Pastor Martin Ssempa has publicly questioned Makerere University’s decision to house female students in the historically all-male Lumumba Hall, taking to social media to ask how “the mighty Lumumba empire” ended up being turned into accommodation for women, while also questioning whether Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe carries what he called “the real DNA of the Great Makerere.”
In his post, Ssempa referenced the recent Paul Kafeero paternity saga, in which DNA testing revealed that only 4 of 25 people claiming to be the late musician’s biological children actually were, using the case as a metaphor to argue that those making decisions about Makerere’s institutions and traditions should similarly be tested against the university’s authentic heritage.
The Context Behind Lumumba Hall’s Use
Lumumba Hall, named after Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba, has traditionally been one of Makerere’s male-only halls of residence, alongside Livingstone, Mitchell, Nkrumah, Nsibirwa, and University Hall. It holds a storied place in Makerere’s student culture, particularly through its historic “Lumbox” solidarity with the all-female Mary Stuart Hall, a bond that shaped decades of student life, activism, and tradition on the Kampala hill.
However, Lumumba Hall’s current use by female students is not without recent precedent. The university temporarily relocated Mary Stuart Hall’s female residents to Lumumba in 2024 while Mary Stuart underwent a UGX 10.5 billion renovation, with the arrangement ending once Mary Stuart reopened in August 2025. Around the same period, Complex Hall, another female residence, began its own renovation, with its residents subsequently moved into Lumumba as the next hall in the university’s ongoing rotation of upgrades.
Makerere’s broader renovation programme, which has already restored Lumumba and Mary Stuart Halls, is aimed at addressing the long dilapidated state of the university’s residence halls, a concern MPs on Parliament’s education committee first flagged back in 2019.
