Law
HURIPEC Convenes Stakeholders to Discuss Militarization, Sustainable Growth & Peace In Uganda
The Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC) hosted a Multi Stakeholder engagement on militarisation, sustainable growth and peace in Uganda. The event was held on Wednesday, 17th November 2021 to discuss the question, ‘Is the growing militarization of Uganda’s civilian institutions necessary for development and compatible with human rights and democracy?’ This was hosted under the auspices of HURIPEC’s collaborative research project – Security, Peace and Development in partnership with the Centre for Resolution of International Conflicts (CRIC) at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Established in 1993, HURIPEC is a semi-autonomous centre and department under the School of Law (SoL), Makerere University. HURIPEC is an academic teaching unit that oversees the teaching of human rights and human rights related courses. The centre is also a research and activist engine, aiming to generate human rights conscious law graduates sensitive about relevant human rights, peace and governance issues in Uganda.
The multi-stakeholder engagement was an opportunity to explore the role of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) In the country’s development agenda. Panelists presenting at the event included academia, civil society and the UPDF to discuss the nature, extent and rationale of the UPDF’ involvement in development. There has been an increasing role and appointment of UPDF to lead institutions in agriculture, fisheries, health, roads and construction, police among others.
In her welcome remarks, Dr. Zahara Nampewo – Director, HURIPEC explained that ‘we are seeing an increasing role of the security sector in Uganda’s development. However, as we recognized at the start of the project in 2019, security in development is profoundly under-examined, both theoretically and empirically in the larger development context’. The project therefore is undertaking to provide a deeper understanding of the role of security actors, both within Uganda and regionally in development.
Dr. Nampewo stressed the importance of partnerships for successful implementation of the project and appreciated their partners at CRIC for this worthwhile academic engagement. She also thanked the Principal – SoL, Makerere University Management for the support extended to HURIPEC in implementing the project. She also thanked the HURIPEC team for organizing the event and to all the participants who attended.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Christopher Mbazira – Principal, SoL welcomed Prof- Umar Kakumba – DVC Academic Affairs, Makerere University who represented the Vice Chancellor. He thanked the University Management for the support accorded to SoL. He also thanked all the participants for honoring the invitation to attend the engagement. Prof. Mbazira highlighted the importance of the discussions at the event owing to the inclusion of Security and Governance as a key Programme of the National Development Plan (NDP) III.
He reiterated that there has been limited research on security and its effect on development thus the SoL is compelled to study this area to contribute evidence on the role of the Military on development. Prof. Mbazira highlighted that while there is a lot of data on the militarisation of police, there is limited research regarding military in fisheries, Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), revenue collection among others. The Principal welcomed the partnership with CRIC, thanking Prof. Ole from CRIC who attended the meeting.
Prof. Ole Wæver – CRIC, University of Copenhagen said that a lot of research has been done together with HURIPEC and expressed their happiness to continue the partnership considering the results and data produced.
Ms. Ann Sophie Oxlund – 1st Secretary, Royal Danish Embassy, Uganda congratulated the HURIPEC and CRIC for the work done to understand the intersection of military, governance, development and democracy. She noted that it is important for the government to respect democracy, freedom of expression and human rights. She also reiterated that DANIDA is happy to support the project and looks forward to the results of the research conducted; the academia and civil society should continue to engage the military and other security agencies on how to get a better understanding of what is happening in Uganda.
The engagement was officially opened by Prof. Umar Kakumba – Deputy Vice Chancellor/Academic Affairs, Makerere University who represented the Vice Chancellor. He thanked SoL and HURIPEC for organizing the event to discuss the important issues pertaining to security and development.
Prof. Kakumba noted that ‘development is a key issue for a country but it can’t be achieved without peace and security’ He thanked the organisers for inviting the security agencies to be part of the discussions. The Makerere University Strategic Plan is premised on the role of Makerere as a leader in knowledge generation for societal transformation and thus the discussions here contribute to knowledge generation and ranking of the university, the Deputy Vice Chancellor highlighted.
He also noted that HURIPEC is one of the flagship units for Makerere University for research and publications directly contributing to the university’ ranking. Prof. Kakumba further noted that Makerere is well-position to provide policy advice an contribute to important conversations for the country.
He welcomed the support from the Royal Danish Embassy and partnership with CRIC. He thanked Prof. Mbazira and colleagues for taking Makerere University out of the Ivory Tower and contributing to national development.
Panelists presenting at the event included: Ms. Sarah Bireete – Director, Centre for Constitutional Governance, Major General Henry Matsiko – National Political Commissar, UPDF, Brigadier General Felix Kulaigye – Director Mindset Change, OWC, Prof. Fredrick Jjuuko – SoL, Prof. Sallie Simba – Department of Political Science, College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The moderator was Mr. Charles Odongtho.
Some of the issues arising from the presentations and discussions included:
- As a country we do not know whether there can be change of government without involvement of the army.
- Citizens have to speak freely and hold leaders to account.
- There is need to define the role of the army in engaging civilian institutions.
- Militarisation is derogatory word.
- The army has been assigned to undertake the tasks because civilian managers have failed in some cases
- The involvement of the army in national development shouldn’t be an issue to cause anxiety.
- Lessons are present for Uganda as seen from the advances by the ‘Asian Tigers’ where the army has greatly contributed to national development.
- The nation must learn from the circumstances that led to 1966 attack of the Lubiri nd more recently in 2017 attack of the Rwenzururu Palace by the army otherwise the same mistakes will be repeated.
- The institutions like Parliament have abdicated their role to hold army to account.
- There is ‘civilianization’ of the military rather than ‘militarisation’ of society
The meeting ended with calls for an understanding of the exit strategy of the army’s involvement in civilian works and the implication of military involvement on democracy, peace, security among other sectors. There is also the need to understand how to harness the UPDF as a resource for development in Uganda. ‘How do we work together amicably?’
Dr. Zahara Nampewo closed the meeting and thanked all the participants and panelists for the presentations, discussions and attending the engagement. She reiterated that ‘this is only a scratch of the surface and we hope to host more of these conversations’
Zaam Ssali is the Principal Communication Officer SoL & MakCHS
The School of Law (SoL) presented a total of 362 graduands for conferment of degrees on Day 1 of the 76th Graduation Ceremony of Makerere University. The graduands included 3 Doctor of Laws (LLD), 71 Master of Laws (LLM) and 288 Bachelor of Laws (LLB).
Doctor of Laws were awarded to Lydia Namateefu Kisekka, Oscar Kambona and Aimé Fidèle Ndayishimiye. Master of Laws were awarded to 26 female and 45 male while the Bachelor of Laws awardees were 124 female and 164 male.
Nuwamanya Raymond Jerry and Aijuka Allan attained first class degrees for the LLB with CGPA of 4.42 and 4.41 respectively.
For Day 1, School of Law, College of Education and External Studies, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and College of Computing and Information Sciences presented graduands for conferment of degrees and award of diplomas. The 76th Graduation Ceremony of Makerere University will continue till Friday 27th February 2026.
Speaking to the congregation, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe – Vice Chancellor, Makerere University welcomed everyone to Makerere University’s 76th Graduation. He congratulated the 9,295 graduands comprising 4,262 (46%) female graduates and 5,033 (54%) male graduands who will be awarded degrees and diplomas through the graduation week; 213 graduands are PhD recipients. He commended the efforts of staff, parents, and sponsors in supporting the students’ journeys.
In his remarks, Professor Nawangwe praised the milestones of Makerere’s Colleges and Schools, highlighting the School of Law as a distinguished centre of academic excellence in legal education, training and scholarship. ‘In the 2025, pre-entry examinations for the Law Development Centre post-graduate bar course, 94% of our students who sat the exams, passed and were admitted. The performance reflects not only the intellectual caliber of our students, but also the School’s rigorous curriculum and commitment of the faculty’, he noted.
The Vice Chancellor congratulated the School of Law and student teams that excelled at the Phillip C. Jessup Moot Competition and Boston International Innovation Moot; the teams will represent Uganda at international rounds of the competitions due to take place in Washington DC, USA and Vienna, Austria respectively later in the year. Professor Nawangwe said, ‘The accomplishments reinforces the School’s growing reputation as a leader in mooting, legal research and scholarship. The students’ performances exhibit excellent advocacy skills as well as deep analytical skills in public international law and team work’.
Prof. Nawangwe reiterated the University’s transformation to a research-led institution expressing appreciation to the Government of Uganda for providing critical resources supporting more than 1,400 high-impact research and innovation projects. He highlighted some of the on-going projects at various colleges which have empowered researchers and innovators to deepen Makerere University’s contribution to national development priorities. Mentioned projects included: “Healthy Soy” initiative to combat child malnutrition amid climate change; Scaled innovative cocoa fermentation technology, with over 70% adoption among farmers in major cocoa-producing districts; fully digital Public Universities Joint Admissions (PUJAB) process via ACMIS, cutting admissions costs by over 50% among others.
Addressing graduands, Professor Nawangwe encouraged them to embrace entrepreneurship, uphold integrity, and serve society with distinction. Graduates were also invited to participate in the upcoming Makerere University Careers Fair scheduled for March 11–13, 2026, to facilitate transition into the workplace. ‘As you leave the gates of Makerere, always be proud of your Alma Mater and be good ambassadors wherever you’, he urged the graduates.
Professor Nicholas Ozor, the Executive Director of the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS), Nairobi-Kenya delivered the commencement speech on Day 1 of the graduation. He advised the graduands that ‘beyond your disciplines, character will outlive your certificate, your integrity will open doors your degree cannot, your humility will teach you lessons success never will, your resilience will matter more than your grades, and you will fail at times but let failure refine you—not define you’.
He encouraged the graduands to remember five principles: Embrace lifelong learning, the world changes too fast for static knowledge; Choose purpose over comfort, impact matters more than income; Build character before career, skills get you hired, character sustains you; Serve something larger than yourself, give back to your communities and your country; and believe in Africa—and act, do not wait for solutions from elsewhere, be the solution.
To the Parents and Guardians, Professor Ozor said, ‘Today, you graduate too, your sacrifices—financial, emotional, and spiritual—are written into every certificate awarded. Thank you for believing when it was difficult, for supporting when it was inconvenient, and for hoping when the future seemed uncertain’.
Delivering a speech on behalf of the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataaha Museveni, the State Minister for Primary Education, Hon. Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu, said the Government had deliberately deepened investment in higher education to position universities as drivers of national development.
Hon. Kaducu described the establishment of the Makerere University Research and Innovation Fund (RIF) as a major milestone, noting that it supports high-impact research aligned to national priorities and has enabled thousands of researchers to deliver practical solutions benefiting communities across Uganda. She also highlighted Parliament’s approval of a 162 million US dollar concessional loan from the Korea EXIM Bank to upgrade science, technology and innovation infrastructure at Makerere University, including modern laboratories, smart classrooms and advanced facilities for engineering and health sciences, to better prepare students for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The minister announced plans to construct a national stadium at Makerere and other higher education institutions to promote sports development and talent identification. She reiterated the directive for all universities to fully implement Competence-Based Education and Training by July 2027, urging Makerere to lead curriculum reform, staff training and infrastructure development while ensuring satellite campuses meet full accreditation and uphold academic standards, transparency and accountability.
Addressing graduates, Hon. Kaducu encouraged them to become job creators in sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare and education, and to leverage opportunities like the Parish Development Model for entrepreneurship. She commended Makerere’s leadership and partners and congratulated the Class of 2026 on their achievement.
In his address to the congregation, Dr. Chrispus Kiyonga – Chancellor, Makerere University congratulated graduands upon making it to the 76th Graduation Ceremony of Makerere University. He described their achievement as a milestone in both personal growth and national development, urging them to apply their knowledge creatively to benefit society. He acknowledged the contribution of academic staff, administrators, the University Council, and expressed gratitude to the Government of Uganda and President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for continued support.
Dr. Kiyonga called on the university community to strengthen research, expand private sector partnerships, and leverage technology to address Uganda’s development challenges. Emphasising research as central to national progress, Dr. Kiyonga noted the Government’s UGX 30 billion investment annually in the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (MakRIF) and praised the Science, Technology and Innovation Secretariat, Office of the President for supporting initiatives at the University advancing homegrown solutions to national challenges. He also highlighted a strengthened partnership with the Korean government, securing a USD 162 million loan from the Korea Exim Bank to boost infrastructure and staff capacity.
While acknowledging limited formal employment opportunities, he encouraged graduates to innovate and create jobs. He further commended the university’s digitalization efforts and outlined four priorities: increased research funding, private sector collaboration, community engagement, and effective use of technology. During the 76th graduation ceremony running from the 24th -27th February, 2026, a total of 9,295 graduands will be awarded degrees and diplomas in various disciplines. Of these, 213 will receive PhDs, 2,503 Masters Degrees, 206 postgraduate Diplomas, 6,343 Bachelor’s Degrees and 30 Diplomas. 46% of the graduands are female and 54% are male.
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