Humanities & Social Sciences
Mak & Wits Forum on Sidelines of NAM & G77 Summits Debates African Agency
On Friday 19th January 2024, Makerere University in partnership with the University of the Witwatersrand’s African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS) held a Forum based on the theme “Africa in the Global South: Advancing African Agency, Amplifying African Voices.” Dubbed the only academic event on the sidelines of the 19th Summit of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Heads of State and Government, and the Third South Summit organized under the framework of Group 77 (G77) and China, the event was among other objectives aimed at giving a platform for youth to discuss the notion of African Agency.
Providing an overview and conceptual understanding of the forum, Prof. Gilbert Khadiagala, Director of ACSUS noted that African Agency is an important notion particularly in the gradual shift from a bipolar to a promising multipolar world. “We are celebrating the end of what we describe as American hegemony, and now moving into a phase where there is a semblance of multiplicity of powers emerging globally.”
Describing agency as “the ability of Africans to advance their voice globally”, Prof. Khadiagala noted that this agency had since the decolonization period of the 1960s been subject to the dilemma of either advancing as 50-plus sovereign African States or as a collective. He nevertheless opined that “there is no real effective African Agency if we are not talking about Agency as a collective enterprise.”
Prof. Khadiagala therefore paid tribute to the first NAM Conference held in Bandung, Indonesia in April 1955 for inviting Africa to the discussion table even before several States had gained independence. He equally acknowledged the G77 Meeting of 1979 held in Arusha, Tanzania as having given birth to “the new international economic order”, which became a rallying point for the promotion of global economic reforms. This new international economic order, he added, was unfortunately dealt a harsh blow in 1982, when the powers in Washington and England insisted that they would only negotiate with individual Nation States.
The abyss that NAM and the G77 went into after 1982 notwithstanding, Prof. Khadiagala noted that the hosting of the NAM plus G77 and China Summits in Kampala and the subsequent assuming of the Chairmanship by Uganda was worth celebrating. He regarded this shift as an opportunity for Africa to seize the moment, begin to set the agenda and be in the driver’s seat of the Non-Aligned Movement, and not just be guests at the table where key decisions are made as has hitherto been the case.
Dr. Edward Silvestre Kaweesi from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration who moderated the forum thanked Prof. Khadiagala and ASUS for partnering with Makerere to organize the event, noting that it is in tandem with a project focused on the Historicizing and Rethinking Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences at Makerere University since 1922. The publication from the project, he added, deeply interrogates the topic of African Agency.
He further noted that whereas no NAM Youth Summit had been organized at the Kampala Edition, the outcome of the Forum, a comprehensive report, will highlight the voices of youth, “Interrogating the question of the African Agency as it is playing out at the moment in the NAM and G77.”
In addition to the report, Dr. Kaweesi shared that an edited volume of the book based on the Forum theme will be published within the year. The book will be a publication of Makerere University and the University of the Witwatersrand.
The Deputy Director ACSUS, Dr. Bob Wekesa noted that the longstanding collaboration between Makerere and Wits affords both institutions the opportunity to advance partnerships in terms of joint research, exchange of faculty and students, and joint fieldwork. Turning to the timing of the Forum, he added that the “NAM and G77 Summits provide an opportune moment for us to demonstrate in real terms that we are actually very pragmatic and working towards tangible areas of partnership.”
The Chief Guest at the Forum and Principal, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) Prof. Josephine Ahikire thanked the key parties in the collaboration between Makerere and Wits for convening the event and expressed CHUSS’ commitment to support similar initiatives.
“We are really committed to advancing what we have called the African Voice and African Intellectualism. This is why when we talk about NAM, especially in the fact that it is described in the sense of what it is not, ‘Non-Aligned’, I think ‘What are we aligned to?’ should be the most important question” remarked the Principal.
Prof. Ahikire further emphasised the need for we the Africans to go beyond the buzzword of decolonization and mean business by revalidating African epistemologies, African indigenous knowledge systems and African languages. She therefore called for the creation of many more spaces such as the day’s Forum to articulate the African visions and what is referred to by the notion of global south.
“Somebody asked ‘Who is an African?’ that question is as political as you can imagine but definitely, the answer and the solution is in the definition of what you mean by African, whether on the continent or in the diaspora, the voice around critiquing global marginalization, and sometimes it is self-marginalization especially when we negate everything that is African” said. Prof. Ahikire.
The Principal added that beyond the toll on human life posed by COVID-19, the pandemic demonstrated that African indigenous knowledge systems offered precious lessons that we ought to take forward. “There was a reminder to return to humanity, to Ubuntu, and the things that began to matter were not actually things (property) but new ways of living humanity. Those are the kinds of lessons that we could take to defining and envisioning our futures and not always lamenting.”
Following the official opening ceremony, the Principal was gifted a copy of the book “Africa’s policy towards the US: The Biden Era” edited by Bob Wekesa. The event also served as an opportunity to launch the book “China’s Footprint in East Africa: Pessimism versus Optimism” written by Bob Wekesa.
The Forum was also enriched panel discussions based on the themes; African agency towards global South powers and The intersection of Agenda 2063, EAC policies, and the global South. The combined panel discussion from the themes was moderated by Dr. Gardner Rwakiseta Herbert from Julius Nyerere Leadership Center (JNLC) and featured as panelists; Dr. Charles Bate from Tree Adoption Uganda, and Mr. Benon Hebert Oluka from the Global Investigative Journalism Network of the African Union Media Fellowship. Additional panelists included Advocate Francis Gimara, Dr. David Ngendo-Tshimba from Uganda Martyrs University, and Dr. Bob Wekesa.
A second panel discussion tackled the theme Amplifying African voices: media and summit diplomacy and was moderated by Dr. Gerald Walulya from Department of Journalism and Communication, Makerere University and featured Dr. William Tayeebwa from the same Department. Dr. Eunice Akullo from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration then moderated a presentation by Prof. Julius Kiiza of the same Department on the theme Gender and youth perspectives on African agency in the global South.
The Forum was coordinated by Dr. Edward Silvestre Kaweesi, Mr. Solomon Winyi, and the Principal Public Relations Officer Ms. Ritah Namisango.
Click the video below to watch full proceedings of the Forum
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.
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