them books to read, to sharpen their literacy. It is no surprise that the grammar Nazi once punished Frank Obonyo, currently the UCU Communications and Marketing Manager, in his student days, for poor punctuation.
In her retirement, Ntege plans to open a bookshop, so she can “strengthen the reading culture among children.”
Ntege leaves the library in the able hands of David Bukenya, who has been deputizing her. Bukenya will be the acting University Librarian.
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Fred Atuhwera, UCU student and star soccer player with the Gomba Lions
By Ivor Sempa and Joseph Lagen
Two final-year students of Uganda Christian University (UCU) were among the players who helped their team win a soccer tournament at the finals played at the picturesque St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende, off Entebbe Road. For their outstanding performance, Fred Atuhwera, Derrick Mbowa and teammates helped their team – Gomba Lions – walk home with a sh12m (about $3,300) cash prize after roaring past the Buddu Buddu Football Club (FC).
Part of the award money is distributed among the football players and part supports administration of the club.
Twenty-three-year-old Fred Atuhwera is a final-year student of Bachelor of Business Administration, while Derrick Mbowa, 24, is pursuing a Bachelor of Procurement & Logistics Management course, also in his final year.
The Masaza Cup tournament, held since 2004, was one of the sports activities affected by the Covid-19 lockdown imposed on sports in the country last year. As a result, the competition, which usually attracts a record number of spectators in the country, started six months later, in December 2020. The finals, held on March 6, were played behind closed-doors to fans. Attendance was only by invitation. The tournament is played by the local administrative units in Buganda, called counties. Buganda is the biggest kingdom in Uganda.
Atuhwera, a three-time winner of the Masaza Cup, is a central defensive midfielder. UCU also has had the opportunity of benefitting from his immense talent. In 2019, Atuhwera helped UCU win the soccer league of Uganda’s University Games.
Atuhwera’s three medals in the Masaza Cup have come with three different teams – Mawokota in 2015, Buddu in 2016 and the most recent, Gomba.
UCU student and soccer player, Derrick Mbowa
On the other hand, Derrick Mbowa is an attacking midfielder on UCU’s soccer team, the Cardinals. For four years, Mbowa has been part of the university soccer team, until 2020, when he retired from competitive university sports. Mbowa has also previously played for other counties in the Masaza Cup, such as Kyaggwe FC.
When asked about the performance of Atuhwera and Mbowa, the coach of Gomba Lions, Ambrose Kirya, said: “These two players have helped the team win and their names will remain etched in the Masaza Cup history.”
For his outstanding performance, Atuhwera was named the best central defensive midfielder of the 2020 competition, while Mbowa scored one of the three goals that helped his team roar to victory.
Kirya lauded the vibrancy of Uganda’s University League, saying it is from there that he scouted Atuhwera and Mbowa. He tasked other universities with borrowing a leaf from the books of UCU’s level of organisation and commitment to develop the game of soccer.
Atuhwera said: “Winning has always been a part of me. While I am excited, it is normal for me to win trophies as I have done back home at UCU. Winning for UCU brings me particularly more joy because I get to represent the university’s students.”
Mbowa, who will be leaving the university soon, pledged commitment to help his alma mater, even when he is out. “I am proud to have served UCU and I pledge to bring more young talent to the university, in order to grow the team,” he said, adding: “I send my appreciation to all those in UCU who have always believed in me.”
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UCU journalism students have a discussion at the University Guild Park.
By Ivan Tsebeni
Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Faculty of Journalism, Communication and Media Studies has adopted a new curriculum that aims at bridging the gap between training institutions and the practical world.
The curriculum implementation has started with the first-year students who joined the university for the Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication (BAJC) on March 1, 2021. Until its implementation, the journalism program at the Uganda Christian University (UCU) was called Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication (BAMC).
The faculty dean, Prof. Monica Chibita, said the changes in the curriculum are aimed at “shooting several birds with one stone.” Chibita noted that the first aim was to address the requirement of the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) that curriculums should be revised every three years.
“But the faculty also has used the same opportunity to redirect the curriculum to address the questions of ethical practice, gender and the faculty’s performance,” she noted. “Our goal is to produce students who are industry-ready and ethical in practice.”
Building that houses leadership for the UCU Faculty of Journalism, Communication and Media Studies.
To achieve the goals, the faculty made changes in some of the course units. The new course units introduced include Media and Information Literacy; Introduction to Journalism and Media Studies; Journalism and Political Communication; Economics and Business Journalism; Data Journalism; Media, Gender and Social Justice; and Understanding Journalism, Media and Communication.
Chibita said the new curriculum was approved by the university’s senate and NCHE, which allowed the faculty to launch it this semester, using blended learning.
Dr. Emily Comfort Maractho, the Head of Department of Journalism and Media Studies, said the faculty labors a lot to respond to the dynamic demands in the media industry.
She noted that the areas tackled under the new curriculum are of “great importance” in defining the future of journalism.
“We have introduced writing in almost every semester. We believe that the writing skills are helpful in restructuring the profession of journalism,” she said. “It has been our desire to improve journalism performance in Uganda.”
The changes in the curriculum have been welcomed by the journalism and communication students.
Marvian Kadu, a third-year student, said the curriculum will yield more and better results and lauded the faculty for what he called progressive transformation.
Andrew Bugembe, a second-year Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication student, said he expects the new curriculum to help them improve their writing skills, which he said is the ‘backbone’ of journalism.
“Without writing skills, a journalist is incomplete. It is encouraging to see the faculty giving it priority,” Bugembe said.
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Former UCU Vice Chancellor Dr. John Senyonyi speaks during a Zoom session held at the time of his university retirement in mid-2020.
By Esther Byoona
When he was retiring from university service last year, former Uganda Christian University (UCU) Vice Chancellor Dr. John Musisi Senyonyi said he would carry two main passions into retirement. The passions for the 65-year-old revered preacher, mathematician, evangelist, husband, father and grandfather are theology and writing.
In the midst of a packed schedule as Vice Chancellor, Senyonyi often afforded time to write messages to preach to students during the bi-weekly community worship sessions in the main campus’ Nykoyoyo Hall. He also contributed regular articles for not only the university’s The Standard community newspaper, where he had a column, but also national publications like New Vision and Daily Monitor.
Dr. John Senyonyi
Senyonyi retired from the Vice Chancellor position in August 2020 after serving UCU for 19 years. He joined the institution in 2001 as university chaplain. Two-and-a-half years later, Senyonyi was the deputy vice-chancellor in charge of finance and administration. In 2010, he replaced the university’s founding Vice Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Noll.
So, six months into retirement and now moved off the Mukono campus to his home on Mukono Hill, how far is Senyonyi with the activities that he said would keep him company during retirement?
“There’s a manuscript I did while in the theology school that was recommended for publication, but it was not done,” he said. “When I retired, I decided to work on it, to see if it is still relevant. Now, I am done working on it.”
Dr. Senyonyi’s manuscript focused on the preaching of Bishop Festo Kivengere. He said the title could change, but when he was writing the thesis, he called it “philosophy of evangelization.” He related it to his context in the East African Revival. Kivengere is a former Anglican leader in Uganda.
Dr. Senyonyi explained that in the days after the martyrdom of Archbishop Janani Luwum, the theme that became prominent in Bishop Festo’s preaching was love. He talked about the love of God, as well as the love for our enemies. In 1977, Festo co-authored a book titled I love Idi Amin: The Story of Triumph under Fire in the Midst of Suffering and Persecution in Uganda. The title and content,Dr. Senyonyi explained, were unthinkable at the time.
Senyonyi said he has completed working on the manuscript. “There were many mistakes, but I’m thankful someone could type it in because the original manuscript was on a (now outdated technological) floppy disk, which I lost, but I still had a hard copy.”
Senyonyi also had edited a book for his long-time friend, Mark Blair, a former lecturer at the Bishop Tucker Theological College and now a pastor in Beijing. He edited a small part of what Blair was writing. He further explained that Blair wanted some assurance regarding his work, especially if the facts were accurate.
The other book Senyonyi edited was on his father-in-law, the late Bishop Misare Kauma, who wrote about suffering, which Senyonyi said was a reflection of his ministry as a pastor to people who were in anguish, especially from HIV/AIDS.
Senyonyi said Kauma was a very compassionate man and that he was instrumental in closing the gap between the church and those who were in need and the vulnerable. Kauma was one time the chairperson of the Uganda AIDS Commission.
Senyonyi also has a chapter in the book the Third Education Revolution that focuses on the education and the church. His chapter talks about his experience in the university and how the church and the university can work together to form a new cohort of graduates whose understanding of education is formed by the Christian worldview.
Before his retirement, Senyonyi narrated, there was an article he was given to write, regarding Christian education in Uganda. He says he has embarked on that, too.
Senyonyi noted that he is willing to write the history of UCU in a bid to preserve it. He has fears that a lot of the university’s history will be lost if it is not documented. Senyonyi particularly cites the death of former university librarian Frederick Mukungu, who, he believed, had a lot of knowledge about the university, but it was not documented. Mukungu, who worked at UCU for over 20 years, passed away on January 1, 2021. He had since retired from UCU and was the librarian at Muni University at the time of his death.
Two fairly recent documents, a 20th anniversary magazine in 2017 and a university prospectus in 2020, capture some of this history but not in depth.
Last but not least is a memoir. Senyonyi started his autobiography before retirement. He said he has been approached by many people who offered to write his life story. But Senyonyi believes that many biography writers do not do justice to biographies of the people they are writing about. That is why he is only confident in himself executing the task. He says the first chapter is a work in progress.
Clearly, Senyonyi’s plate looks full, but to him, there is still space for evangelization. As recently as January 31, he preached at the Nkoyoyo Hall, during the Sunday services. He said preaching is something he loves to do and he says he will comfortably do it along with writing.
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Story and Photos by Israel Kisakye and Joseph Lagen It is commonplace for vendors on the Bishop Tucker Road to wipe thick dust off their merchandise. Some traders operating electronics shops have been forced to buy electric blowers to remove dusty grime from their displayed equipment. The road, 4.7 miles long, links the Kampala-Jinja highway to Namilyango. It is also the main road to the Mukono campus of Uganda Christian University (UCU).
Reagan Muyinda, a graduate of Bachelor of Public Administration and Management at UCU, operates one of those whose business – selling ice cream – affected by the state of the road. “My customers leave the shop immediately after buying ice cream because of the dust,” Muyinda says.
But dust is not the only challenge on the road, named after the Bishop Tucker Theological College (later becoming Uganda Christian University). The street is also riddled with pot-holes.
Part of the Bishop Tucker Road that is not tarmacked.
In December 2020, people operating businesses issued a sigh of relief when Mukono Municipality’s local council started renovations on the road. The constructors placed fresh tarmac on the section of the road from the Bus Stop on the Kampala-Jinja road to Wandegeya trading centre, just before the UCU small gate, a distance of about 0.4miles.
However, the excitement of the businesspeople was cut short. For now (mid-April 2021), the works on the road have stalled.
Nevertheless, the Mukono Municipal Council’s head engineer is hopeful the road repairs will be completed.
“We are working alongside the central government to get the construction done,” says Josiah Sserunjoji, an engineer who blames the snail pace of the construction on the lack of funds. “We are co-operating with the government to get enough funds to complete the road works.”
According to Sserunjoji, it costs a little over $880,000 to construct a mile on the road.
The Mukono Municipal Council says it is responsible for the section of road from the Bus Stop on the Kampala-Jinja Road up to the end of the university fence. After that, the responsible agency for managing the road is the national roads agency, the Uganda National Roads Authority. The money used by the Mukono Municipal Council for the road works comes from their fund of locally collected taxes.
UCU’s Director of Facilities and Capital Projects, Eng. David Kivumbi, says since 2010, they have been in discussions with the Mukono Municipal Council over the works on the Bishop Tucker Road.
“Sadly, we hit a dead end each time we hold the discussions,” Kivumbi, who is also in charge of construction works at the university, says. “While they promise to work on the road, all they do is fill the pot-holes with murram, which easily erodes.” Murram is laterite which is largely used for surfaces of seasonal roads in Africa.
Beyond the impact on businesses, the uneven, dusty road negatively effects the image of UCU, endangers pedestrians as they dodge vehicles weaving in and out of potholes and hinders UCU student travel to classes.
Lillian Nganzi, a final-year student of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication, said whenever it rains, the road becomes slippery for cars and foot travelers. Students’ clothing is covered with dust in dry weather and mud when it rains, causing discomfort and often delaying their time to classes.
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Bachelor of Human Rights, Peace and Humanitarian Intervention students pose while washing cars to raise money for teaching youth how to make re-usable sanitary pads.
By Dalton Mujuni The day was March 12, 2021. The venue, Uganda Christian University (UCU) parking yard. The activity, car wash. The university was witnessing one of its first student-led charity activities upon their return from a year-long break, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A disturbing statistic drove the charity activity. The Non-Governmental Organization, World Vision, reports that insufficient menstrual hygiene management is responsible for 10% of the dropout rate of girls in primary schools in Uganda. The data unsettled a group of UCU third-year Bachelor of Human Rights, Peace and Humanitarian Intervention students, up to the point of organizing a fund-raising car wash.
The students are targeting girls in Bugujju, a poor neighborhood near the university’s Mukono campus, with basic menstrual hygiene necessities. Suzan Venusto Kaluma, one of the students, said their intention is to empower up to 100 youths in Bugujju with skills in making re-usable sanitary pads. The car wash has given them a financial boost to kick-start possible other activities; the students collected sh200,000 (about $55) in one day of washing cars.
UCU students washing cars for charity
Whereas a pack of disposable sanitary pads can cost as low as $1, many children from poor families in Uganda cannot afford them. According to the World Bank, more than a third of Uganda’s population lives below $1.9 a day.
Previously, the government had promised to give school girls free sanitary pads, but the promise did not materialize. The government later said it had no funds to implement the promise. Money raised by UCU students will allow the purchase of cloth the girls can use to make pads that can be washed for re-use.
Kaluma said they were concerned about the high school dropout levels in Uganda that are attributed to the lack of self-esteem caused by insufficient access to sanitary pads by young girls.
She noted that high poverty levels in the country were the root cause of the challenges the young girls face and that it was the reason they were compelled to consider equipping youth with skills to make re-usable pads.
The team leader of the students, Emmanuel Sanyu, said: “Bureaucracy in Uganda has caused a big gap between the central government and the people at the grassroots, compelling young leaders like us to step forward and fill the gap with such initiatives, so as to mitigate the effects of this divide.”
The students expressed their gratitude to the university administration for supporting them with free water to use for washing cars.
They also said the Director of Students Affairs, Mrs. Bridget Mugume K. Mugasira, had promised them some financial assistance through her department.
Sandra Abara, a student from Makerere University Business School (MUBS), who participated in the campaign, said there were similar campaigns at her university.
The same group conducted a similar project for Bidibidi Refugee camp in northern Uganda in February 2020, where they empowered hundreds of youths with the life skills. In Bidibidi, they taught the camp settlers the skill of making reusable pads and also used a football game to sensitise the residents about the dangers of domestic violence.
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Eziuzo Chizoba Oluebubechukwu (far right) with Kampala family and friends who hosted her during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Story and Photos By Grace Bisoke March 18, 2020, began like any other day for many people in Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni was set to address the nation that Wednesday evening. The issue of coronavirus disease was to take center stage in his remarks.
To the members of the President’s cabinet who had had a meeting two days before, this address was not an ordinary one. There were major decisions agreed upon. And the President was expected to make the communication public. Among that public were Uganda Christian University (UCU) faculty and national and international students.
Some of the issues had already leaked to the press. In fact, that day, the lead headline in the New Vision, Uganda’s leading daily newspaper, was Government to Suspend Church Services. Not many people believed this. And they were right to have doubts. As of that Wednesday, there had been 200,179 confirmed Covid-19 cases in 163 countries. Of those, 7,958 had died. And Uganda was not part of those statistics.
At 8 p.m., Museveni began his address by educating the nation about Covid-19 and how it was spread. One of his pronouncements confirmed the lead headline in the New Vision that day. “In the interest of our people’s health, prayers in churches, mosques, open air prayers and services should be suspended …with immediate effect,” Museveni said.
Munyakazi Mugabe Alexis, standing in front of Senyonyi and Eva Nsibambi university halls, where he stayed during the nationwide lockdown.
But before announcing the closure of prayer places, Museveni had announced the closure of schools, starting March 20, 2020. “All these institutions, without exception, should close so that we deny this virus high concentration. We don’t want the virus to find dry grass ready for ignition,” Museveni said.
As students were still coming to terms with the abrupt closure of schools, the borders and the international airport, too, were closed two days later – adding to the anxiety of UCU students from outside the country. Many opted to remain in the hostels where they were residing, but the unease increased as they ran out of cash. On May 12, 2020, the Daily Monitor, one of the English daily newspapers in Uganda, published a story, detailing how 300 students across universities had been stranded in hostels and were starving.
The resolution at UCU was host families. The administrator in charge of international students at UCU, Edgar Kabahizi, said that in conjunction with the UCU International Students Association, the stranded UCU students were assigned to the care of local families – Ugandan families, often in homes owned by UCU staff and clergy in Mukono. In normal times, Americans in the Uganda Studies Program have the option of living with a local family or living on campus.
“We were stuck. We didn’t know what to do next,” said Shalom Talandira Mukhuva, a Malawian student pursuing a Bachelor of Public Health course at UCU, and who was among the beneficiaries of the warmth of a host home.
The host family chosen by the school gave me a warm welcome and a personal room,” he said, describing the care he received, including regular checks by Kabahizi, as “a good experience.”
For Eziuzo Chizoba Oluebubechukwu, a Nigerian student, her stay with a host family was an opportunity to learn new skills.
“I learned to make snacks like pancake and chapatti,” Chizoba, now in third year, pursuing a Bachelor of International Business, said. She appreciated the Christian practices, including morning and night-time prayers, in the home and being corrected when she made mistakes. Her stay, she said, was morally and spiritually enriching.
But there were some students who opted to reside in the campus halls of residence.
“I am glad that the university allowed me to remain at the campus and provided me with food and security,” said Munyakazi Mugabe Alexis, a Congolese, final-year Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering student. “Personally, I do not like staying with new people, because of culture shock.”
Mugabe and a handful of international students who chose to stay in the university halls were kept under close watch, lest they strayed and contracted the coronavirus disease and experienced too much loneliness. While appreciating the care, Mugabe said at times he felt frustration with the lack of freedom and requirements to have permission from the Director of Students Affairs or the warden to go outside the campus gates.
Schools were re-opened to final-year learners in October 2020. Many semi-finalists reported to school in March 2021. Other classes are expected to follow in a phased manner, until early June, when the last batch of the lower primary school, will be expected to report to school. Uganda’s higher institutions of learning were given the greenlight to conduct online studies in July 2020.
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(Yasiri J. Kasango is a man with capabilities overcoming disabilities. He has thick skin. The life of the 25-year-old with height and sight impairments has been laced with mockery. But through the ridicule, he has found strength. Below, the Uganda Christian University third-year student in the Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication program narrates the trials he has faced due to his physical challenges.)
By Yasiri J. Kasango
Visual impairment is usually attributed to old age. For my case, I was born with the challenge. The trials with my sight cannot be corrected with prescription eye glasses or surgery. Medical professionals in Uganda label it “low vision.”
I stand more than a head shorter than the shortest person. When I asked my mother why I am this short, she told me that I was created like this. As a child, due to my unique height, wherever I passed, people would call me names. Pygmy was the most common. I used to get irritated. While in boarding school in Senior One at Bukoyo Secondary School in the eastern Uganda district of Iganga, I almost quit my education because of such harassment.
At school, we used to pick food from the dining hall and eat from our dormitories. Whenever I went to the dining hall to pick my food, students would follow me, shouting “pygmy.”
There were days when the bullying was so much that I didn’t eat. I slowly started losing my self-esteem. There were many occasions when I did not turn up for evening prep or eating in the dining hall because I had anxiety about the bullying. I made meals from the snacks I carried from home, which were meant to last me the whole term.
Despite the bullying, there were days I would wake up with the resolve that my happiness entirely depended on me. I chose not to pay attention to the mockery that I would get from fellow students. With this new attitude, I started getting leadership positions.
From Senior One to Senior Six, I was a student leader. For Senior One to Senior Three, I was a councillor on the country’s umbrella body for secondary school student leaders – the Uganda National Student’s Association (UNSA). From Senior Three to Senior Four, I was the external coordinator for UNSA. In Senior Five and Senior Six, I was a prefect in my school, in charge of lights, furniture and water.
So, how did I discover that I had low vision? In Primary Three, while at Covenant Primary School in Mbale, eastern Uganda, Mrs. Sylvia Mutungi, my former teacher, found out that I had a sight challenge. She told me to always move closer to the black board, to be able to see.
One day, she informed my father, Juma Mugabi, about my vision obstacle. My mother, Zain Mutesi Kasango, told me that when my father told her about what the teacher had said, she remembered that as a child, I always had challenges with my right eye. “You would cover the eye with one finger, in order to see well,” she told me.
Sometimes I was forced to squint, in order to see objects at a distance.
My mother said she usually slapped me whenever I put a finger on my eye. While in Primary Six, I went to an eye hospital, St. Benedictine Eye Care Center, in Tororo district, eastern Uganda. That is when I was diagnosed with low vision.
I was warned never to drive a car because of my challenges. The optician said I should also learn to live with my sight challenges since there were no lenses to correct my condition.
I was told that since my sight problem originates from the retina, it was difficult to find optical glasses that would solve the problem. However, I was given magnifying lenses for close range reading and a telescope to focus on the black board.
The telescope gave me short relief while reading things on the black board. However, it was only for use in class. But being a child, my telescope did not last for more than two terms. It fell and got damaged. In my final term, I went back to my usual struggle of moving closer to the black board. When I joined Senior One, I went back to the eye hospital.
After tests, I was given two lenses. The optician told me they were meant for reading only. Therefore, I had to struggle while walking on the road. Throughout my life, I usually find a person to walk with on busy roads.
One day, I was left home on a Sunday. My siblings and dad had gone to church. I, too, wanted to attend prayers that Sunday. I set off for church, alone. When I reached the point to cross the road, I waited until I could not hear the sound of any car. I crossed the road while running. To my surprise, there was a car coming, and it missed hitting me by a whisker.
The recent introduction of Computer Studies in A’ level as a subsidiary subject was a good initiative by the Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda. However, to a student like me with a sight challenge, it was a disadvantage. The subject has two sections – theory and practical.
I struggled to do the practical exams because of my visual impairment and ended up getting a pass. I joined Uganda Christian University in 2017. At the university, I found a similar challenge. In my first year, I was supposed to study basic computing. For the practical coursework of basic computing, my lecturer, Mr. Henry Sseguya, helped and gave me “oral practical” coursework.
I thank teachers and lecturers who have helped to make studying a little easier for me than it would have otherwise been.
The nick names that people have always given me due to my challenges have, instead, been my source of strength. Whenever people called me pygmy, I get the inspiration to climb high. I wish all people who are naturally blessed differently – physically and mentally – can be considered just as important in society as those who seemingly blend in.
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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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