On May 21, 2025, Uganda Christian University (UCU) hosted a momentous occasion at Nkoyoyo Hall as Canon Professor Peter Nyende delivered his inaugural professorial lecture. The event attracted a distinguished audience, including several bishops of the Church of Uganda, Church of Uganda officials, senior UCU staff, alumni, and students, all gathered to celebrate a scholar whose voice continues to shape theological thought and influence public discourse in East Africa.
Representing the Chancellor, the Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, was the Rt. Rev. Assoc. Prof. Fred Sheldon Mwesigwa, Bishop of Ankole Diocese. In his remarks, Bishop Mwesigwa congratulated Prof. Nyende on his elevation to full professorship, an accomplishment, he said, that reflects both deep scholarship and perseverance. He applauded UCU for honoring its professors through public lectures that give scholars space to share their ideas with the wider community. As a fellow biblical scholar, Bishop Mwesigwa emphasized the vital role of theological academics in equipping the church and addressing complex moral and social challenges.
“Publishing biblical scholars play a unique and irreplaceable role in shaping theological thought, resourcing pastors, and helping churches navigate complex doctrinal, moral, and social questions grounded in theological insight,” he said. “I call upon UCU to prioritize and provide the much-needed institutional support for theological education and biblical scholarship.”
Vice Chancellor Canon Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi extended apologies from the Chairperson of the UCU University Council, Bishop Alfred Olwa, who was unable to attend due to illness. In his opening remarks, Prof. Mushengyezi highlighted the significance of inaugural lectures in the academic life of the university.
“Becoming a full professor in an academic institution is a dream of every academic,” he said. “We struggle and get doctorates, but for an academic that is not enough. You must publish or perish. When you don’t publish, we begin to doubt your credentials because it is through sharing knowledge that we propagate ideas that become the bedrock for influencing society and development paradigms.”
Prof. Mushengyezi commended Prof. Nyende for attaining this scholarly milestone, expressing hope that his achievements would inspire other UCU scholars to pursue excellence.
“Now that you have attained this level of academic excellence, we hope that you will be an inspiring force in shaping the ideas and agendas in our church,” he said. “This milestone should also encourage our different scholars at UCU to press forward.”
Rev. Prof. Edison Muhindo Kalengyo, from the Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, had the honor of introducing his colleague and friend. In a warm and personal tribute, Prof. Kalengyo described Prof. Nyende as a man of character, experience, and deep commitment to both church and academia. He noted that Prof. Nyende is married to Josephine and together they have two children—Brodie and Arabel. A priest ordained in the Anglican Church of Kenya in 1998 and later collated as a Canon of St. Luke’s Cathedral in Butere Diocese, Nyende is also a commissioned evangelist with the Church Army Society of Africa.
Prof. Kalengyo highlighted Prof Nyende’s leadership at Carlile College in Kenya, his work across Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya, and his academic background, which includes a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh.
Taking the podium to deliver his lecture, Prof. Nyende reflected on what the moment meant to him.
“UCU has honored me by unveiling me to the wider public as a full professor of Biblical Studies,” he said. “It has afforded me the opportunity to broadcast my scholarly contribution, current research, and talk about future strategic directions.”
He anchored his presentation in a historical and philosophical exploration of the university and its mission, particularly the role of theological education in shaping societies. Tracing the emergence of universities from informal learning centers that responded to societal needs, Prof. Nyende explained that universities were always about knowledge — its pursuit, transfer, and use for the common good. This utilitarian purpose of higher education, he argued, has endured for over 800 years.
Quoting philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, Prof. Nyende underscored that university education especially theological training must demonstrate its relevance through service to society. He explained how the demand for quality and justification of study became central in the 20th century, with global trends pushing universities to measure research by its problem-solving impact.
“In the 1960s, we saw the emergence of the ‘problem statement’ as a standard component in research,” he said. “It’s not just bureaucracy, it’s about ensuring your research responds to real issues troubling society.”
For theological schools, this means producing pastors who are not only spiritually equipped but intellectually grounded. Prof. Nyende recalled that in 2019, when Uganda considered regulating churches, he argued for the urgent need for theologically trained pastors who could rightly interpret scripture and serve their communities with wisdom and integrity.
He gave sobering examples of what happens in the absence of theological training: the 2000 Kanungu cult massacre in Uganda, where over 400 people were burned to death, and the 2023 tragedy in Shakahola, Kenya, where 600 people were starved to death under the influence of a rogue religious leader.
According to Prof Nyende, with the right training, christian citizens would be saved from psychological manipulation, financial exploitation, emotional abuse, enslavement and even death on account of some of the wrong pastors.
As the lecture came to a close, there was a shared sense that this was more than an academic milestone. It was a call to reimagine theological education as an essential pillar of public life, a space where scholarship meets service, and faith seeks understanding for the good of all.
Watch the full lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/live/6Ck2xTNf1Gk?si=zjE7goOrfQW8ncAj
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