General
Multidenominational Composition of Uganda a plus for Tolerance
According to Wikipedia, Uganda is a religiously diverse country with Roman Catholics and Anglicans at 44.5% and 39.2% respectively making up the largest percentage of the population. Muslims follow at 10.5% while the remainder of the population consists of Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, Orthodox Christian and other Christian faithful, not to mention the Bahai Faith as well as those who believe in Traditional faith systems. As such, Uganda is a fairly multidenominational society that is gradually becoming cosmopolitan according to a public dialogue organized by the University Forum on Governance (UNIFOG) in partnership with Konrad-Adenauer-Siftung (KAS).
Held under the theme Perspectives on Uganda as a Multidenominational Society on 27th March 2015. the Public Dialogue sought create a platform for Staff, Students and the general public to address growing concerns of radicalization especially in the face of rising terror attacks. In his keynote address, Mr. Mwambutsya Ndebesa, Lecturer-Department of History, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) pointed out that Uganda had taken major steps in forging 
interdenominational harmony through umbrella bodies like the Uganda Joint Christians Council (UJCC) and the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU). He however pointed to: the emergence of sexual and cultural politics; the use of religion as an instrument for political mobilization; the overlap of poverty and religion; the aggressive measures of Pentecostal Churches to convert Muslims to Christianity; the infiltration into Uganda of forms of religious fundamentalism from USA, the Arab world, Pakistan and Iran; and perceptions and feelings of economic and political exclusion by some religious groups as six threats of interdenominational dialogue in Uganda.
Mr. Ndebesa urged the audience to guard against imperialism from both the USA and the Arab world coming into Uganda through religion. “They are creating tensions here which are unnecessary; if we are going to reject imperialism, let us reject religious imperialism. To be religious, you don’t have to come from the USA or the Arab world” he expounded.
He noted that the social fabric in Uganda is founded on interfaith marriages and families, which accords the nation the opportunity to avoid extremism associated with faith. “In Uganda there is no official state religion and no religious instrumental laws such as the law on blasphemy or apostasy laws such as those in the Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. In other countries, if you convert to another religion, you would have committed apostasy and the punishment is death,” shared Mr. Ndebesa.
In the panel discussion that followed, Immam Kasozi, Islamic Scholar and Lecturer at the Islamic University in Uganda, citing revolutions such as the Arab Spring, the Iran-Arab world war and Uganda’s own inter-religious battles noted that politicians have seized the opportunity to make use of inter-religious differences to wage proxy wars. “The whole problem is neither Shia-Sunni, nor Christian-Muslim; because we still co-exist and work together, but rather people who have their special agenda will do that…” Immam Kasozi said in reference to the root cause of inter-religious conflict.
Commenting on the origin of great names such as Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, ICS and ICL, Immam Kasozi pointed to the USA as the source and owner of all these names to be used as “an opportunity to hit on the less suspecting Muslims especially those that did not have enough knowledge of their own religion.” He then went on to give brief historical backgrounds on Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabaab.
The second panelist of the day Assoc. Prof. Deusdedit Nkurunziza, Lecturer, Peace and Conflict Studies, CHUSS, noted that in addition to being multidenominational, Uganda is also multicultural, multiethnic, multi-political and is gradually becoming a cosmopolitan state. He noted that while Uganda was experiencing growing cases of radicalization, religious intolerance and hate speech, this state of affairs was nothing compared to the past decades of insurgencies and wars.
Dr. Nkurunziza urged the audience to be proud of their religious heritage and proposed four approaches to help Ugandans become more human rights aware and conflict-sensitive; i. To be liberal-democratic so as to address power struggle and identity issues ii. To have religious liberty iii. To have religious freedom and iv. The rule of law. He urged the authorities concerned to address the issue of poverty as it seemed to be a great contributor to radicalization. “In our being democratic, liberal or humane, the question of poverty is an issue and let us think strategically on how to change our mindset from the issues of poverty and profitability,” he added. He further noted that Africa was still lucky to have the family institution intact but noted that today, the family faced a disaster as Fathers and Mothers were increasingly not being able to take care of their own children. As a result, they were willing to let them go for shocking amounts as low as UGX 100,000/= “this is the highest level of poverty!” he exclaimed.
“Personally what scares me the most when I walk on the streets of Kampala is not religious intolerance. Religious intolerance is less than any other kinds of intolerance we have,” said Dr. Sarah Ssali the third panelist of the afternoon as she commenced her submission. She noted that any plausible intervention to radicalization in Uganda ought to encompass the different contours of radicalization. She expressed her discontentment with the association of radicalization with religion only, noting that this would inadvertently render all the interventions faulty.
“Previously the radicalization was against communists, and before that racial and yet when other forms like genocides have gone on in this world, we don’t call it radicalization but tribalism, racism and so many other things” observed Dr. Ssali in support of her argument. She further shared that radicalization has a very enduring history along the lines of race, gender, tribe etc and often breaks forth when the boundaries of tolerance crumble. This served to further reinforce her argument that radicalization is a process and not an event, and that no one becomes radical or extremist overnight. She noted that radicalization is a threat to us all and shared the example of Boko Haram in Nigeria where the victims are not only Christians but also Muslims.
She proposed direct interventions such as identifying the causes and moving in on them but however warned that this may in the end appear be confronting only one religion. Dr. Ssali then shared that in such cases indirect interventions which identify any form of hate speech and call upon the entire community to denounce it could be used. She called upon everyone to appreciate the different ethnicities, denominations and cultures that make up Uganda in order to cement our unity in diversity.
In his response to the panel discussion, Mr. Ndebesa urged all participants not to confuse religion with ethics, noting that intolerance was not necessarily a preserve of religion. He explained his point by observing that countries with the highest atheist populations are not necessarily the most intolerant.
The panel discussion moderator Mr. Yusuf Kiranda a Programme for Africa Leadership fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science then took discussion to the audience whose input raised issues such as; politics and its ideals as a cause of chaos, misinterpretation of religious laws, empowering institutions to enforce laws, when religious groups claim responsibility for unlawful acts, poverty as a cause of radicalization and many others. Dr. Paddy Musana, Department of Religious & Peace Studies, CHUSS commenting as a student of New Religious Movements in particular observed that every new form religious manifestation is as a result of cultural changes. “We in our fallen nature tend to emphasize our differences and not our commonalities and as long as we feel threatened, we construct a new identity to protect our interests” he said. Dr. Musana stressed that Uganda as a nation has a reason to celebrate 16th November; the UNESCO International Day for Tolerance, owing to the diversity which is even manifests itself in the composition of our extended families.
In more responses that followed, Dr. Nkurunziza urged the audience to look up and read MUASA Chairperson-Dr. Muhammad Kiggundu Musoke’s PhD thesis entitled “International Islamic Fundamentalism: A Case Study of Uganda”. He said that this thesis would help all parties present further expound on the discourse on multidenominational societies and radicalization. He thereafter urged the audience to embrace Ubuntu-African Humanism; which is Africa’s contribution to globalization.
Mr. Ndebesa noted that education can go a long way to de-radicalize societies, taking the example of Europe where the age of enlightenment played a great role in stopping religious killings, establishing tolerance and critical thinking. He further proposed that every student in Makerere should pursue a course in critical thinking.
Dr. Ssali on the other hand urged participants to desist from looking at the enemy as external and care for each other as Ugandans. She further noted that intolerances always arise when economic resources reduce and that structural adjustment programmes that were meant to rebuild societies and people have only ended up fracturing them.
Immam Kasozi in response to some of the questions on poverty chose to define it as a lack of ideas, association and relationship. He urged participants to appreciate their unity in diversity as Ugandans and not to only identify Ugandans or non-Ugandans based on distinctive attributes. He further urged leaders to stop hate campaigns and avoid selfishness and mistrust.
This public dialogue organized by UNIFOG and KAS whose Executive Secretary-Mr. Bruce Kabaasa and Programme Officer Ms. Maike Messerschmidt respectively gave opening remarks was indeed a step in the right direction in as far as preaching the message on tolerance and demystifying radicalization in Uganda are concerned. The take home message Learn to treat everyone with dignity and respect for our diversity is our strength was indeed resounding and a good note on which to start the next dialogue.
Article by Public Relations Office.
On Thursday 24th April 2025, the Director of the Institute of Open, Distance and E-learning under the College of Education and External Studies presented the dissemination results of phase 1 of the e-Learning initiative at Makerere University to over 75 participants and key stakeholders.
The dissemination brought on board Members of Makerere University Management, the Principal and staff from College of Education and External Studies (CEES), a representative from the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), student leaders, the Directorate for ICT Support (DICTS), Mastercard Foundation, Arizona State University (ASU)-USA and a representative sample of staff from academic and administrative units of Makerere University.
The dissemination of results of phase 1 of the e-Learning initiative follows the successful conclusion of the implementation process that kicked off in 2021 and ended in 2024. Phase 1 of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program e-Learning initiative has been implemented by the Institute of Open, Distance and E-learning (IODEL) in partnership with the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs).
Addressing the participants, the Director of IODEL and the Principal Investigator, Prof. Paul Birevu Muyinda stated that the overarching goal of phase 1 was to enhance the e-learning capabilities with partner institutions. He elaborated that in phase 1, the Mastercard Foundation worked with 10 universities to digitally transform the teaching and learning processes.
“During the implementation of Phase 1, Makerere University has registered significant achievements in e-Learning. I am glad that you have convened here today during the e-Learning Digital Transformation workshop, to receive the dissemination results as we work together to prepare for Phase 2,” said Prof. Birevu Muyinda.
Phase 1 of the e-Learning initiative provided a platform to strengthen the existing Makerere University e-Learning Environment (MUELE), onboarding of the University leadership, staff and students for the successful implementation of e-Learning initiative, capacity building for staff and students, and involvement of the teaching staff to develop content for online courses.
During the e-Learning Digital Transformation Workshop, Prof. Birevu Muyinda shared the dissemination results of phase 1 of the e-Learning initiative amidst applause from the participants, highlighting the following achievements:
- Training of 1,280 faculty members
- Development of 2,579 courses out of 2,560 representing 100.74%
- Development of four (4) support services modules
- Capacity building for over 7,000 students
- Training and recruitment of 32 e-Learning champions
- Upgrading of the Makerere University e-Learning Environment (MUELE)
- Acquisition of e-Learning infrastructure namely five (5) multi-media studios, a video streaming server and all in one printers.
Presenting the lessons learned, Prof. Birevu Muyinda informed the participants that top management support significantly contributed to the successful implementation of the program.
On this note, Prof. Birevu Muyinda acknowledged the University Council, the Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance and Administration), the Academic Registrar, the University Secretary, DICTS and the entire leadership at the different levels for the support rendered in the execution of the different activities of phase 1.
In appreciation, Prof. Birevu Muyinda requested the Principal of the College of Education and External Studies, Prof. Anthony Muwagga Mugagga, and the Ag. Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi to convey the message of gratitude to the Top University Management and Central University Management respectively.
Underscoring top management support as a pre-condition for successful digital transformation, he provided a detailed account of the lessons learned in Phase 1. These include:
- Co-creation: Course co-creation breeds ownership and effective utilization
- Learning Designers: Learning designers are necessary for the pedagogical design of e-Courses
- Infrastructure: A robust integrated institutional, staff and students’ infrastructure is vital for successful e-Learning ecosystem
- Capacity building: Inclusive capacity building for staff and students is essential for successful digital transformation
- Multi-media Studios: Video content enhances flipped classroom pedagogy. This requires the setup of cost-effective multi-media studios operated by multi-media specialists who also provide ongoing technical support and capacity building
- Pedagogical Building Design: The design of new buildings in the University should take into consideration all pedagogical and inclusivity requirements
- Inclusivity: All courses should be designed following the universal design for learning principles
- Student Support: The success of online courses heavily relies on well structured student support offered by the University (coaches, mentors, facilitators, technicians, career guidance, counsellors) among others
- Central Unit: There should be a central unit (similar to Arizona State University-ASU’s EdPlus) to foresee the design, development and growth of digital and innovative pedagogy in the University
- Design thinking: There is need to use design thinking approaches in digital transformation processes in the University
- Partnerships: There is need to optimize collaborations for institutional growth
Background to Phase 1
The e-Learning Initiative is a program funded by Mastercard Foundation out of the need to address the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that constrained access and continuity of teaching, learning and community engagement activities at Makerere University.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the teaching and learning in a number of universities in Africa. As the pandemic intensified, the World Health Organisation and the respective countries issued Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) which limited physical interactions, gatherings and restricted movements. In extreme cases, the respective governments declared a lockdown to reduce the spread of the deadly pandemic. The lockdowns affected a number of Universities, higher education institutions and schools that had to stop operations, close and send students home in order to save lives.
Makerere University continued to conduct online teaching and learning aided by its home grown, Makerere University e-Learning Environment (MUELE), managed by the Institute of Open, Distance and e-Learning under the College of Education and External Studies.
Although MUELE enabled Makerere University to conduct online teaching during the difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the experience called for a robust approach to institutionalize MUELE and online teaching pedagogies.
In its strategic plan, Makerere University committed to providing innovative teaching and learning as well as adaptation to ICT trends. This strategic approach dictated the adoption of a blended approach towards teaching and learning. The COVID-19 period and post COVID-19 challenged Universities to come up with immediate, short-term and long-term measures to institutionalize e-Learning through onboarding of staff and students, creating content for online courses, and acquisition of the required infrastructure and equipment for e-learning.
Fortunately, the Mastercard Foundation issued a call for proposals for universities to compete for funding targeting quality delivery of and access to education during and post the COVID-19 era.
The IODEL team at Makerere University in partnership with the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) seized this golden opportunity and submitted a proposal. Following the competitive processes and strict adherence to the required grant application procedures, Makerere University’s proposal was successful.
With the award of the USD 2million grant, Makerere University embarked on supporting colleges to develop high-quality content and revitalization of the Makerere University e-Learning Environment (MUELE). The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program e-Learning Initiative was officially launched on Tuesday 20th September 2022 by Prof. Mary Okwakol, the Executive Director of the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) at a colourful ceremony held at Makerere University Yusuf Lule Central Teaching Facility Auditorium.
In a vibrant celebration of youth leadership and African unity, Makerere University hosted the Second Annual Guild Leaders’ Summit, an event that brought together high-profile dignitaries, student leaders, and international partners for a powerful dialogue on the future of the continent. The summit, organized by the Guild Presidents Leadership Academy, served as a rallying point for East Africa’s young leaders to confront Africa’s most urgent challenges—on their own terms and with their own solutions.
A Warm Welcome and Reflections on Makerere’s Legacy
The Vice Chancellor, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, welcomed the distinguished guests, who included Former President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Uganda’s Vice President H.E. Jessica Alupo, former Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Ruhakana Rugunda, Justice Simon Byabakama, Hon. Mathew Rukikaire, and European Union Deputy Ambassador Mr. Guillaume Chartrain, among others.
In his address, Prof. Nawangwe reflected on Makerere’s deep historical ties to East Africa’s liberation and development movements. He reminded the audience that Makerere University has been a crucible for the continent’s leadership, stating:
“Jomo Kenyatta was the first person to receive a degree from Makerere when, in 1963, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by then Chancellor Julius Nyerere. All freedom fighters in East Africa studied at Makerere.”
Building on this rich history, Prof. Nawangwe affirmed the university’s current mission to tackle pressing continental issues. “Today,” he said, “Makerere is committed to addressing Africa’s challenges—climate change, disease, poverty, food security, conflict resolution, and economic development. But we cannot do this alone.”
He echoed sentiments later shared by the keynote speaker, stressing that Africa must no longer depend on external interventions:
“Foreign agencies will not solve all Africa’s problems. It is our young people who must step forward and lead the change.”
Uhuru Kenyatta: “You Are the Last Line of Defence”
In a keynote address that resonated deeply with the students and delegates in attendance, Former President Uhuru Kenyatta issued a bold and urgent call to action for Africa’s youth.
“No one is coming to save us,” Kenyatta declared. “You are the last line of defence in the battle to rescue the heart and soul of Africa.”
Positioning today’s youth as the heirs of the continent’s freedom fighters, Kenyatta described the current moment as a new “independence era”—not of political liberation, but of economic and intellectual sovereignty. He urged students to think critically about intra-African trade, which currently accounts for less than 2.5% of global commerce, and to advocate for the removal of internal barriers to trade, innovation, and mobility.
“You are the freedom fighters of this generation,” he said. “Universities must be incubators of change, and students must be the trustees of tomorrow’s Africa.”
Pan-Africanism, Leadership, and Action
Uganda’s Vice President H.E. Jessica Alupo encouraged students to take up the mantle of Pan-Africanism with unwavering commitment. She acknowledged that while the rhetoric of African unity is inspiring, real progress demands more than words:
“You must embrace the spirit of Pan-Africanism. But it is easy to say these words—the challenge lies in collective implementation.”
She emphasized the importance of action-oriented leadership and urged the youth to harness their creativity, energy, and education for the benefit of the continent.
European Union’s Message: Leadership with Integrity
Representing Team Europe, the EU Deputy Ambassador to Uganda, Mr. Guillaume Chartrain, gave a passionate speech on the values of authentic leadership, integrity, and inclusive development. He praised Makerere University as a space where “intellectual ambition meets civic responsibility” and emphasized that leadership is not about prestige, but purpose:
“Be a leader because of what you want to be—not because of what you want to have,” he said.
Citing former Makerere alumni such as Julius Nyerere and Wangari Maathai, Chartrain called on students to model courage, resilience, and humility:
“True leadership emerges in moments of loss—when resilience, not triumph, becomes the measure of one’s character.”
The EU, he said, remains committed to supporting youth through programs like Erasmus+, the EU Youth Sounding Board, and partnerships with organizations like Faraja Africa Foundation and Restless Development. These initiatives empower youth not as symbols, but as active participants in shaping policy and governance.
The Legacy Continues
Throughout the summit, speakers highlighted the importance of legacy and long-term impact. They challenged young leaders to think not just about the present, but about the systems and institutions they will leave behind. In the words of Former President Kenyatta:
“Leadership is not about the next election. It’s about the next generation.”
The summit ended on a high note, with students invigorated and inspired to lead with purpose. As global support grows less predictable and Africa stands at a crossroads, the message from Makerere was clear: the future of the continent is in the hands of its youth. And as the Guild Leaders’ Summit demonstrated, they are ready.
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