Established in 1922, building for the future has remained the Makerere University’s motto and it is Uganda’s largest and oldest University, with many notable and prominent alumni many of whom have not appeared here today but here some of the few you may not have known once sat in your classrooms.
1) Mwai Kibaki
Mwai Kibaki was a Kenyan politician and the third President of Kenya after being Vice President for 10 years under Daniel Arap Moi. He studied Economics, History and Political Science at Makerere University. He graduated best in his class with a First Class Honors Degree (BA) in Economics in 1955. In 1958, he returned to Makerere where he taught as an Assistant Lecturer in the economics department.
2). John Patrick Amama Mbabazi
President of the Go Forward political party and also former secretary general of the National Resistance Movement and former prime minister of Uganda. With a Bachelor of Laws from Makerere University, he worked as a state attorney in the Attorney General’s Chambers and later became Secretary of the Uganda Law Council, he was also secretary of the NRM caucus in the Constituent Assembly that drafted the 1995 Uganda Constitution.
3). Benjamin Mkapa
Benjamin was the 3rd President of Tanzania and he was also Chairman of the Revolutionary State Party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
He graduated from Makerere University with a degree in English in the year that Uganda got independence,1962.
4). Julius Nyerere ‘Mwalimu’
He was a revolutionary that pushed forward Ujamaa in Tanganyika and was also the President of Tanzania from 1960-1985 when he retired.
With the help of the Roman Catholic fathers, he trained as a teacher at Makerere University in Kampala (Uganda) between 1943-1945.
He is popularly known for his beliefs in socialism that bred Ujama under socialism and self reliance.
5). Idi Amin Dada
Amin was part of the the King’s African Rifles, seizing power in the military coup of January 1971, he deposed Milton Obote and he became the 3rd President of Uganda.
Idi Amin forcefully attended Makerere University where he obtained many awards that can be added to his list.
His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular.
6). Joseph Kabila
10 days after the assassination of his father, President Laurent-Désiré Kabila; Joseph Kabila became the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2001, a position he has managed to keep to-date. Joseph Kabila took on a Military curriculum at Makerere University after pursuing the same curriculum in Tanzania. He later became the commander of the army of ‘Kadogos’ (Child Soldiers).
7. Milton Obote
Mostly remembered for chasing away the Kabaka of Buganda but also remembered for leading Uganda to independence, he then served as Prime Minister of Uganda from 1962-1966 and then became president of Uganda in 1966. He wanted to study law but by then, it wasn’t taught at Makerere University so he decided to take on a general arts course with English and Geography. Many historians claim that he was expelled for participating in a strike while others say that he simply left.
8. Kizza Besigye
Former President of the Forum for Democratic Change(FDC) political party and party presidential flag bearer for the 2016 presidential election which he lost to the incumbent. Also known as the ‘people’s president’, Kizza Besigye graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree from Makerere University School of Medicine, at 29, he was appointed Minister of State for Internal Affairs, he is also a former military officer in the Uganda People’s Defence Force where he rose to the rank of Colonel before his retirement.
9. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
A great African writer of all times known for his books; Weep Not Child, The River Between, and the Black Hermit, Ngũgĩ received a B.A. in English from Makerere University. He is speculated to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. Ngugi was imprisoned in 1977 in Kenya for writing an anti-government text. During his time in prison, he wrote some of his manuscript in toilet paper.
10. Emmanuel Mutebile Tumusiime
Is a banker and also the governor of Bank of Uganda, Uganda’s Central Bank, he was president of the Makerere university students’ guild in 1970 where he had enrolled to study Economics and politics. In 2006, he became a visiting professor in the Department of Economics at Makerere University and is now chancellor of the International University of East Africa.
11. Ruhakana Rugunda
He is commonly known for having replaced his childhood friend Amama Mbabazi as the Prime Minister of Uganda in 2014. He joined the Makerere University Medical School but later left and joined University of Zambia where he studied medicine, graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. While at Makerere, he was President of the National Union of Students of Uganda (NUSU).
12. Anne Kansiime
Also known as ‘Africa’s Queen of Comedy’, is a Ugandan entertainer and comedian. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from Makerere University, Don’t Mess with Kansiime.
13. Bobi Wine
Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi, also known as the ‘ghetto President’, is also a MAK alumnus who studied Music Dance & Drama (MDD) at Makerere University.
14. Patrick ‘Salvado’ Idringi
He is one of Uganda’s best known comedians but just before he joined comedy in 2011, he was an engineer for a telecoms company. He is a graduate from Makerere University where he pursued a Bachelors in Telecom Engineering (This is not a joke).
15. Moses Radio
Moses Nakintije Ssekibogo also known as ‘Mowzey Radio’ (Cool name, huh..), is a Ugandan singer with many hit songs with Chameleone’s brother, Weasel. He studied Psychology at Makerere University after which he became an entertainer, a musician.
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