General
Mak Celebrates Mr. Mayanja Lumanyika’s Distinguished Service
Staff from the Directorate of Internal Audit and invited guests convened at Makerere University Guest House on Friday, 30th June 2017 for an evening full of celebration in honour of Mr. Mayanja D. Lumanyika’s virtuous and long-term service to Makerere University, spanning a period of over 30 years.
Amidst cheerful ululations, Mr. Mayanja who retired from the University Service in March 2017 introduced his wife of 36 years as well as 2 children who accompanied him to the celebration. The couple is blessed with six children. Mr. Mayanja who served Makerere University for 34 years; all spent in the Directorate of Internal Audit, thanked the Directorate for honouring him. He was humbled to realize that his long-term service was immensely appreciated.
“I joined Makerere University service in 1983 and was immediately posted to Internal Audit. At that time, the department had only four staff members. We were working just opposite the salaries office in the Main Building,” Mr. Mayanja recalled. He happily noted that the Department has since then transitioned into a Directorate with over 10 members of staff.
Sharing a touching story about his health, Mr. Mayanja recalled the day that he was diagnosed with kidney failure at Mulago Hospital in 2014, a condition which required a kidney transplant. He thanked Makerere University for having mobilized the money needed for surgery in India.
“I went for a kidney transplant in India and my lovely daughter Josephine Nakiberu donated one of her kidneys to me and thank God, the operation was successful. She is my greatest hero because she saved my life. The following year, I retired to my home in Kasangati,” said Mr. Mayanja.
He expressed gratitude to Makerere University, the Directorate of Internal Audit and his family for their support. He thanked the Almighty God for his life and what He has enabled him to do.
Prof. John Ddumba-Ssentamu, the Vice Chancellor commended Mr. Mayanja for the dedication, commitment and resilience portrayed throughout his service to Makerere University.
“It’s not easy to serve an organisation for 34 years. He joined Makerere University during difficult times when Uganda was politically unstable, but he endured and served diligently. I greatly thank him for his commitment to serving this institution and ask him to always remember this great institution,” the Vice Chancellor said.
At the party, Prof. Ddumba-Ssentambu gladly revealed that their paths had once crossed while the two attended St. Mary’s College School Kisubi. Although he admitted to not knowing Mr. Mayanja then owing to the age difference, he expressed happiness at eventually interacting with him during his service at Makerere University.
The Vice Chancellor thanked the Directorate of Internal Audit for organizing the function in honour of their long-serving colleague and thanked the Acting Director, Mr. Benson Barigye for uniting both current and former staff. He urged them to uphold the spirit of teamwork as exhibited during the celebration. Prof. Ddumba-Ssentamu similarly thanked Mr. Mayanja’s family for the love and care accorded to him under all circumstances.
On behalf of the Directorate, the Vice Chancellor awarded Mr. Mayanja a certificate of long term service to Makerere University as well as a gift which was termed as ‘a cow’. In the same spirit, Ms. Lydia Mugabirwe and Ms. Consolata Nakiyemba who previously worked as Secretaries in the same Directorate were awarded certificates of appreciation for the services rendered. The duo is still serving Makerere University, albeit under different departments.
The Acting Director-Internal Audit, Mr. Benson Barigye described Mr. Mayanja as a person who is very passionate about time management and professionalism. He in particular singled out the passion his retired colleague had for Crossword puzzles and Sudoku. He shared that Mr. Mayanja is a very knowledgeable and informed person who can always be depended upon to accomplish his assignments in a timely manner.
“When I came to Makerere University Internal Audit for the first time in 2013, I found Mr. Mayanja in office. He always reached the office in time and when it comes to time management, he has a distinction. He adored working together as a family and he was like a father to us all. We would still love to stay with him, but time has come for us to say goodbye.” Mr. Barigye remarked.
He expressed his appreciation to Mr. Mayanja for guiding and mentoring him in a professional perspective, which broadly shaped him into the person he is today. He recalled the times Mr. Mayanja advised him to do the right things at the right time. He always advised him that doing the right thing was the best thing to do.
In her tribute, Ms. Lydia Mugabirwe recalled Mr. Mayanja’s priceless help during the time they worked together. He taught her how to handle a number of activities.
“I joined Internal Audit in 2011 and discovered that the activities in my new department were so different from those of the previous one. I received a lot of orientation and guidance from Mr. Mayanja. He was always there for me to consult and was more like a parent to me. I really enjoyed working with him,” Ms. Mugabirwe said.
Mr. George Turyamureeba Mugabi thanked the guests for honouring the invitation to the farewell ceremony of their colleagues and appreciated the scrupulous services that Mr. Mayanja, Ms. Mugabirwe and Ms. Nakiyemba had offered during their time at the Directorate of Internal Audit. He thanked the Vice Chancellor for always supporting and working together with the Directorate.
Article: Mak Public Relations Office
The Gender Mainstreaming Directorate (GMD), Makerere University on 14th September 2021 presented findings from phase one of the study on Enhancing Women’s Participation and Visibility in Leadership and Decision-Making Organs of Public Universities in Uganda through Action Research. The study team led by the Director GMD and Principal Investigator (PI), Dr. Euzobia Mugisha Baine also consists of Assoc. Prof. Consolata Kabonesa, Dr. Anna Ninsiima, Ms. Frances Nyachwo, Ms. Susan Mbabazi and Mr. Eric Tumwesigye.
The team is also made of coordinators from participating Universities such as Busitema University-Ms. Elizabeth Birabwa, Kabale University-Sr. Dr. Eva Tumusiime, Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST)-Dr. Specioza Twinamasiko, Muni University-Ms. Amandru Stella Wawa, and Gulu Univeristy-Sr. Rosalba Aciro.
Funded by the Government of Uganda through the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF), the study was inspired by the fact that women are persistently few in numbers as staff, more so in leadership and decision-making organs of Ugandan Public Universities. “This is despite all the various efforts at national and international levels; the numbers are not growing as fast as needed to meet development goals of the country” explained Dr. Euzobia.
Based on this background, the study team therefore sought to conduct a situational analysis of the gender terrain of the six public universities to obtain baseline information encompassing the composition of governance and leadership organs and senior staff by sex, as well as a needs assessment and profiles of potential mentors and mentees.
Furthermore, the team sought to explore the capacity to conduct gender-responsive research as well as the role of male staff engagement in gender equity interventions within the universities as the drivers of development.
Dr. Mugisha-Baine shared that results of the baseline would then be used to design participatory training manuals or guides on gender and leadership. The manuals would cover; Institutionalized mentorship, How to conduct gender-responsive research, gender and equity budgeting, among others.
“Within these manuals, we shall have a male staff engagement strategy in gender equity interventions in universities” she explained.
The development of the aforementioned materials would then be followed by their adoption and use to build capacity for women not only in leadership of participating and other public university but also beyond. “We shall periodically evaluate whether the capacity we have built has influenced women’s participation in leadership and decision-making organs of the university” supplemented the PI.
The capacity building trainings for women, it is envisaged, will lay the foundation for the formation of a functional Uganda University Women’s Think Tank, starting with the six participating universities. Dr. Mugisha Baine added that through this Think Tank, a monitoring and tracking system for gender representation in recruitment, promotion, retention/turnover and leadership of public universities shall be established and maintained.
At the conclusion of phase one, the study team had drafted participatory training manuals in gender and leadership with content on; gender specific critical analysis of the leadership spectrum of public universities, positioning of individual women within the institutional framework and strategies for their advancement, gender equity advocacy in the university setting, institutional mentorship, building capacity in conducting gender-responsive research, among others.
“This content will be validated by the participating universities before the actual research training is conducted” added the PI.
On behalf of the research team, Dr. Mugisha Baine thanked the Government of Uganda for providing the resources that facilitated phase one of the study and prayed that the Mak-RIF Grants Management Committee (GMC) would support the next phase of capacity building.
Speaking on behalf of the Mak-RIF GMC Chairperson, Prof. William Bazeyo, Dr. Helen Nambalirwa Nkabala thanked and congratulated the team led by the Director GMD upon the milestones registered in the critical research.
“We are very proud of that work that is being done by all researchers in Mak-RIF and we would like to most sincerely thank Management for all the support throughout this process” she remarked.
Dr. Nkabala encouraged the research team to continue disseminating and using the findings for the furtherance of gender mainstreaming, particularly through the aspect of male staff engagement in gender equity interventions.
Prior to delivering the keynote address of the day, the Executive Director National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) Prof. Mary Okwakol thanked the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe for inviting her to the important forum, noting that women’s participation in decision making and governance is a priority area of the Uganda Gender Policy 2007.
She commended Makerere University for being at the forefront of gender mainstreaming in Uganda, noting that this prominence was one of the reasons why the Gender in Education Policy 2007 provides for replicating the institution’s strategy in all other Higher Education Institutions.
Prof. Okwakol whose keynote address was punctuated incisive personal examples reaffirmed the statistics that women are generally not visible in leadership of Universities. That notwithstanding, in instances where they rise to leadership and decision-making positions, they are regularly subject to roles traditionally deemed as women’s inconsiderate of their managerial seniority and experience.
She nevertheless rallied the women to play their respective roles in enhancing participation and visibility at a personal level. The following were some of the strategies she proposed; work hard to acquire academic credentials so as to compete favourably with men, acquire necessary administrative training and experience, network among women, join professional networks as well as do research and publish.
On joining professional networks, she shared her personal experience as a young zoologist who joined UNESCO’s Tropical Biology and Fertility Programme. “Within a short time I was appointed Coordinator for Africa and after two years, I was elected as a Member of the International Board of Management. After serving for two years, I became Vice Chairperson of that Board and finally I became Chairperson of that International Board.”
At the institutional level, Prof. Okwakol appealed to the Chairperson Council and Vice Chancellor to proactively recruit women who meet the requirements for leadership positions even if it means actively seeking out the reluctant ones. In this regard, she shared that it would be useful for the university to develop a database of women and their qualifications to ease this process.
She shared that NCHE has in recognition of female underrepresentation at every level in Higher Education approved the establishment of a Gender and Equity Unit with the aim of promoting inclusive gender participation in the sub-sector.
“This unit has been placed under the Directorate of Quality Assurance and Accreditation which implies that as we look out for and regulate quality, gender will be a very important aspect of that regulation” she reassured.
Prof. Okwakol concluded by urging participants to read the; Third National Development Plan (NDPIII), Uganda Vision 2040, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) noting that there is no way all three can be achieved while women are left behind because they each make a case for inclusion of the female gender.
“What we are addressing here are historical injustices” said Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe as he commenced his remarks, “And in the case of Makerere University, it is well known that the institution started as a male-only institution and we all know the original motto was ‘Let us be men’” he added.
Citing examples from history such as; Marie Curie – one of the smartest physicists, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti and Cleopatra – prominent Pharaohs of Egypt, George Eliot, Rosa Luxemburg and Hypatia – all great philosophers as well as Chancellor Angela Merkel – first female Chancellor of Germany, the Vice Chancellor said there is no plausible argument that there are things women cannot do as well as their male counterparts.
He said it was against this knowledge and in a bid to correct historical injustices that Makerere University pioneered initiatives such as putting in place affirmative action for girls, establishing a Gender Mainstreaming Directorate as well as a School of Women and Gender Studies. The Vice Chancellor nevertheless stressed the need to go beyond pioneering to protecting these gains through legislation. “Historically we have seen that discrimination can only be addressed by laws and policies.”
Prof. Nawangwe thanked the Government for providing funds to support Mak-RIF as well as the Funds GMC and Secretariat for ensuring that these funds are put to good use. He equally thanked the Chairperson of Council, Mrs. Lorna Magara for her not only her support but also sparing time to attend a good number of the research dissemination events.
Delivering the concluding remarks, Mrs. Magara acknowledged that the study was timely and relevant the contemporary University, as one of the critical drivers of the national and international development agenda. She therefore reechoed the Vice Chancellor’s thanks to the Government of Uganda for generously supporting the University’s research through Mak-RIF.
Turning to the keynote speaker she said, “I thank Prof. Okwakol for ardently discussing the critical issues affecting the female gender, the strategies to overcome the challenges, including sharing her inspiring personal experiences.”
Mrs. Magara equally thanked Prof. Okwakol for her very instructional analysis, providing mentorship guidance with the resultant impact of enhancing the female gender in decision-making positions. In the same breath she congratulated the PI and her team upon successfully concluding phase one of the project.
“Phase one has generated insights in understanding the status of women in leadership in public universities, the legal and policy framework and its implications on women’s visibility, the institutional mentoring systems and the gaps therein” she observed.
The Chairperson of Council acknowledged that the challenge of underrepresentation of women in leadership roles cannot be resolved at an individual level. She therefore advocated for broad based strategies that can address deep-seated structural and cultural biases facing women. “These include developing mentorship networks, enacting laws and policies that address the imbalances and providing training programmes to address the leadership gaps.”
She therefore pledged the University Council’s unwavering support to the Gender Mainstreaming Programme by ensuring an enabling policy environment that facilitates gender-responsive teaching, learning, research innovation and community service.
The research dissemination was moderated by the Principal Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ms. Ritah Namisango and the Director Communications, Learning and Knowledge Management, ResilientAfrica Network (RAN) and PRO Mak-RIF, Ms. Harriet Adong.
