You are cordially invited to the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Annual Public Lecture, which will take place on Wednesday, July 3rd, 2024, at 2:00 pm in Nkoyoyo Hall and via Zoom (ID: 938 5233 8551).
Dr. Milton Mutto will be the main discussant at this esteemed event, which will feature a keynote address by Dr. Daniel Asua Wubah, President of Millersville University, USA.
The theme of the lecture is “A call to prominence is a call to service” derived from Matthew 20:28.
The event will be graced by; the University Chancellor, The Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Kazimba Mugalu, Vice-Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi and Chairperson of the University Council, Rt. Rev. Prof. Alfred Olwa.
For inquires please call:
Prof. Elizabeth Kizito at +256 (0) 752 141 377
Mr. David Mugawe at +256 (0) 785 047 373
We look forward to yet another fruitful engagement during this Public Lecture. Thank you.

Uganda Christian University (UCU) welcomed first-year students to its main campus in Mukono. The students were officially welcomed at an induction ceremony on Thursday May 30^th, 2024.

At the Mukono campus, the Vice Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, warmly welcomed first-year students to the institution.

“Welcome to the coolest campus, a Center of Excellence in the Heart of Africa…no doubt you have chosen the best university in Uganda because we have a good reputation, we are also known to be the most organized and cleanest campus,” said Prof. Mushengyezi.

He emphasized that UCU’s reputation precedes it, with a proven track record of producing highly employable graduates.

“UCU graduates are preferred by employers because of values, the work ethics, commitment to tasks they are given, and the values they exhibit at work,” he noted.

During the induction ceremony, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, Mr. David Mugawe, also welcomed first-year students to UCU congratulating them on making the right choice.

He highlighted that UCU is unique in conducting an induction service, aimed at committing students to the Lord and ensuring a rewarding journey.

“In this country, I am not aware of a university that carries out an induction service for its new students. We do this to commit you to the Lord, believing that you shall have a rewarding journey here at UCU,” said Mr. Mugawe.

He cautioned students that, unlike high school, university life offers more freedom, but emphasized the importance of making wise choices.

“You have joined UCU where you can go out any time, choose whether to attend lectures or not…there will be no punishment except being unable to sit for exams because you have not fulfilled the requirements of attending classes,” Mr. Mugawe warned.

He also warned the students of potential temptations, including sex parties, drugs, and alcohol, but encouraged them to apply the university’s core values in their daily lives.

He reminded students of the university’s mission to equip them for productive, holistic lives of Christian faith and service, and encouraged them to access the student charter through the guild office to understand their rights and privileges.

Mr. Mugawe emphasized that UCU aims to provide a complete education and shape students into complete persons, with a focus on professionalism and character.

He urged students to maximize opportunities, develop characters that align with UCU’s values, and strive for excellence in all aspects of life.

“Whatever opportunity you have, maximize it…many have woken up in third year when it’s too late,” he cautioned.

He urged the students to adopt and maintain characters that align with UCU’s values which is; Christ Centeredness, Diligence, Integrity, Servanthood, and Stewardship.

In addition to the induction ceremony, the students also attended a weekly community worship service in the Nkoyoyo Hall. The service was themed “Character that aligns with UCU values”.

First-year students that were welcome were from the various schools and faculties including; Business, Education, Law, Agricultural sciences, Journalism, Media and Communication, Public Health, Engineering, Design and Technology among others.

The induction ceremony is one of the two special services for the students at UCU, with the second one being the commissioning ceremony.

The commissioning ceremony is held at the end of the student’s studies and marks their transition into the workforce.

Compiled by Irene Best Nyapendi

Edited By: Harriet Adong, Consultant at UCU’s Communication and Public Relations Department

By Kefa Senoga
In 2017, the father of Jean Paul Nageri planted more than 100 acres of bananas in Busia, eastern Uganda. As is usually the norm, towards harvest time, a middleman promised to buy all the bananas at harvest. The harvest time came, but the middleman never showed up. The result? Most of the bananas either got rotten in the garden or were sold at a give-away price.

The pain of that loss was so unbearable for Nageri that the next year, he was in the laboratory, working out a solution to mitigate the gravity of the depletion his father suffered. He suspected there was a solution, but did not know exactly what it was. And the tests in the laboratory led him to something that was more like putting into practice the course he had studied at Uganda Christian University (UCU), where he received a Bachelor of Agricultural Science and Entrepreneurship. 

Nageri sought to extend the shelf life of many fruits and vegetables by slowing down their rate of spoilage while being kept at room temperature without any form of refrigeration – a move that democratizes food storage and removes barriers to enable everyone to keep food fresh, regardless of whether you have a cold room or not. In Uganda, room temperature is about 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit).

So, how does Nageri’s innovation work?

He explained that using the skins of oranges, mangoes, bananas and other fruits in the lab, he was able to extract compounds, which he later turned into powder. The powder is blended with water, which is then used for coating the fruits and vegetables. The coating, which he has named Ka Fresh and is produced by his firm, Sio Valley Technologies, is edible.

“Most of the knowledge I am applying now is what I obtained in class at the university,” he said. “I am working with other scientists who are also applying the same knowledge in biotechnology.”

For this innovation, Sio Valley Technologies was early this year awarded the Most Innovative Export company at the third annual Uganda/EU Business Summit. Nageri received the award from Uganda’s Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja. The Head of the European Union Delegation to Uganda, Ambassador Jan Sadek, was also present at the awards gala.  

The World Food Program estimates that as of last year, more than 333 million people in the world were facing acute levels of food insecurity; they did not know where their next meal would come. The situation is compounded by the fact that the cost of delivering food assistance was at an all-time high because of the increase in the prices of food and fuel.

Despite the hunger situation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that 30-40% of total food production is lost before it reaches the market. But with the Ka Fresh solution, Nageri aims to overcome this challenge, so that farmers can have more bargaining power over their produce while in the market without fear of it getting rotten while on the shelf.

Some fruits and vegetables that have been coated with Nageri’s solution, he says, are now able to stay fresh for up to three times their natural shelf life. Nageri says tests in the laboratory have indicated that tomatoes that have been coated with Ka Fresh, for example, are able to stay for more than 70 days under room temperature without refrigeration.

UCU’s Nageri Develops Air Freight Solution

Nageri’s innovation should come as good news for exporters who are currently scratching their heads for solutions to the rising cost of air freight. Currently, according to the World Bank, it costs 12 to 16 times more to transport a commodity through air than sea and yet exporters opt for air transport because some commodities cannot last the more than 30 days it takes most of the ships to travel from African ports to Europe.

The journey to the Ka Fresh innovation saw Nageri team up with a friend, Lorna Orubo, to make tomato jam as a student at UCU and then mayonnaise, as his final-year project to meet the requirements for the award of his degree.

 “If you are building the right solution to a challenge, capital will always follow you and the right people will always want to surround themselves with you,” Nageri says, noting that for now, he is more focused on fine-tuning his innovation than looking at what he stands to benefit from it.

By Irene Best Nyapendi
Martin Kizito’s mother wanted her son to be a teacher. Kizito dreamed of being a political scientist.

Despite his uncertainty about the career choice clash and some guilt over disappointing his mom, Kizito stuck to his aspiration and applied for a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Makerere University. 

To further cement his political science goal, Kizito joined student leadership at Makerere. As a leader, he had a “baptism by fire” when an accident claimed the life of a student and he was tasked with the duty of informing the student community. He wrote the letter, and because the student was popular, some students cited foul play in the death. When students conducted a demonstration over the demise, Kizito was accused of inciting that action.

That experience caused Kizito to move away from his childhood ambition of politics. It is also at that point that he discovered that it was within his means to resurrect the wish of his mother — becoming a teacher. Kizito turned his attention to performing well, so he could be retained as a teaching assistant at the university.

For that to happen, he needed to get a first-class degree. And he did. Makerere University thus retained Kizito as a teaching assistant. And, Kizito, who was recently a recipient of a Doctor of Philosophy, never looked back. 

In July 2008, he started working at Uganda Christian University (UCU) on a part-time basis, becoming a full-time staff member a year later. 

In 2016, when Kizito was appointed the Head of the Department of Public Administration and Governance at UCU, it dawned on him that the university had begun to entrust him with big assignments, and, therefore, he needed to return to school to pursue a doctorate, to achieve the academic readiness for large tasks.

“Being head of department meant I built the standard for the rest so I felt challenged,” Kizito said. “At some of the committees where I represented UCU as head of department, almost everybody was a professor.”

At the time, Kizito had a Master’s in Public Administration and Management (Makerere University), a Postgraduate Diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation (Uganda Management Institute) and  a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (Makerere). 

A few months into his role as head of department, Kizito was also appointed co-ordinator of the Master of Research and Public Policy program at UCU. Additionally, he was asked to represent UCU on the steering committee of Partnership for African Social and Governance Research. 

He also was involved in the establishment of the Master of Governance and International Relations program, as well as the review of the programs of Master of Research and Public Policy and the Master of Public Administration and Management.

At the time, he was teaching two undergraduate programs: Bachelor of Governance and International Relations and Bachelor of Public Administration and Management.

“I would feel that God had granted me opportunities, but I needed the PhD to bolster my capacity,” Kizito said. “I told myself fortune favors a prepared man, so I wanted a PhD to be ready to maximize any opportunities that would come my way.” 

“My parents loved education. So, I knew that a PhD would make my mum proud because many people really want to see their children get the best from school.” 

His hunt for a scholarship yielded fruits in 2020 with admission to the University of Pretoria in South Africa. 

While grateful, his physical studies in South Africa meant sacrificing time away from  his wife, Angella, and five-year-old daughter. Additionally, during his second year, he needed to return to Uganda when Angella, now in recovery, was diagnosed with cancer.

“It was a tough time, moving to different hospitals, taking care of my wife during the day, and having to study at night to catch up with university deadlines,” he said. 

This slowed down his progress, making him graduate after four years instead of three.

UCU’s Martin Kizito’s Groundbreaking Research

Kizito’s research focus was on developing a model for enhancing evaluation influence on policy design. A design that effectively contributes to a better policy environment, evidence-based policy design, and implementation in Africa.

In his research, he looked at the African Peer Review Mechanism, a system that evaluates how well countries are governed, as stipulated by the constitution of the African Union. He noticed there were not many studies about “African ways of evaluating things,” which could help leaders understand how to turn evaluations into actual policies.

The study recommends inclusive participation in evaluation input, activities aligned with government plans, institutionalizing government-wide reporting on National Plan of Action implementation, and establishing a well-domesticated legal framework.

After his April 2024 graduation, Kizito now envisions providing advisory services and contributing to the development of short courses on policy-related matters. 

“I believe there are many individuals that need this knowledge but cannot commit to a PhD program due to time constraints, so developing a short course in policy-related matters is paramount,” he said.

By Kefa Senoga
For the first time in 15 years, the Rev. Dr. Mulindwa Richard Muwonge is not in a university class. He is also not chasing after a deadline for a class assignment. And this is because he recently completed his education, earning a Doctor of Philosophy in Biblical and Religious Studies from the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

Mulindwa, the Church Relations Manager at Uganda Christian University (UCU), joined Uganda’s Kyambogo University in 2009 to pursue  Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies. Upon receiving that award, he immediately enrolled for Master of Science in Public Health at UCU and thereafter, Master of Divinity, also from UCU. 

Now, there is a PhD for a boy whose parents passed away before he was 12 years old and his grandmother-guardian just four years later. This is nothing short of a miracle for the youth who could hardly afford to eat. When Buule Samson and Mary Katusabe departed, the role of looking after their son rested with the latter’s grandmother who died by the time the grandson was age 16. At the time, he had just completed Senior One at Lugazi High School in central Uganda. 

“After the death of my grandmother, I became independent and survived on my own. Life was hard, tough and full of struggles,” Mulindwa said, explaining how he took up odd jobs to raise money for his school fees.

However, he was only able to raise money for Senior Two. By Senior Three, he was no longer in position to raise the amount of money required for his fees. 

“When the school where I was studying got wind of my dilemma, they employed me,” Mulindwa said.  “I was cooking porridge at school, cleaning classrooms and doing casual work. In return, I would not pay school fees.” 

He notes that despite his commitments at school, he would find two days in a week to work in some garages to earn more income.

Through that arrangement, Mulindwa was able to stay in school up to the second term of Senior Five, when he dropped out because the school got a new headteacher who cancelled the work-study plan. 

Mulindwa kept out of school for the next seven years. During this break from formal education, he found support from the family of the Rev. Capt. Titus Baraka. Their paths crossed when Baraka became the parish priest of Mulindwa’s home area in Mukono district.

With the support from vision for Africa, Mulindwa pursued a certificate program in motor vehicle mechanics at the Nakawa Vocational Training Institute. He was later employed by the  Mukono diocese as a driver and mechanic.

Mulindwa says he seized the opportunity of working in the diocese to get a bursary in the church-founded schools to continue with formal education. He joined Mukono High School to complete Senior Five and later moved to Kisowera Secondary School for Senior Six.

“Studying as an old man was a challenge as I often got mocked,” he recalled. “But I had to swallow my pride and go for what I wanted.”

His bachelor’s degree at Kyambogo University was sponsored by Good Samaritans from the USA, the Master of Public Health Leadership at UCU was sponsored by Save the Mothers while the Master of Divinity was through a scholarship from the Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology.

He plans to use his PhD to advance the mission of spreading Christianity through teaching, learning and research to contribute valuable insights to the church, engaging in pastoral work, preaching the gospel, and serving as a role model to inspire others to pursue further studies.

Mulindwa’s area of research was marriage, with a focus on “the drivers of infidelity among members of the clergy in the Church of Uganda.” 

He believes that without the patience of his family members — wife Deborah and children — he would not have completed his PhD program. Despite being sponsored for his education, in many instances, he still had to contribute some funds towards the expenses, thereby depriving his family of some of their basic needs.

He notes that balancing family time with work, and studies was not easy for him. But he did it. Mulindwa also serves as the chaplain for Makerere College School.

We are excited to announce a new initiative at Uganda Christian University (UCU) that will enhance our commitment to educational excellence.

Following a newly signed partnership agreement between UCU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, and Graham Yoko, CEO of the Accelerated Education Enterprise (AEE) in Durban, South Africa, UCU will be launching a Trainer for Trainers programme for the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) Curriculum.

During our delegation’s visit to Durban, which included the Rev. Assoc. Prof. Kitayimbwa (Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs), Dr. Mary Kagoire (Dean, UCU School of Education), and Assoc. Prof. Elizabeth Kizito (Director of Research, Partnerships, and Innovation); we solidified our commitment to equipping trainers to advance the ACE curriculum, fostering holistic development of students by integrating biblical principles and values into all subjects.

We look forward to sharing more updates as this programme unfolds at UCU.

Compiled by: Irene Best Nyapendi