Makerere University (;Peter Roach, Jane Setter, John Esling, eds., Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2011; ), p. 302. Mak, also MUK) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of nine colleges and one school, offering programmes for about 36,000 undergraduates and 4,000 postgraduates. These colleges include College of Natural Sciences (CONAS), College of Health Sciences (CHS), College of Engineering Art & Design (CEDAT), College of Agriculture and Environmental Studies (CAES), College Of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS), College of Humanities & Social Sciences (CHUSS), College of Computing and Information Sciences (COCIS), College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources & Bio-security (COVAB), College of Education and External Studies (CEES) and Makerere University Business School (MUBS). In addition, Makerere has another campus in Jinja City, Eastern Uganda.
Makerere University is the alma mater of many post-independence African leaders, including Ugandan president Milton Obote and Tanzanian presidents Julius Nyerere and Benjamin Mkapa. The former president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Joseph Kabila, and former Kenyan president the late Mwai Kibaki are also Makerere alumni.
In the years immediately after Uganda's independence, Makerere University was a focal point for the literary activity that was central to African nationalist culture. Many prominent writers, including Nuruddin Farah, Ali Mazrui, David Rubadiri, Okello Oculi, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, John Ruganda, Paul Theroux, Nobel Prize laureate V. S. Naipaul, and Peter Nazareth, were at Makerere University at one point in their writing and academic careers.
Because of student unrest and faculty disenchantment, the university was closed three times between 2006 and 2016. After the third closing, it was reopened in January 2017. The main administrative block was gutted by fire in September 2020 and reconstructed.
History
Founding of the technical school The trade school that became Makerere University began operating in 1921 with the first classes in carpentry, building construction and mechanics. In 1922, it was founded as the "Uganda Technical College" with additional courses in the arts, education, agriculture and medicine. That same year it was again renamed as Makerere College. In 1928, the vocational classes were separated from the college and renamed Kampala Technical School. In 1937 the college began offering post-secondary education certificate courses. These courses were as yet awarding diplomas, not full degrees.
University The Asquith Commission - established by the British Government in 1943 and reporting in 1945 - considered the future of tertiary level education throughout the British Empire, and made recommendations for the development of new or upgraded institutions in a number of British colonial territories. Among these was Makerere. The Commission noted that there had been moves to upgrade the College starting in 1937, but that these had been delayed by the World War, and by 1943 the student roll was still modest, with 114 resident and 24 in associated schools.The Commission's final report strongly supported the raising of Makerere to full university level, while cautioning that granting the Empire's various new colleges full degree-giving powers before they were ready would be counter-productive, as the qualifications would not be respected elsewhere.
In 1943, the British protectorate government had proposed the university, which led to a controversial struggle. It was described as "a plot to steal African soil for European settlement," by the Bataka Party. In response to this campaign, there was rioting in the capital of Kampala.
In 1949, Makerere College was granted university status and its name became Makerere College, University of East Africa., originally published in 2006, In the same year, the Bataka Party had been banned by the British Protectorate government, because of acts of riot and arson committed after a Bataka protest gathering.
Wildlife field studies Makere University has been cited as playing a "crucial" role in the development of primatology, particularly field studies. Researchers such as Niels Bolwing, Alexander John Haddow, Vernon Reynolds, Alison Jolly, and Thelma Rowell studied and conducted research through the university. Makerere helped bridge medical tropical research on human diseases such as Yellow Fever to field studies.
Unrest in the 2000s The university was closed three times between 2006 and 2016.
Beginning on 1 August 2016, the non-teaching staff went on strike demanding back pay. The strike lasted three weeks and the government agreed to pay them by the end of October; however, the government failed to make the payment. This was but one more broken promise in a cycle of failed promises, strikes and more promises. That strike was followed by a strike of the lecturers over unpaid incentive pay, and that strike was joined by students in solidarity. This led to President Yoweri Museveni closing the university "indefinitely". Additional protests, including from parents whose children were left hanging in mid-semester, led to Museveni appointing a special commission to try to rectify the situation but with no promises of reopening. The commission's report was due in late February 2017. The University was actually closed for two months.
On 20 September 2020, the main building of Makerere University (the Ivory Tower) was severely damaged by fire, allegedly following a probe by the Ugandan parliament into financial mismanagement by university authorities.
100-year anniversary
In 2022, the university celebrated its centenary since its establishment as Makerere College in 1922. The institution was granted additional land for expansion into a university by Nsibirwa, a former prime minister of the Buganda Kingdom, in 1945. Despite facing numerous challenges in Uganda's political, social, and academic history, the institution has persevered for a century.
On October 7, 2022, a ceremony commemorating the centenary was held at Freedom Square, with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in attendance. A statue monument was unveiled at the entrance of the university's Freedom Square to mark this significant milestone in Uganda's educational sector.
Organization The University Council is the supreme governing body of the university while the Senate is the chief academic organ of the university.
Subcommittees of the University Council Appointments Board Finance, Planning and Administration Quality Assurance, Gender and ICT Estates and Works Staff Development, Welfare and Retirement Benefits Students Affairs and Disciplinary Honorary Awards Audit
Notable former and current faculty administrators Venansius Baryamureeba, computer scientist, former vice chancellor Brian Semujju, Ugandan journalist, media theorist and senior lecturer in journalism and communication William Bazeyo, former dean of Makerere University School of Public Health (2009–2017); deputy vice chancellor of Makerere University, responsible for finance and administration, since September 2017 Winnie Byanyima, aeronautical engineer, politician, activist Hugh Dinwiddy, lecturer in literature, warden of Northcote Hall George Kirya, microbiologist, diplomat, academic, former vice chancellor at Makerere and former chairman of Uganda Health Services Commission Mahmood Mamdani, political scientist and historian Harriet Mayanja-Kizza, former dean of students, Makerere University School of Medicine Ali Mazrui, academic, historian and political scientist Barnabas Nawangwe, architect, academic and current vice chancellor Apolo Nsibambi, former prime minister of Uganda and former chancellor of Makerere University Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Bachelor of Arts in Economics, first president of the United Republic of Tanzania Joe Oloka-Onyango, former dean of law and human rights expert Okot p'Bitek, poet David Serwadda, former dean, School of Public Health Nelson Sewankambo, former principal, College of Health Sciences John Ssebuwufu, chemist, former vice chancellor of Makerere University, current chancellor of Kyambogo University John Ddumba Ssentamu, economist, academic and banker, former vice chancellor Jones Kyazze, author, academic, former member of the Guild Council, Makerere's student government. Sylvia Tamale, lawyer, academic, women's rights activist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, novelist Timothy Wangusa, author, poet, former minister of education David Wasawo, zoologist and educationist, former vice principal
Other academics Catherine Abbo, medical doctor and researcher Paul D'Arbela, physician, cardiologist, academic; dean of the Mother Kevin Postgraduate Medical School, Nsambya Rose Mbowa, theatre academic, playwright and actress; former head of Department of Music, Dance and Drama Celestino Obua, physician, pharmacologist, academic; former vice chancellor of Mbarara University Charles Olweny, physician, oncologist, medical researcher; former vice chancellor of Uganda Martyrs University; former chancellor of Mbarara University Raphael Owor, medical doctor, former chancellor of Mbarara University, former professor of pathology at Makerere University School of Medicine Hakim Sendagire, physician, biochemist and microbiologist; dean of Habib Medical School
Notable alumni
Political figures and government employees
Lucy Akello, Ugandan politician, elected member of parliament for the Amuru District Women's Constituency, in the 10th Parliament Anita Annet Among, speaker of the 11th Parliament of Uganda (2021–2026); deputy speaker 2021–2022 Samuel Awich (1973), justice of the Supreme Court of Belize Aisha Naluzze Batala, Ugandan lawyer and judge Kizza Besigye, physician, retired colonel in the Uganda People's Defence Force; opposition politician; former leader of the Forum for Democratic Change party; presidential candidate in 2001, 2006, and 2011 Godfrey Binaisa, former president of Uganda Gilbert Bukenya, former vice president of Uganda Dora Byamukama, former member of parliament for Mwenge South, former member of the East African Legislative Assembly Kanyama Chiume, Malawian who worked for the independence of Nyasaland (now Malawi) Moses Ebuk, physician, neurophyiologist, former lecturer and tutor in the department of physiology at the Makerere University College of Health Sciences, diplomat; ambassador of Uganda to the Russian Federation Daphrosa Gahakwa, Rwandan education minister Aloisea Inyumba, Rwandan minister for gender and family promotion Filemona F. Indire, former Kenyan ambassador, leading educator and member of parliament Joseph Kabila, Congolese politician and president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda Allen Kagina, public administrator Patrick Karegeya, former Rwandan head of intelligence Andrew Felix Kaweesi, assistant inspector general of police (AIGP) Uganda, military officer and policeman; spokesperson of Uganda Police Force, 2016–2017 Specioza Kazibwe, former vice president of Uganda Mwai Kibaki, third president of Kenya, 2002–2013; graduated at the top of his class (summa cum laude) in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics Samson Kisekka, former vice president of Uganda Benedicto Kiwanuka, first prime minister and first chief justice of Uganda Crispus Kiyonga, physician, former minister of defense of Uganda; chancellor of Makerere University since 2024 Sam Kutesa, Uganda's foreign affairs minister; president of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly Henry Kyemba, minister of health under Idi AminKyemba, Henry. A State of Blood, p. 21