Fulfill pledges made to varsity- UCU asks Museveni
Graduates are seen under a tent at Uganda Christian University ibn Mukono on October 28, 2022. PHOTO/HANDOUT
What you need to know:
- On Friday, UCU graduated 1,570 students of which 828 are female (53 percent) while 742 were males (47 percent). A total of 36 graduands obtained first class degrees.
Authorities at Uganda Christian University (UCU) have asked President Museveni to fulfil pledges he made to the institution.
Speaking during the second edition of the 23rd UCU graduation on Friday, UCU Vice Chancellor Prof Aaron Mushengyezi said none of all the recent presidential pledges made to the university have been fulfilled.
“Your excellency, you pledged to improve the security for our students through installation of security lights in the campus and surrounding Bishop Tucker, Cathedral and Ankrah roads. Mukono Municipality responded and installed a few lights but we eagerly await installation of more since dark corners inside and outside campus have proven unsafe for our students,” Prof Mushengyezi explained of the February 2020 Presidential promises.
Mr Museveni also pledged to assist UCU “secure her contested piece of land in Ntawo in Mukono Municipality which is currently occupied by hostile squatters who have persistently frustrated the university’s plan to develop the land.”
President Museveni also promised to direct Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) to tarmac Bishop Tucker Road which connects to Mandela National stadium via Namanve Industrial Park.
Mr Museveni was expected to be chief guest at the graduation ceremony but he neither turned up nor sent a representative.
Instead, former UCU Vice Chancellor Rev. Prof. Stephen Noll officiated as a special guest.
Former UCU Vice Chancellor, Dr John Ssenyonyi said he spent most of the time during his tenure fighting off encroachers including some government agencies on the university’s land
Among the squatters on the UCU’s one square mile land at Ntawo are Mukono Zonal Agriculture Research Institute-MOZARDI-NARO, a government agricultural research organisation.
“Directors at MUZARDI-NARO use the government muscle and occupy the land illegally thus disenfranchising the university of an opportunity to create an alternative revenue base to relieve UCU of overdependence on student tuition,” Dr Ssenyonyi emphasized.
On Friday, UCU graduated 1,570 students of which 828 are female (53 percent) while 742 were males (47 percent). A total of 36 graduands obtained first class degrees.
The UCU Chancellor Archbishop Dr. Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu said this graduation was special as the university is also celebrating 25 years of existence.
“The benefits are many if you position yourself right to take advantage of the many opportunities. You must be immersed in an experience that provides meaningful opportunities to prove that you’re capable leaders of tomorrow,” he told a gathering at the main campus in Mukono.
He further advised graduates to be cautious while celebrating their successes to avoid contracting the deadly Ebola virus which is currently battering the country.
