Humanities & Social Sciences
CHUSS Freshers Asked to Focus on Academics & Desist from Engaging in Politics & Rioting
Hundreds of freshmen and women admitted to undergraduate programmers in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) for the academic year 2023/2024 on Friday 25th August 2023 converged at the Arts Quadrangle for orientation.
University officials including members of the CHUSS management and university units including Security, Counselling and Guidance, the Library and Gender Mainstreaming unit and the students’ Guild addressed students on university policies, rules and regulations.
In addition to furnishing students with information on academic life such as admission, fees payment and registration, the University academic calendar and change of program, freshers were advised on a number of issues pertaining to their social life, personal security and the general conduct while at the university.
The freshers were also cautioned against examination malpractices, engaging in strikes, drug abuse and sexual harassment among others that would put their lives and studies at stake.
Addressing the students, the Principal CHUSS Professor Josephine Ahikire welcomed and congratulated the first years upon joining the CHUSS family.
Prof. Ahikire described CHUSS as a unique college that has opened the world to the students in terms of disciplines that are offered across the five schools including social sciences, gender studies, philosophy, history, journalism, performing arts and languages and literature.
“All that is a rich menu that offers you, even if you are taking one course, you can take even an audit course to enrich your experience and also widen your perspective”. She said
The Principal cautioned freshers against bad groups and company that may mislead them into acts that may result into discontinuation.
“You have been admitted as individuals. There’s no admission letter that says that, we have been admitted. You should pursue goals that relate to what you have been admitted for and be able to complete your studies”, The Principal advised adding:
“We want to be able to read your names on graduation as first class and second class upper and would like to also see you finally as citizens useful to society because CHUSS gives you that critical edge on societal issues and societal challenges and it is these disciplines that empower you as students to be able to be critical enough to be able to analyze, to be able to address those human related challenges” Prof. Ahikire guided.
Prof. Ahikire pledged staff availability to help and support students in their academic journey, saying, students are the reason why staff and the university exist.. She implored freshers to seek help from college officials to ensure that they register, attend lectures and perform all activities.
She thanked the students for turning up in large numbers and sitting throughout very attentively saying, that showed how they take orientation seriously . She called upon staff to play their part and take their processes seriously, improve systems and be responsive to the young people’s needs and inquiries.
Rioting and engagement in national party politics not allowed
The Superintendent of Police, Daniel Okello attached to the Uganda Police Field Force unit highlighted the security structure at Makerere University and where students can go in case of challenges.
Okello underscored the need for students to keep peace, law and order for a smooth completion of their studies.
He stressed that although it is good to have a democratic society with respect to human rights, the institution of police was established by law and is mandated to swing into action in case rights of innocent people are violated.
“We are very many from different schools. Please when you are in Makerere have respect for diversity, because it’s an epitome of academic excellence. Even the sweeper is educated to his level. That means for you to be educated, you must respect the person who offers you a service, whether he’s not educated”, Okello advised.
The officer told freshers that Makerere University is built on the foundation of culture, and therefore , they must learn and respect the culture of every place they go to or else face the wrath of the law.
“I controlled field force. Fanya fujo or make manyanga – make mistakes and see. You will not know the English I’m speaking. I will become very uneducated and very uncivilized. I will carry you with one leg and the other leg to the truck and I take you to police.
And the good thing nowadays they have changed the rules. When you are got rioting, you are taken alone. I will chase you in 100 meters until I catch you than giving an innocent person tear gas. I take you to Wandegeya and the next day you will see on your portal the suspension letter calling you to appear before the disciplinary committee”, Okello reassured.
Okello told freshers that the red gown is part of the uniform of Makerere University allowed for official functions and not to be misused. He cautioned that at 18 years of age, they are criminally liable .
“None of you is below 18 years. Uganda is a democratic country under multi party system where you are free to try and play into the politics of this country, to choose your leaders. But when it reaches politics. different political groups will come in. You are not here to play politics of the national level. You are supposed to play student leadership..
In the enjoyment of your rights, do not infringe on the other peoples’ rights that you want politicians to come and organize the rally. Do not make that rally stop that one who is doing medicine from attending the classes. So the main issue you came here is to study”, he added.
The police officer called for discipline and respect for one another on grounds that as humans, none knows who will help or rescue them in other circumstances.
Be security cautious
Okello advised students to be security cautious and never to trust anyone around them or else, fall victims of unscrupulous people, loose property and or lives.
“All of you are victims of the wise men in Makerere University. Please do not follow people who are telling you let’s go and change courses. Do not give your keys to people you don’t know. Do not give your telephones to people who are saying I have lost my phone.
You are very good victims. They are calling you fresh. Everything is fresh. HIV and AIDS is real. Makerere University is an adult school. You are free to do what you are doing, but the repercussion is great. There are crimes of compassion. I have had very many university students being killed and dropped on the roadside because of relationships”. The officer advised.
He advised students to read hard noting that the future is in the youth.
On the morning of Friday, February 27, when the academic procession winds its way across Makerere University’s Freedom Square for the last day of the 76th Graduation Ceremony, Whitney Najjuka will walk into history with a number beside her name: 4.46.
At Makerere, that number means First Class Honours. It means the Vice Chancellor’s List. It means she graduates as the only First-Class student in Journalism and Communication this year. But numbers, as Whitney has learned, rarely tell the full story.
Born on March 27, 2002, in Nabbingo, Kyengera Town Council, to Margaret Kusemererwa and Fred Kasirye, dreamt she would do Law, one of the disciplines, prestigious, almost inevitable next steps for a student who had excelled in secondary school. She had done everything correctly. Studied hard. Scored well. Followed the script.
But Makerere University had other plans. She missed the pre-entry mark, but found her name under Journalism and Communication, another prestigious course offered by the Journalism and Communication Department at Makerere University.
Najjuka began her academic journey at Muto Primary School in Buwama, earning 8 aggregates in the Primary Leaving Examination, a performance that positioned her strongly for secondary school.
She would later join St. Lucia Hill School, Namagoma, where she earned 20 aggregates at O-Level and 17 points in History, Luganda, and Divinity at A-Level.
Missing her dream course, Law, felt at first, like a detour. But Whitney was encouraged by Sanyu Christopher, her uncle, and she settled for a government-sponsored slot in the Bachelor of Journalism and Communication at Makerere, which she had applied for before.
She entered uncertain. But she graduates transformed.
The Pivot That Became a Purpose
Whitney speaks of her early university days with candor. She did not arrive at the Department of Journalism and Communication with a burning childhood ambition to be a journalist, but because another door had closed.
Then, Social and Behavior Change Communication happened. Applied Strategic Communication happened. She began to see media not as headlines and microphones, but as architecture, shaping how societies think, argue, and act.
The turning point came in her third year. The Female Journalist Foundation published her story on Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and its emotional toll on survivors. What startled her was not its publication but the reaction. Comments flooded in. Debates ignited, especially about the role of men in combating GBV.
“I realized media doesn’t just report,” she says. “It frames how society views a crisis.”
Her voice, once tentative, had entered a national conversation.
The Discipline Behind 4.46
At Makerere University, a First Class CGPA is not built on brilliance alone but on ritual.
Whitney’s ritual began with showing up, on time, every time. She treated lectures as appointments with her future self. She refused to confine her learning to the syllabus. While attending workshops at the Aga Khan Graduate School of Media and Communication and obtaining external certifications, she sought and was open to mentorship through the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU).
She wanted theory anchored in practice. And then there was the commute.
From Nabbingo, a hill in Wakiso District, some 18.6 km to Kampala, where the Makerere Main campus is situated, and back, nearly 20 hours a week dissolved into Kampala traffic. Two-hour journeys before 8:00 a.m. lectures. Dust. Noise. Headaches. She learned to manage energy the way others manage time. Fatigue became a tutor in resilience.
“I had to be intentional with every remaining hour,” she says. “Excuses were not an option.”
Learning to Practice Communication
If classrooms taught her analysis, presentations taught her courage. Pitching projects, defending research, and standing before peers quick to critique forced her to think on her feet. She was no longer simply studying communication; she was practicing it.
In 2024, the AGMES Fellowship at the Aga Khan Graduate School of Media and Communication pushed her further. She received funding to produce a capstone project on the mental impact of gender-based violence on survivors. She identified sources, conducted interviews, handled trauma with care, and worked with professional editors.
The Communication, she learned, is logistics and ethics as much as eloquence.
The Future She Sees
Whitney is optimistic about Uganda’s media landscape. The digital shift, she believes, has democratized influence. Young communicators are no longer confined to legacy newsrooms or offices.
Yet she sees a gap in the absence of structured research on sustainable, ethical, profitable independent media ventures in Uganda. Her ambition is not only to practice communication, but to study it. To produce data-backed frameworks that help young Ugandans transition from graduates to media entrepreneurs.
She wants to make the impact scalable.
What Remains
As the only First-Class graduate in her cohort, she is careful not to mythologize herself. “Success isn’t brilliance alone,” she says. “It’s a daily commitment when nobody is watching.”
Even before graduation, Whitney had stepped into the industry through a mentorship internship at Capital One Group (COG EA Ltd), a strategic marketing communications agency operating across East Africa.
At Capital One Group, we spoke to Paul Mwirigi Muriungi, the Managing Director and Head of Strategy, who spoke of Najjuka as a progressive and intentional young professional who approaches her work with curiosity, maturity, and responsibility.
“Her attitude is exemplary. She is teachable, receptive to feedback, and eager to grow. While technical skills can be taught, character, work ethic, and mindset determine long-term success, qualities that Whitney consistently demonstrates. Given her academic excellence and professional application, we believe she has a bright future both at Capital One Group and within the wider communications industry. She represents the kind of talent the profession needs: thoughtful, adaptable, and committed to excellence.
“We look forward to seeing her next chapter unfold,” says Mwirigi.
Najjuka’s gaze extends beyond her own trajectory. She speaks of what the Department could become. Furnished and equipped with industry-standard equipment, newsroom simulations, and deeper investment in data journalism as prayers. Her excellence is not self-congratulatory, but it is forward-looking.
“The University should support the Department to procure industry-standard equipment. Access to high-quality cameras, sound booths, and updated editing software like Adobe Creative Suite is critical to our learning environment,” she says.
Adding that, “We need a newsroom simulation, a physical or digital space where students work under real-time deadlines to produce content for the public. That would prepare us for industry and even strengthen the University’s own media platforms.”
In an era defined by metrics, algorithms, and digital traceability, data journalism is no longer a niche skill but a sine qua non of credible reporting. “There should also be more focus on data journalism and search engine optimization. These are no longer optional skills. Students would benefit immensely from stronger training in these areas.”
Dr. Aisha Nakiwala, the Head, Department of Journalism and Communication, says the faculty are very proud that she is graduating with a First Class—the only one in this year’s cohort.
“This achievement reflects not only exceptional intellectual ability but also discipline, resilience, and sustained dedication to the highest standards over four years. Graduating with first-class honors is no small feat; it requires consistent outstanding performance.
“Her accomplishment sets a powerful example for continuing students and reaffirms our department’s commitment to nurturing excellence. We are confident she will make meaningful contributions to the communication profession and society at large,” says Dr. Nakiwala.
On graduation day, applause will crest and recede. The gowns will fold back into wardrobes. The transcripts will be filed away in cabinets. But something quieter will endure; a young woman from Nabbingo who once missed her Law mark, who spent 20 hours a week on the road, who discovered that storytelling is power, and who now walks into Freedom Square not by accident, but by intention.
Life, as she has come to understand it, lives on.
-
General4 days agoBachelor of Laws Pre-Entry Examination Results 2026/2027
-
General1 week agoMature Age Admission List – Government Sponsorship 2026/27
-
General1 week agoMakerere University DVCFA Accomplishments will continue – Prof. Alinaitwe
-
General2 weeks agoFrom Information to Innovation: ‘This Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint’—Academic Registrar and Director of Graduate Training Urge PhD Cohort 11
-
General2 days agoCall for Research Support Applications from Master’s Students who have Completed their First Year of Taught Classes at Makerere University