The drama could rival a soap opera — and it’s playing out in real life. Kampala University’s iconic founder, Prof Badru Dungu Kateregga, has unleashed a barrage of jaw-dropping allegations against his wife, Ms Jolly Shibaiha Kateregga, turning their once-powerful partnership into a public spectacle of betrayal, bruises, and big money.
In a fiery press conference at the university’s main campus, the aging academic titan lifted his kufi to reveal a scar he claims came courtesy of a domestic beatdown by none other than his own wife.
“She wants me dead,” the professor declared, flanked by bodyguards and visibly fuming. “She’s after everything I’ve built. But I won’t go down easy.”
The Billion-Shilling Question: Who Gets What?
At the heart of the bust-up: property, power, and the legacy of Kampala University — one of Uganda’s most prominent private institutions. Prof Kateregga accuses his wife of plotting to elbow out his other children from his Will, demanding full control of his empire for herself and her children.
“She told me to write them off,” he said. “That’s when I knew I had to fight back.”
But Ms Kateregga isn’t taking the punches lying down. Once the university’s director of finance and chair of the board, she shot back with her own claims of betrayal and character assassination.
“I gave my life to this man and this university,” she told reporters. “Now he calls me a gold-digger and poisoner? It’s outrageous.”
Locked Out & Shut Down
The professor claims he’s been kicked out of his own Buziga mansion — a home he says he owned long before Jolly came into his life. He says he added her name to the title “to protect her,” but now accuses her of turning on him.
“She even tried to claim she co-founded the university,” he scoffed. “She was just a student in 2009 — I started this in 1993!”
Jolly, however, insists she never evicted her husband and says they jointly own the property. “It’s my home too,” she said. “I’ve been locked out of university business and smeared in public. It’s cruelty, not justice.”
“She Saved the University” vs “She Owes Tuition”
Ms Kateregga claims she once saved the institution from drowning under a Shs6 billion loan. But Prof Kateregga alleges she didn’t even fully pay her tuition — and used love to manipulate her way to power.
“I was madly in love,” he admitted. “That was my biggest mistake.”
Paternity & Poison Rumors
The plot thickens. Kateregga says suspicion over poisoning came from his older children, not him. Ms Kateregga denies it all, claiming she took care of him through illness and even arranged his surgeries abroad.
Still, the professor insists the real problem is inheritance. “I’ve got more than 18 children,” he said. “She wanted only hers to count. That’s not how it works.”
As Uganda watches in disbelief, one thing’s clear — this is no academic dispute. It’s a full-blown, high-stakes war for wealth, legacy, and reputation. And with court battles and family divisions looming, it seems the final chapter of this saga is still unwritten.
Stay tuned — we’ll be watching.
