General
First Mak@100 Lecture Examines Governance of Public Universities
The Makerere@100 Lecture Series got off to an exciting start on Wednesday 9th February, 2022 with an eminent alumnus and Attorney General of the Republic of Uganda, Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka delivering an excellent exposition of the theme “A Legal perspective on the role of Governing Councils in the Management of Higher Education Institutions”.
Delivered to a packed but SOP-observant audience in the Central Teaching Facility 2 (CTF 2) Auditorium as well as hundreds online, the first series could best be described as historic; the first to be delivered by a sitting Attorney General of Uganda.
“It is therefore a privilege for me to moderate this public lecture not only as a lawyer but also as the Principal, School of Law” remarked the Event Chairperson, Prof. Christopher Mbazira. “We know and the Attorney General knows that his role as Head of Bar comes with various responsibilities, key among which is to mentor lawyers and ensure that the law is practiced according to professional standards and codes of conduct,” he added.
Prof. Mbazira thanked the Attorney General for using the lecture as an opportunity to discharge part of his duties as Head of Bar and informed the audience that as Principal, he had made a conscientious decision to cancel morning classes at the School of Law so that his students could attend the lecture, “because as I Law Student I never got that opportunity.”
The Principal invited the Attorney General to take keen interest in the quality of legal education offered at the School of Law, particularly the unique innovation of offering of Legal Aid services.
“We invite you to take interest in that as we wait for the promulgation of the Legal Aid Bill, as well as use your offices to ensure sustainability of that innovation by having that particular aspect of the School of Law incorporated in the Justice Sector” added Prof. Mbazira.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe in his welcome remarks noted that in addition to being the first Makerere@100 Lecture Series, it was the first time the Attorney General was delivering a lecture at his alma mater.
“The Lecture is on a very important subject to Makerere University and all other Higher Education Institutions because the Council is the supreme governing body of the institution. We therefore thank Honourable Kiryowa Kiwanuka for accepting to come and deliver this lecture despite his very busy schedule” added the Vice Chancellor.
Prof. Nawangwe noted that the First Lecture would be followed by others in the lead-up to the climax of the Centenary Celebrations in October 2022. He thanked Prof. Mbazira for enabling his students to attend the historic lecture delivered by one of their own and Senior Counsel.
The Chairperson of Council, Mrs. Lorna Magara in her motivational statement prior to the lecture noted that there was no better person to deliver the First Makerere@100 Lecture Series than Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka.
“He has experienced firsthand the intricacies involved in the Governance of an educational institution of the magnitude of Makerere University” said the Chairperson, before adding that “Makerere University significantly benefited from Honourable Kiryowa Kiwanuka’s extensive legal experience, his willingness to lead; his quick incisive thinking and relentless ability to find solutions to multifaceted issues.”
Mrs. Magara further stated that the Lecture would double as an opportunity to officially bid farewell to Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka who served the Council from December 2018 to October 2021, as well as Her Worship Doreen Nyanjura who served from July 2016 to January 2022.
“As Chairperson, it’s been one of those bittersweet moments bidding farewell to two extremely resourceful Council Members, and yet at the same time, finding great joy in seeing them take on greater responsibility to serve our Nation and our City. I heartily congratulate you Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka and Your Worship Doreen Nyanjura both upon your respective appointments” she added.
Quoting Barry Posner and James Kouzes’ book “The Leadership Challenge” wherein they state that the domain of leaders is the future, Mrs. Magara emphasised that Makerere as it celebrates 100 years of achievements must leverage its wealth of intellectual and human capital to profer leadership in transforming Uganda, “and it starts with good governance, undergirded by a proper legal framework.”
‘Cometh the hour, cometh the man’ is an idiom more popularly used in sport to describe the sportsman/woman that turns the tide of what hitherto seemed like an impossible score to recover from. Although no stranger to sport, Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka in this case had to deliver on a theme that was not only broad but also largely dependent on a legal framework; The Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, 2001, that is in desperate need of amendment.
So palpable was the immensity of the task at hand that the Attorney General admitted “It’s not business as usual to deliver a public lecture like this, our business is normally behind the desk writing documents, so I’m really honoured to receive this recognition… it’s also interesting that I hear today, that this is the first lecture of the series, that I didn’t know, because if I had been told, maybe I would have had an excuse to take the second.”
He nevertheless noted that although the day’s theme sounded legal, what he was going to discuss was education, which would hopefully help the audience plan for a lifetime. He observed that “new” knowledge will be very instrumental as the country seeks to achieve Middle Income Status, which further underlines the importance of Makerere University and other institutions of higher learning, and their need to observe good governance.
Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka noted that the University Council derives its mandate from Sections 38(1) and 40(1) of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act 2001 and its functions from Section 40(2) of the same. He added that although the broad nature of the Council’s functions occasionally makes it hard to draw a line between its roles and those of Management, Council, being the Trustee of the Government wields overall responsibility to ensure effective and efficient management and functionality of the University.
“The role of the university council is not simply to manage the institution but to manage change. We are surrounded by an ever changing environment. We are in the age of computers, social media, IT, artificial intelligence etc.” explained the Attorney General.
In this regard, he commended the University for adapting to the changing world. “Makerere University has identified the changing circumstances and the need for research in order for us to find homegrown solutions to our challenges and has decided to make this its primary goal. To become research led!”
After delving deeply into the specific and routine responsibilities of Council such as: Making recommendations for the appointment of the University’s top leadership; Establishing the University Senate and other Academic Bodies; Establishing Boards of Faculties, Institutes and Colleges; Appointing Committees of the University Council; Management of University Property; and Submitting University Budget Estimates, Hon. Kiryowa summed it up by saying there is no point in the management and running of the University where Council does not have a direct role.
“University business is not ordinary business. The rationale of this is that the purpose of a University is for the greater good. The greatest stakeholder at least in Makerere University, is the people of Uganda; alumni, students or not. What you do here affects all of Uganda” cautioned the Attorney General.
University Councils face a number of challenges largely due to their size and flouting the Chatham House Rule. After enumerating these, Hon. Kiryowa concluded on a cautionary note, reminding his audience of the need to achieve a good balance between the Council and the Vice Chancellor/Management for the good of the university.
The risk, he noted, was in a proactive Chairperson and a proactive Council limiting the scope of activity for a Vice Chancellor. He nevertheless commended, “I have had the privilege of working with both a dynamic Chairperson and proactive Vice Chancellor.”
The well-received public lecture was followed by a lively one-on-one with the Attorney General, moderated by Assoc. Prof. Sarah Ssali a Council Member and Dean, School of Women and Gender Studies, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS).
Pertinently raised were the need to: amend the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act to move beyond the era in which Makerere was the only Public University in Uganda; and cater for affirmative action and minimum qualifications in the constitution of Council. Other burning issues touched on stifling academic freedom, losses to public universities arising out of litigation and the growing presence of the military in academic spaces. MakererePertinently raised were the need to: amend the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act to move beyond the era in which Makerere was the only Public University in Uganda; and cater for affirmative action and minimum qualifications in the constitution of Council. Other burning issues touched on stifling academic freedom, losses to public universities arising out of litigation and the growing presence of the military in academic spaces.
The Attorney General in summary concurred with the urgent need to amend the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act as it governs a very dynamic era, proposing it be subject to amendment every ten years. He called for the adoption of a more inclusive “Ugandans in uniform” reference to the military, and offered to create a space for the public and academia to debate their growing presence in spaces outside their usual domain. Finally, he urged his audience not to use academic freedom to trample upon the freedoms of other members of the public.
As hinted on by the Chairperson of Council during her motivational statement, the lecture was crowned by the presentation of eminent service awards to Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka and Her Worship Doreen Nyanjura.
In her acceptance speech, Her Worship acknowledged that although she did not know what the future held as she journeyed from Nyamabuga village in Kyenjojo district to commence her undergraduate studies at Makerere in 2009, she carried in her heart a burning desire to make her surroundings a better place than she had found them. She went on to serve on the Students Guild and in 2016, became Councillor for Makerere University at the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).
Nominated by KCCA to sit on the Makerere University Council in 2016, Her Worship was at the time of her departure in January 2022 serving her second five-year term.
“I want to extend my sincere gratitude to this Council and its members with whom I served. This University Council has groomed me, it has trained me and sharpened me to be a better leader. The Council has taught me that every single decision we take affects so many people and their families, a single decision could destroy a career or build it, it could shut out a whole section of our society from attaining an education or enable them to attain education” she said.
Please click the embedded video below to view proceedings of the First Makerere@100 Lecture Series
The Senior Program Director, Higher Education and Research in Africa, International Program, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Prof. Omotade Akin Aina on 23rd May 2025 visited Makerere University during his short trip to Kampala. Prof. Aina was received on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe by Prof. Tony Oyana, Principal of the College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS).
During his visit, Prof. Aina met with the Project Implementation Committee, representatives from the Consolidating Early Career Academics Programme (CECAP) phase I Fellowship Cohort, and current Fellows of phase II. The meeting discussed the progress of CECAP II, which focuses on fostering academic development and research among early-career academics.
CECAP II is being implemented by Makerere University in collaboration with four other Ugandan public universities, including; Busitema University, Gulu University, Kyambogo University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology. Prof. Mukadasi Buyinza, the Project Principal Investigator was represented at the meeting by the Director of Graduate Training, Prof. Julius Kikooma.
By Moses Lutaaya
The Directorate of Graduate Training at Makerere University has equipped several Senior ranking lecturers with expert knowledge in a Training of Trainers’ workshop on “Philosophy of Methods”.
In his remarks at the opening of a 3-day training workshop at Level4 Conference Hall – Senate Building, the Director of Graduate Training Prof. Julius Kikooma said, “The teaching of Philosophy of Methods gives all participants the fundamentals to extend knowledge to other learners, hence its importance in upholding the Makerere University values.”
Kikooma urged and challenged the participants to also attend and actively participate in the follow up of learners’ training of students, stating that the PhD students need support as the directorate continues to coordinate the curriculum of PhD by-research that was approved by the senate recently.
“To holistically implement the senate approved PhD curriculum, we are coordinating capacity building trainings of all stake holders in a structured approach with the different units of the University. Many more trainings including Training of Trainers in advanced research methods course are on the way.”
He further urged the participants to be intentional in their teaching profession and in whatever they were doing, adding “Apart from focusing on practices as teachers and researchers, we can engage in wider philosophical debates in our research areas so that we are relevant in the society and in the empowerment of PhD research students.”
The participants for the Philosophy of Methods training were from College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Education and External Studies, Makerere University Business School among others.
During the same training, Dr. Dickson Kanakulya stressed the need to train senior lecturers in the Philosophy of Methods, saying, “The biggest connection is that societal problems require concrete research to find solutions. Our challenge in Africa is that we employ a short barrow approach to find solutions to problems. This cannot work. We need consistent researchers to solve problems. Lasting solutions to societal issues can only be got through training such as Philosophy of Methods, where researchers come up with new models for societal solutions.”
Dr. Kanakulya said that Makerere University remains the biggest research University in Africa and philosophy of Methods helps to come up with good research tools that produce good research outputs. “Research has shown that the higher the number of PhD researchers in any given country, the higher the levels of development of that country e.g. the USA, China etc., adding that research is not limited to only medicinal or agricultural related issues.”
He said philosophy of methods, encourages philosophical creativity in research, “It is meant to bring out philosophical generation of concepts, theories and ideas. It is meant to encourage students to question the existing philosophical assumptions and status quo in a given field of knowledge such that new philosophical concepts are created.”
For successful rollout of government programs like the National Development Plan 4, Dr. Kanakulya said that Philosophy of Methods training needs to be integrated into such systems. “Philosophy of Methods focuses on ethical thinking aspects. For example, for a better rollout of the Parish Development Model, we need implementers to be ethical.” He added.
Prof. Sulait Tumwiine, the associate Dean of Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at MUBS said, “This is a discussion where new ideas are shared to guide and gauge applicability in the current knowledge diversity coupled with lots of technological development including Artificial Intelligence and Chat GPT.”
He added, “As professors of Universities, we need to understand how we leverage on what comes up so that it does not take our space, but also appreciate how we can support growth of knowledge. The Philosophy of Methods training is the answer.”
Dr. Jim Spire Ssentongo highlighted that Philosophy uses more of the critical mind than Science. He added that philosophy is more of speculation of the mind.
“Sustainability of philosophy Education encourages us to continue training. Philosophy being the oldest discipline retained special status in the academia as a pinnacle of pursuit of knowledge. All disciplines have major elements of philosophy citing examples in the philosophy of Mathematics and Physics.
Dr. Spire added, “If you do not understand philosophy, you cannot deeply investigate anything because philosophy is the reality of understanding everything. Philosophy is the basis of understanding what knowledge is and how it is arrived at.”
Also participating in the workshop was Prof. Joseph Ntaayi from MUBS, in his remarks he said PhD students need the philosophy of methods training to understand how to best to create knowledge. He added that ontological and epistemological questions that lead to good research design methods can only be answered by this training.
Dr. Robert Kakuru, a Lecturer in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences said that the Philosophy of Methods training is needed by every graduate student as well as supervisors to critically determine the choice of methods to use in academic research. For example, “If one wants to use a questionnaire as an interview approach, one should understand, why that approach and yet without this training, the why cannot be answered.” He added.
The Philosophy of Methods training was organized by Directorate of Graduate Training with funding support from the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA).
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