General
Prof. Mamdani tackles implications of Sudan’s Referendum
“Today we received these results, and we accept and welcome these results because they represent the will of the southern people,” Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said in an address on state television.
“Today we received these results, and we accept and welcome these results because they represent the will of the southern people,” Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said in an address on state television.
This was after a total of 98.8 percent of Southern Sudanese voters chose secession in the January 2011 referendum, in Sudan.
Shedding light on the “Significance of the South Sudan Referendum”, Prof. Mahmood Mamdani presented a paper on 17th March, 2011, at the School of Computing and Informatics Technology, where many, among them the Chancellor Prof. Mondo Kagonyera gathered to listen.
Intellectuals like the former Vice Chairperson Makerere University Council, Mrs. Christine Kiganda were 
active members of the audience as they shared their opinions on how the referendum was a likely precursor of ethnic stratification.
In his paper, Prof. Mamdani highlights his concern for the referendum’s significance to Pan Africanism, how the history of South Sudan could be rewritten and how creation of a new state presents us with a new challenge!
“Nationalists may try to convince us that the outcome of the referendum, independence, is the natural destiny of the people of South Sudan. But there is nothing natural about any political outcome.” Prof. Mamdani said.
As the discussant, Robert Kabushenga, the Chief Executive Officer, Vision Group of companies, opined that the referendum gives the people of South Sudan an opportunity to review the need to be ruled by other leaders.
“Democratization should lead to people freely conceding to how they should be governed and participate freely in how resources are shared out among the population”, reasoned Kabushenga.
Click here to view more photos from the talk
mwamai@admin.mak.ac.ug, Public Relations Office
Makerere University on 23rd January 2026 hosted the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) validation meeting of the draft minimum standards for implementing Competence-Based Education (CBE) in Higher Education Institutions. The meeting held in the Yusuf Lule Central Teaching Facility Auditorium brought together Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Principals and Academic Registrars from Higher Education Institutions in Uganda.
Hosted by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Prof. Sarah Ssali, the meeting followed institutional input into the draft minimum standards and was aimed at validating them prior to their formal adoption by the NCHE Council at their next meeting in February 2026. The minimum standards cover nine areas namely; 1) Curriculum Design, 2) Teaching and Learning Approaches, 3) Assessment, 4) Faculty Training and Support, 5) Student Support Services, 6) Quality Assurance Systems, 7) Industry and Community Linkages, 8) Monitoring and Evaluation, and 9) Gender and Equity Mainstreaming.
Following feedback into presentations by the various leaders present, a motion to adopt the draft minimum standards, with institutional input incorporated, was moved by Bugema University, seconded by UMCAT School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and unanimously supported by institutions present.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Prof. Sarah Ssali appreciated NCHE for choosing Makerere to host the landmark event, reiterating that the University greatly respects each and every Higher Education Institution and regards them as partners and collaborators in the quest to improve Uganda’s Higher Education sector.
The Executive Director NCHE, Prof. Mary Okwakol reassured leaders present that all the pertinent issues raised for input into the draft minimum standards would be incorporated, and urged those with pressing issues to submit them before month’s end. She reiterated NCHE’s readiness to continue lobbying Government for the resources required by Higher Education Institutions, particularly Public Universities, to implement Competence-Based Education (CBE).
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