Category Archives: UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication

UCU sports men and women shine at October graduation

December 19, 2022News, Sports, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Business, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

UCU sports women pause with their medals during their graduation. Left to right: Basketballers Rose Akon, Agatha Kamwada, Sera Precious Yaweh and Aziida Nabayunga.

By Irene Best Nyapendi
A large number of Uganda Christian University (UCU) sports personalities exchanged their football and basketball jerseys for caps and gowns at UCU’s 23^rd graduation ceremony – a reminder that education and athletics can go hand in hand.

Samuel Lukaire, the Sports Administrator at UCU, said the university develops talent by recruiting young players who have shown potential to grow in their sports discipline. Along with attending classes, the players are trained and exposed to competitive games as UCU also has hosted major national sports events, often selected as the venue because of the Mukono campus modern sports facilities. Among the competitions that have been hosted at the UCU main campus in Mukono are the Inter University Games Uganda in 2007 and 2013, the East African University Games in 2014, and the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization in 2017.

UCU athletes share graduation thoughts

“The university engages in as many sports disciplines as are available in the university competitions,” Lukaire said, noting that they have teams for basketball, volleyball, rugby, football and netball. Other sports disciplines that UCU participates in are athletics, badminton, chess, wood ball, karate, taekwondo, handball, swimming and lawn tennis.

Some of the sports graduates at the October 28, 2022, ceremony, which also was an event marking 25 years of UCU’s existence, talked to our reporter.

**Rodgers Kukundakwe, Bachelor of Business Administration.**

“As players, we’ve been able to study, play, and eventually graduate.” Kukundakwe, a football center back, said, adding a reminder that for one to achieve success at university, they have to manage their time well. He thanks God for the successes registered as a player, including being on the team winning the University Football League in 2019 and the Association of Uganda University Sports games the same year. Kukundakwe is grateful to the university for meeting the costs of his tuition, meals, and accommodation throughout his stay at UCU.

**Francis Jurua, Bachelor of Business Administration.**

“At UCU, much as you are on a sports scholarship, education is given priority,” Jurua, a footballer, said. He adds that the university’s emphasis on education helped him balance both studies and games.

Sera Precious Yaweh, Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication
While studying at UCU, Yaweh played for A1 Challenge, a basketball team in Uganda. She attributes her victory of completing studies and graduation to God. She says that she had to go to school during the day and attend training twice a week in Kampala, about 15 miles away from school. And, as a student, she dedicated most of her weekends to playing basketball for her team. Some of the games would be played late in the night, and, as a member of the team, she had to be available for them. With such a schedule, Yaweh says she had to sacrifice several hours of sleep to read books at night and participate in group discussions with her colleagues.

**Muhammad Lubega, Diploma in Business Administration**

“It was not easy to balance books and football, but I pray we go out there and make history,” Lubega said. He also expressed gratitude to UCU and his family for all the assistance he got during his three years of study at the institution.

**Geoffrey Gaganga, Bachelor of Science in Economics and Statistics**

Gaganga was the captain of the UCU football team. Gaganga, who played in the midfield position, explains that it wasn’t hard for him to balance books and games because it’s something he has done since secondary school. He encourages fellow players to put as much effort in their academics as they do in sports because their profession will come to their rescue once they retire from professional sports.

**Rose Akon, Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance.**

Akon emerged as the best defensive player, rebounder, and most valuable player of the year, after her team won the 2022 National Basketball Association Women’s Championship. She attributes her achievement to being able to manage time well.

“While at university, I rarely got the time to relax and have fun,” said Akon, noting that her life rotated around the basketball court and class. Her greatest inspiration, she says, has been her family. During school, Akon says she discovered another side of her – laziness. However, she said the fact that she understood herself well enough gave her the opportunity to push herself beyond comfortable limits, in order to register success.

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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UCU alumnus named World Vision best employee of year

December 16, 2022News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Derrick Kyatuka interviews a woman during his field activities. Courtesy Photos.

By Irene Best Nyapendi
Derrick Kyatuka’s work gives him the opportunity to listen firsthand to stories of people in rural Uganda. It is these stories, many about refugees, that he crafts in a way to trigger help from donors. While oftentimes the stories are painful to hear, recording and sharing them has brought about change in their lives.

Kyatuka was voted the best employer of the year by World Vision Uganda.

Kyatuka is a humanitarian communicator with the World Vision’s Uganda Refugee Response program, where he has worked for the past four years, shooting videos, writing stories and taking photos. And for the sweat that he broke in 2021, World Vision named him employee of the year.

To the 30-year-old who received his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication from Uganda Christian University (UCU) in 2016, the award is an opportunity for testimony.

“This award is a true testimony of how faithful God is and how he rewards his humble servants,” said Kyatuka, a son of Fred and Annet Kagyenzi of Rukungiri district in western Uganda.

But he is also aware that, many times, to earn recognition, in addition to hard work, luck must also be on one’s side. Kyatuka says that he does not see himself as the best humanitarian communicator that World Vision has ever had, but that he has been incredibly lucky and fortunate in the work that he has been able to produce.

And he has evidence for how luck has been on his side. In December 2021, one of his photos was chosen as the third-most powerful of the 47 favorite photos from around the world that were selected by World Vision.

“Such global moments of recognition have inspired me to work harder and devote more time to producing quality work,” he says, adding that when “good work is rewarded, it means more work.”

Kyatuka and some of the refugee children in the community he serves.

“As I go about my work, I keep reflecting on Colossians 3:23, which says ‘work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord, rather than for people’.”

His writings, photos, and videos have been used all over the world by World Vision Partnership, and they have helped World Vision Uganda get funding for some of their programmes. But he is quick to add that getting his works to a publishable level is no cup of tea. Kyatuka explains that for many of them, he has to burn the midnight oil to deliver quality work.

He has trained some communication champions in the areas where he works, to help him get timely content for the different projects he supports. “I believe everyone can become a great communicator if given the right mentorship and skills,” Kyatuka, who hopes to set up a mobile journalism training school one day, said.

He also has extended the training in mobile journalism to some of his fellow staff members to enhance their skills. He makes most of his videos using his smartphone, a growing trend that further reinforces the expansiveness of skills and knowledge that can be guided to create content.

“In this digital era, people should have communication skills to be able to produce compelling, rather than sensational content,” he said.

Kyatuka joined World Vision in 2017, as a temporary communication officer, and worked for seven months. He then joined New Vision as a freelance writer. However, not long after, there was an opening for a humanitarian communicator at World Vision, which he successfully applied for.

He is grateful to John Semakula and Stephen Ssenkaaba, who were his lecturers at undergraduate level. Both Ssenkaaba and Semakula encouraged him to join New Vision upon graduation.

“Ssenkaaba assigned me my first story in 2016, and Semakula introduced me to the weekend desk at New Vision,” he said.

Kyatuka, who is now pursuing a Master of Arts in Strategic Communication at UCU, studied at Mbarara High School in western Uganda for his O’level and St. Peter’s Secondary School, Nsambya, central Uganda, for his A’ level.

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities, and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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‘I will succeed as a video producer’

December 12, 2022News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Andrew is fond of carrying tripods and cameras around campus

By Enock Wanderema
When Andrew Bugembe put up his hand in class, there were indications he could not process his lecturer’s statement that for one to be a successful media professional, one has to be a good writer.

“Yes, Andrew,” the lecturer beckoned, as he called him out to speak. The class was silent. Andrew rarely engages in arguments — especially before lecturers.

“Sir, what would you say about me, who is good at camera work, and editing videos? Writing is not my passion. I have tried to master it, but I have not been successful,” Andrew stated.

“Well, it would serve you better if you practiced writing as well; it can save you somehow,” the lecturer responded.

After class, Andrew told me: “You can’t be good at everything, I know my passion, and I will succeed as a video producer.”

Such a rebellious and decisive thought can only come from someone who is confident of their skills, someone who is a leader. As a new student at Uganda Christian University (UCU) in 2019, Andrew contested for the position of class representative and won. In fact, the only vote his competitor got was his own.

“Can you imagine my dad wanted me to pursue a course in law?” Andrew asked rhetorically, as he recalled how he ended up pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication.

Asked why his dad wanted him to pursue a course in law, he said it was not really because he wanted his son to be a lawyer. Andrew said his dad assumed that the intense curriculum in a law school would distract his son from the passion he had for music. Andrew’s dad was concerned about future earnings with his belief that musicians are generally “not taken seriously” by society.

It is this passion that saw Andrew take up a leadership position, and also radiated his abilities to potential professional networks.

“I found Andrew to be a focused, determined, disciplined and no-nonsense student,” said Frank Obonyo, a lecturer in the School of Journalism, Media and Communication at UCU. Obonyo previously supervised Andrew at UCU’s Department of Communication and Public Relations, where Obonyo was the head. He is currently the Senior Public Relations Officer at the Law Development Centre in Uganda.

“We took him up as an intern in our office because he is a good listener, creative, and has an insatiable thirst for improvement, especially in video production.”

Whenever Andrew finds it challenging to creatively manipulate a video project, he always seeks help.

“He consults the Internet, people, and other online sources whenever he is stuck,” Obonyo observed. “This is a strong spirit that any supervisor would like to have around.”

Another attribute about Andrew is that he never says never. He is a “yes man,” a trait which sometimes has him biting off more than he can chew.

He adapts easily to situations and gets along with people effortlessly. Possibly, it is this attribute that has enabled him to take some videos for Uganda Partners, a non-profit charitable organisation based in the USA, that has rewarded him with a partial scholarship to cover a tuition balance during a financially difficult semester. One such video that Andrew produced was of Mwikoyo Rachael, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Nursing Science at UCU. Mwikoyo is one of the beneficiaries of the charity of the Uganda Partners NGO.

Additionally, Andrew was part of UCU’s inaugural podcast team where, at its inception, he was the producer, a role he was learning on the job.

Andrew, often seen carrying tripods and cameras around campus, is an example of finding strengths in a true passion outside of normal expectations.

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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Adversity built UCU alumnus Nsobya into author

November 30, 2022News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Paddy Nsobya has practiced journalism for 15 years

By Kefa Senoga
In May 2012, Uganda Christian University (UCU) alum Paddy Nsobya was among four journalists who were beaten at a Pentecostal church in Mukono, central Uganda. Nsobya and his three colleagues had gone to the church to interview the controversial lead pastor, Samuel Landasa. Since they arrived during the service, they waited at a nearby shop, opposite the church. Aware of the contention of the pastor, some members of the church attacked the journalists.

Four church members “pounced on me; one of them started strangling me as the others pulled my video camera, until I surrendered it to them, along with its electronic charger and other recorded materials,” Ronald Kalumba, a television journalist who was part of the group, told IFEX, an agency that promotes and defends freedom of expression.

Nsobya, a New Vision journalist, said that in the attack, he was slapped several times, and got bruised. Pastor Landasa had expelled some critical members of his church, who had accused him of conducting marriages illegally, as well as changing the land title of the church into his names.

And this incident is not a one-off. In 2011, Nsobya was assaulted as he covered a story. Court later fined the woman for the assault. Events like these have been part of the life of the 41-year-old who has practiced journalism for 15 years, mainly writing for New Vision’s Bukedde newspaper that publishes in Luganda, a vernacular language.

Nsobya, a graduate of journalism and mass communication at UCU, has now written a book, State of the Media, on the subject of press freedom, hoping that it will be a campaign tool against the injustices committed against journalists. He says that when journalists are mistreated in the line of duty, it scares off the younger generation who may want to pursue a career in the profession.

“Any profession which is cut off from the younger generation has no future, because when people grow old, the young are expected to take over from them,” Nsobya explains.

And mistreatment is not the only challenge that journalists in Uganda face. Nsobya says many media houses in the country pay their journalists peanuts in salary and, in many cases, even the little pay does not come on time. Circumstances like these force journalists, especially those who are not well grounded in integrity and moral ethics – virtues Nsobya said he attained at UCU – to depend on news sources for their daily survival. These and many more are some of the issues that Nsobya has detailed in his book, expected to be launched on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2023.

State of the Media will be Nsobya’s seventh book in nine years. He made his entry into the book writing world in 2014, with Akaabate, a book written in Luganda, a local dialect in Uganda. Nsobya later translated that book into English, calling it Agony. The book talks about the challenges that young men and women face in the contemporary world.

In April 2021, Nsobya launched another book, this time on agriculture, also written in Luganda, under the title Essanyu Lyomulimi. He later translated it into English, calling it News on the Farm. In April 2022, he launched yet another book, titled Kyosiga, which he has also translated into English, calling it Sowing.

Seeing the book titles that Nsobya has produced would blind one into thinking that all has been rosy for him. No. Before his first book in 2014, Nsobya, a father and husband who graduated from UCU in 2006, says he attempted to write a book seven times, each time giving up along the way, most especially because he encountered a writer’s block.

The resident of Mukono town studied at Masanafu Church of Uganda Primary School, where he wrote his final exams in 1995. From Masanafu, Nsobya, a son of Dan Kyaligamba and Eva Namubiru, joined Victory Secondary School, where he sat Senior Four exams in 1999. For the two years in A’level, Nsobya studied at Kaggulwe Secondary School. All the three schools are located in central Uganda.

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UCU journalism students produce movie

November 9, 2022News, Scholarship, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Students who participated in the movie pose for a photo at the premiere.

By Asenath Were and Vanessa Namukwaya
Uganda Christian University (UCU) students of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication have turned their classroom knowledge into action by producing a short film about university life. The 11-minute film, named My Degree, with a cast of seven students, centers on the dangers of pride at the university.

In the movie, Alexa, a final-year student is seeking an extra mark, to push her score from 49% to 50%. It is that one mark that is standing between Alexa and her graduation. The solution for her challenge lies with the head of department.

At the department, Alexa discovers that there is a new person in the portfolio, someone she had never met. However, as she joins the queue to the office of the head of department, the office bearer arrives. Alexa told the head of department off, thinking she was one of the students, and reminding her that it was only proper that she joins the queue from the back if she wanted to meet the head of department.

The head of department eventually finds her way into her office. When Alexa and the head of department finally met in the latter’s office, the former presented her request for an additional mark so she could be able to graduate. The head of department was clear in her response: “One mark is added to students who have been participating in class and are virtuous throughout the years. Your report does not show that.”

Brian Kaboggoza, a third-year student of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication, who directed the movie, said the film’s theme is about students “failing in life because of pride and disrespect.” It does not cost anyone anything to respect others because you may despise someone who will rescue you one day,” he added.

The movie was a work in progress from June 2022 to its September 16, 2022, premiere at UCU’s Nkoyoyo Hall, according to Kaboggoza, who said the My Degree film “is a dream come true for me because I thought I needed to start my career right now since the opportunities and the equipment are available.”

Kabogozza believes that the movie will not only market the School of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMC), but also the university, since it has the potential to attract students who are interested in making films.

Brian Kaboggoza, the movie director, poses with the two main actresses, Deborah Anita Talemwa and Shalom Komugisa, at the movie premiere.

Kaboggoza encouraged his student colleagues not to wait for graduation to start putting classroom knowledge into practice. He said, “Anyone passionate about film making should start right now because there is opportunity to learn and get experience.”

The movie producer, Emmanuel Ilungole, is a third-year student. He said the time he spent on producing the movie helped him and his colleagues gain experience in audio balancing and teamwork. “It was the first time I was producing a movie, and the experience taught me that hard work pays.”

The lead actress, Alexa, whose real name is Deborah Talemwa, is a second-year student. She said she joined the cast because she saw it as a learning opportunity for the film crew, but also as an avenue through which they could pass a message to fellow students about the consequences of their actions.

The 11-minute short film that students produced

John Semakula, the head of the Department of Undergraduate Studies at the School of JMC, said the project consolidates the school’s position as a leading practical journalism training institution in Uganda.

“We pride ourselves in equipping students with practical skills in line with our curriculum that is heavily practical and, therefore, students’ projects, such as My Degree, make us feel proud that our efforts of skilling them have yielded positive results,” Semakula said.

“Most of the work in this project was student-led,” he added. “The school’s main contribution was skilling and encouraging the students, plus providing the equipment.”

Kaboggoza said they have plans to produce more episodes concentrating on the life of a campus student. He, therefore, called upon all those able and willing to finance their projects.

The movie is just one of the many practical projects that the School of JMC is engaged in. The students also produce a weekly TV news bulletin through the online channel The UCU Focus, podcasts and multimedia stories on the Standard website. They previously produced a bi-monthly newspaper, The Standard, and assisted the Uganda Partners NGO with the July 2022 production of a newspaper called Ebenezer.

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Law alum accesses UK group to help disadvantaged

November 2, 2022News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Luminsa (center) receiving the consignment from the UK

By Vanessa Kyalimpa
One evening in 2019, as Uganda Christian University (UCU) student, Kizza Arnold Luminsa, surfed the Internet, he came across a UK-based organization, Workaid. On reading more about the charity, he discovered that it was possible to present to them a proposal for a donation. Without much faith in succeeding, Luminsa gave it a try. He sent his proposal seeking a donation to help the disadvantaged he saw around him.

The charity refurbishes tools that have been donated to them and then ships them to training centers and self-help organizations. The organization claims the tools help 9,000 people out of poverty every year.

Luminsa did not expect an immediate response from Workaid. Indeed, after months of waiting, he gave up.

The people of the Bob McLeod Technical Institute receiving the donation

Early this year, Luminsa was pleasantly surprised to learn that his request had been approved by the UK charity and that he would, therefore, get the donation after more than two years of waiting. Indeed, on March 9, he received the consignment from the UK. It contained manual sewing machines, electric zig-zag sewing, treadle sewing machines, sewing machine accessories, manual knitting machines, wool and wool winders, general maintenance kit and knitting machine tables, among others.

“I was surprised at the success of my proposal. I didn’t see it coming, I was just trying out things – being the curious and inquisitive young man that I am,” says Luminsa who sent in the proposal while a UCU year-two student of Bachelor of Laws. He was among the 2,106 students who graduated on July 29 this year.

Arnold Luminsa delivering the consignment of donated goods.

Upon receiving the consignment, Luminsa wasted no time in putting the items to good use. The following day, he was on the road to Kangulumira, a village in the central Uganda district of Kayunga. Kangulumira hosts the Bob McLeod Technical Institute, which was the final beneficiary of the consignment.

Luminsa says a friend who knew about the needs of the institute recommended it to him. Besides, he says the institute is run by religious people, which gave him added trust that the donation would be put to its intended purpose.

“I was happy to see that my efforts are giving hope to many underprivileged members of the community,” Luminsa said. “Seeing them happy and grateful filled me with joy and made me want to help more people.” Luminsa added that his dream has always been to help in creating a positive impact on the lives of the people in his community. He enumerated the different charitable causes that he participated in as a student at UCU.

Since charity begins at home, Luminsa believes his heart started beating for the needy after seeing what his father, Mukasa Anthony Harris, does. Mukasa founded the People United to Save Humanity, a local community-based, non-governmental organization. Established in 1996, the organization strives to save humanity from disease, ignorance and poverty, among others.

Months down the road, Luminsa still makes a monthly visit to the Bob McLeod Technical Institute, to monitor the progress of the beneficiaries of the donation. He says they “check on the progress the beneficiaries have made in using the skills they are taught, so that they are able to earn a living on their own.”

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South Sudan humanitarian workers applaud UCU for its impact

October 31, 2022News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Atem de Kuek (center, back) with colleagues on graduation day at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK in 2018.

In the 25 years of its existence, Uganda Christian University (UCU) has graduated many students, both Ugandan and foreign nationals in a multiplicity of disciplines. Recently, Kefa Senoga caught up with two UCU Bachelor of Mass Communication degrees graduates who are serving in humanitarian agencies in South Sudan. Kefa asked about the impact of their work and take-home value from UCU.

Acquiring a UCU Bachelor of Mass Communication degree 11 years ago was significant for Atem de Kuek, but the second most important thing within that credential were the lessons he learned during “foundation studies” courses. The foundation courses, such as Writing and Study Skills, Health and Wholeness, World Views and Christian Ethics, are mandatory course units for every undergraduate student at the university.

Atem de Kuek addressing colleagues at his work place in South Sudan.

“I can testify that in my working experience, these courses have been handy for work integrity,” Kuek, who graduated in 2011 with a First Class degree, says. He works as a social and behavior change consultant for the UN Children’s Fund.

The academics who teach the foundation courses take pride in being the “roots and the stem” that support the other courses represented on the tree “leaves, branches and fruits.” The course Health and Wholeness, for example, teaches principles of health promotion and interventions for people who are sick or injured and finally, building a healthy society. The course is taught within the context of wholeness, in which “health” is not the absence of disease but a state of physical, emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing. Deliberate strategies to maintain and promote health and to seek help with health problems are nonexistent or weak in other degree-granting universities.

Kuek added that UCU’s strict dress code is another takeaway for his work. Most students detested the policy forbidding short skirts, tight-fitting clothing, damaged jeans, shorts and tinted hairstyles, among others. However, Kuek says this earlier dislike better prepared him to easily blend into the world of professionalism.

As students, Kuek says they formed prayer clubs and research groups, to hold members accountable to each other. However, what started as groups to aid them to pass at the university became a mainstay in their lives and that they have kept in touch to date.

Okot deals with crisis and reputation management at ICRC

For Emmanuel Okot, a South Sudan national, the environment at UCU enabled him to improve academically, as well as to register growth in the social, emotional and spiritual aspects of life.

“And that’s how I developed the love to serve humanity,” says Okot, who graduated with a Bachelor of Mass Communication from UCU in 2018.

He emphasizes that UCU gave him training and skills that apply to his job with a humanitarian agency, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in his home country.

“I take my entire life at UCU as a mentorship process, from my experience with everything and everyone – the lecturers, colleagues and the support staff,” he says.

ICRC has a humanitarian mission of protecting the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict by providing them with assistance to prevent further suffering. As one of the information officers with the agency, Okot deals with crisis and reputation management, as well as leading efforts within the public communication team to connect with relevant audiences through digital content.

Among Kuek’s recent tasks were providing evidence on child marriages and on behavior change around ebola and COVID-19. He has over 10 years of experience in development and field research in South Sudan with UNICEF hosting his third position since he left UCU. Kuek, who holds a Master of Science in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies from London School of Economics and Political Science, also previously worked with Plan International, Right to Play International and the Catholic Relief Services.

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UCU team releases report on Covid conspiracy theory link to vaccination

September 28, 2022COVID-19, News, SRPGS, UCU School of Business, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication, UCU School of Social SciencesPatty Huston-Holm

Around two dozen in-person participants listen and ask questions about the Covid study.

By Patty Huston-Holm with audio-visual by Conrad Okello
Covid-19 – a pandemic waning worldwide – was the topic of discussion for two hours on a Thursday morning in a far corner of the Uganda Christian University (UCU) main campus in Mukono. More specifically, the talk surrounded how false information contributes to health crises overall and how communication of legitimate facts and figures could alleviate sickness and death.

Dr. Geoffrey Rwabaingi Mulindwa, the director of medical services through Allan Galpin Health Center at UCU/Mukono, was among 40 of the combined in-person and on-line participants on Sept. 8, 2022. He listened as collaborators of public health, social science, journalism and business faculty presented their phase one research entitled “Conspiracy Beliefs and Covid-19 Vaccination Hesitancy in Uganda” and shared his perspective over a tea break.

Dr. Bacwayo expresses appreciation for report questions and comments.

“Covid is real,” he stated without hesitancy. “Vaccination should be as annual as a flu shot.”

The medical doctor, age 60 and seeing first-hand cases of coronavirus, notes that the worldometer estimate of 169,396 cases and 3,628 deaths in Uganda is lower than for most countries in the rest of the world. The Uganda data are derived mostly from heavily populated areas in a country that is 75% rural. Residents in the rural areas have been mostly spared from the virus because they are not as close in contact with other people as city dwellers. He estimated at least half of the Uganda adult population has received at least one dose of a vaccination to combat Covid.

Regardless, Mulindwa said vaccination is a means of overall improvement of public health, especially as other diseases – such as polio – are coming back. Numerous credible sources, including the Yale School of Medicine, in August 2022, report the re-emergence of this once-eradicated, crippling polio disease.

Professor Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo, director, Postgraduate Studies, speaks as the chief investigator of the study of conspiracy theory impact on Covid vaccinations.

Prof. Kukunda Elizabeth Bacwayo, an Associate Prof. of Governance and Development in the School of Social Sciences and UCU Directorate of Postgraduate Studies, was the Covid-focused study lead investigator with a multi-disciplinary team of colleagues from UCU. Others on the team are Emilly Comfort Maractho, Richard Sebaggala, Solomon Mwije, Mercy Amaniyo, Clare Cheremoi, Evas Kemigisha and Jacqueline Kobusingye.

The team was awarded a UCU research grant to study how conspiracy beliefs affected Covid-19 vaccination hesitancy in Uganda. In a three-year project with an online and physical survey of over 1,000 respondents, the team is examining conspiracy beliefs and their implications for Covid vaccination in Uganda.

Among the Covid conspiracy beliefs are:

The G5 cellular network is responsible for causing COVID-19.
Bill Gates used Covid as a plan to depopulate the world.
High-powered people released Covid on purpose.
Vaccinations having microchips that can be used to monitor behavior.

The study’s main objectives are designed to measure such conspiracy beliefs and establish how they impact vaccination decisions for adults and their children.

Assoc. Prof. Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, director, Research, Partnership and Innovation, applauds the UCU team for the Covid-related research.

The population engaged in the study is 47% male and 53% female from the Uganda areas of Mukono, Arua, Gulu, Sheema, Mbarara, Kapchorwa, Kabale and Wakiso. According to the study, inaccurate information is largely obtained through radio and social media via smart phones that are increasingly in the hands of both educated and less-educated persons.

“A lot of this false information was coming through WhatsApp,” Bacwayo said.

Conspiracy theories aside, among the data collected as of early September 2022 are:

Information is more trusted from health care workers than government officials.
Protecting other people is the main reason people get vaccinated.
Lack of safe and effectiveness proof about the vaccine are the main reasons people don’t get vaccinated.

Bacwayo reported that worldwide, the percentage of the population threshold that needs to be immune to achieve herd immunity for any disease should be in the 60% to 70% range. The World Health Organization lists lack of vaccination as one of the top 10 threats to global health.

“Vaccine hesitancy is as high as 70% in developing countries,” Bacwayo said. “Conspiracy theories are the biggest driver to no vaccination.”

Among the questions and feedback from the roughly 24 in-person participants on September 8 was a question about the term “conspiracy,” the actual origin of Covid, why people believe false information, how Ugandan tribal traditions impact beliefs and the reality of a need to get vaccinated more than once.

“We are using this feedback to inform our next phase of the research,” said Dr. Maractho, who is part of the research team.

“We believe this study is relevant and that it will bear fruits in other areas,” Dr. Bacwayo said.

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UCU alum shares child soldier captivity story with USP students

September 14, 2022News, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication, USPPatty Huston-Holm

LRA survivor Olum Douglas speaking to Uganda Studies Program students at UCU

By Olum Douglas
August 25, 2022, is one extra-ordinary day I shall live to remember. Waking up that Thursday morning, I had a list of activities. From checking on my parents back home in the north via phone, to taking my children to school for a requisite government data collection registration activity, to an online job interview but foremost, an opportunity to share my story with a group of American students.

The Uganda Studies Program (USP) at Uganda Christian University (UCU) had invited me to speak about my child abduction to a 16-member group of students from North America.

Olum Douglas with USP students, (left) Lauren Thrush, Wheaton College (Illinois); and (right) Beth Merritt, George Fox University (Oregon).

In attendance besides the students were USP staff and my good friend, Patricia Huston-Holm, who I insisted attend the session because I needed a shoulder to lean on in case I broke down. It was my first time to speak the story before an audience.

When I first set out to write down my story in 2011, I spent about two hours trying to fill a page on a shorthand book. The painful memories of the brutality, torture, murder and untold suffering weighed so heavily on me, causing me to weep endlessly.

I was putting words on paper for a Creative Writing course as part of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication degree I was pursuing at UCU.

After the 25-page narrative compiled under the title, “No more tears to cry,” I gathered the courage to tell the whole story of what happened to me in my native village of Gulu in northern Uganda. This narrative later became a book titled: “The Captive: My 204 days with the LRA rebels.” The book was published on Amazon in December 2020.

The days, weeks and months of writing were never a smooth sail. Many times, I was drenched in tears and unable to continue writing because the memories of some moments were so refreshed and painful.

Olum Douglas sharing a photo from his book, “The Captive: My 204 days with the LRA rebels.”

On that sunny August 2022 day, I narrated to the students how I was abducted alongside several other children and adults on the night of April 4, 1998, by the Joseph Kony-led Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. I was 11 years old at the time.

I told them how some of my colleagues were tortured and killed while I watched, and how we were forced to do many despicable things. As I spoke, I could see some members of the audience occasionally wipe tears.

Unlike the days I was compiling the story, I stood strong during the presentation and never shed a tear. I told the students that I have now overcome the pain.

It was an honor to be granted the platform to address the students because they are future leaders who may change the trajectory on global peace if they are helped to access the right knowledge and understand the impact of war on local communities, especially in Africa, which is a battleground for ideologies.

Personally, such opportunities help me to self-check whether I am still emotionally attached to the past. As most writers will tell you, getting something out like this is therapeutic. One of the key outcomes of authoring that book is that it helped me discharge much of the pain. And any opportunity to talk about it helps me discharge even further.

During the August session, the students were curious to know whether I take time to reflect and ask myself why that happened to me. They also asked whether all my colleagues have returned home, and what caused the about 20 years of insurgency in northern Uganda.

I answered as best as I could, knowing that later, they would have more questions as I still do.

I am thankful to Rachel Robinson, the USP director, and the entire team for stretching non-Ugandan students to learn and understand my culture, including the painful parts. I also thank my friend and mentor, Patty, for her continuous support along this journey I know I am still on. Overcoming such experiences is not easy, but I am winning.

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Olum Douglas lives in Mukono, Uganda with his wife and two children. Through the UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication, he is finishing his master’s degree in strategic communication at UCU.

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UCU students dialogue about African brain drain

September 12, 2022News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Alan Kasujja engages in the recording session of the masterclass podcast with UCU students.

By Kefa Senoga
Brain drain means the depletion of a country’s best and brightest workers who take their knowledge and skill to another country – usually leaving lower wages in a home country for higher wages in another country.

Such was the topic of discussion among Uganda Christian University (UCU) students and facilitators from BBC Africa Daily. The occasion was a recent masterclass podcast session organized by a BBC Africa Daily team consisting of Alan Kasujja, host of Africa Daily; Janet Ball, producer for Africa Daily; and BBC minute presenter Ria Khatab. The main question was: Would you stay, or would you go?

Alan Kasujja gives advice to UCU students.

According to BBC, a new survey of more than 4,500 age 18-24 people in Africa found that 52% are likely to consider emigrating in the next few years, citing economic hardship and education opportunities as the top reasons. Ms. Ball says Ugandan young people are more optimistic about the future in their home country than youth in Kenya and Nigeria.

Kasujja says that one of the most difficult decisions he had to make in life was accepting a job offer in another country. He appeared both amused and conflicted by the answers he got from the young people at UCU regarding why they want to spend the rest of their lives in Uganda or why they want to leave.

Throughout this discussion, the common justifications from these young people on why they want to leave their countries were three-fold: adventure, better paying jobs and better education opportunities.

Alan Kasujja offers some advice to students at UCU

Kenneth Bananuka, a third-year journalism student playing with the UCU basketball team, says that he wants to play professional basketball at the highest level, which is not in Uganda.

Joshua Bamwike, a UCU School of Medicine student, said the pay for medical workers in Uganda is unfavorable. “As medical students, we put in a lot of effort in research and pay high sums of tuition; then at the end of the day, the salaries we are paid are still discussed while in other better countries, it’s not negotiable for medical workers to get a better pay.” He thinks of moving to Canada, if he got the opportunity after his studies.

“How much money do you want?” Kasujja asked.

“Roughly, I would want 30 million Ugshs a month (about $8,000 dollars),” Bamwike replied. According to statistics, monthly poverty in the USA remained elevated in February 2022, with a 14.4 percent poverty rate for the total US population considering the high cost of living.

However, Rukia Micky Nambwayo, also a medical student at UCU looking forward to being a gynecologist, does not agree with those who wish to leave their country to seek greener pastures. Nambwayo says that it is unfair for some doctors to leave their country and go look for jobs elsewhere.

“They should stay and serve their country such that the people in Uganda also get the opportunity of being treated by the best,” she says.

According to Nambwayo, when you decide to offer medical studies, you should not be looking at the money, but rather at the services and help that you are going to offer to people.

Two journalism students – Christiana Ampeire and Timothy Nsubuga – shared the same view of “going to other countries such that they can be able to learn new skills and knowledge and return to apply them in their countries.” Timothy Nsubuga emphasizes that he is “not looking forward to leaving my country and staying in a foreign country for over 100 years.”

Despite the fact that Ampeire is not looking at completely abandoning her country, she agrees that it is not unusual to hear young people lamenting about leaving their country. She says most of her colleagues share the same view with Bamwike that there is no hope in their country and, therefore, they have to find means of leaving.

Ampeire thinks that the government should listen and act against the reasons that bring such kind of desperateness among the youth. “The youth in these professional fields should be catered for more in the national budget and even given more pay to motivate them,” Ampeire says.

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Health Awareness week focuses on mental wellness

September 2, 2022News, Students, UCU School of Business, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Students at the blood donation tent during the health awareness week

By Vanessa Kyalimpa
First, it was an issue only talked about in hushed tones. Then, the rate of drug abuse increased among students and youth, bringing dialog to the public domain.

Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Trinity Semester (May-August) Health Awareness Week was part of that domain with the issue of mental wellness and drug abuse fast growing among youth in open discussion.

UCU Guild President Racheal Sserwadda Mirembe said they discovered that there were cartels in Mukono that supply youth and students with drugs, leading to substance abuse. The revelation by Mirembe is not surprising. In March 2022, the Police said at least 16 percent of the youth in urban centers in Uganda are under the influence of drugs.

Tinka Zarugaba, the head of Uganda Police’s anti-narcotics department, said abuse of drugs, such as cannabis, heroin and cocaine, was on the rise, especially in urban areas, greatly affecting the youth. Zarugaba’s remarks were made in March 2022, at a function where close to 50kg of narcotic drug exhibits estimated to be over sh770million (about $200,000) were burned in Kampala.

A police officer, right, at the health camp

In June, police arrested four people who were accused of selling drug-laced cookies to students of one of the elite secondary schools in Uganda. The Police said the “drug-bust was carried out after the secondary school suspended 10 students who ordered drug-laced cookies, which they consumed at a school party.”

At the Uganda Christian University Health Awareness Week held in July 2022 at the UCU Guild Grounds, the institution’s students were joined by those from other universities – Makerere, Kyambogo and Makerere Business School.

The campaign, which ran under the theme Say No to Drug and Substance Abuse, was part of the Health Awareness week that is dedicated to providing a general understanding and knowledge about health, health care and its services, health needs, diseases and preventive measures.

It is held every semester and organized by Allan Galpin, UCU’s health center, in conjunction with the UCU Guild Government and the counseling department at UCU, the Ruth Nkoyoyo Wellness Center.

Other health services, such as blood screening and donation, free dental screening and optical screening, were offered at the health week.

Listen to the band advocating against drug abuse

Olivia Kamusiime, a year-three student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication, thanked the university and the student leaders for the initiative of the health week. She said that so many students face challenges, which could lead them into abusing drugs, but that with campaigns like those held at the health week, she is optimistic a positive change will be registered.

Josephine Achol, a second-year student pursuing Bachelor of Procurement and Logistics Management, said that she got free eye screening services and realized she had had an underlying eye problem she did not know about.

Ruth Igiraneza, a student of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication, said through the health camp, she was able to know her HIV status, as well as get her eyes checked. She said the extension of the health awareness week activities into the Thursday community worship hour enabled her to know the dangers of self-medication.

“For instance,” Igiraneza said: “I did not know paracetamol (also known as the acetaminophen pain killer) has caffeine in it.”

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Media experts urge UCU students to uphold journalism ethics

August 15, 2022News, Students, UCU Alumni, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Some UCU students who attended the dinner.

By Kefa Senoga
To earn respect, journalists should be able to produce believable, accurate and impactful stories. It is such stories, veteran journalist John Kakande explained, that will influence policy and bring the desired positive change in society.

“If you go to cover an event and, at the end of the day, you ask the spokesperson of the organisation to give you transport facilitation, they will not respect you again,” Kakande, a former editor of Uganda’s New Vision newspaper, told students of Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) School of Journalism, Media and Communication. He said journalists who ask for facilitation from events organizers will be taken as “mercenaries for hire.”

Kakande, who retired in 2021 from 27 years with New Vision, made the remarks as chief guest at an annual media dinner organized by the students at a hotel in Kampala. Held under the theme “Media Ethics under Attack,” the dinner hosted students, UCU alumni, and media and public relations practitioners.

Tabu Butagira, the Managing Editor of Daily Monitor, a newspaper in Uganda, urged the students to look at ethics as their “personal value system.” He described the UCU students who have had their internship at the Daily Monitor as hardworking.

Kakande said a majority of those who had their internship at New Vision were retained as staff because “we found them well disciplined and respectful.”

John Kakande a veteran journalist who worked with New Vision and chief guest at UCU media dinner, speaks at event in Kampala.

Citing an example of emphasis on ethics and team work, the Dean of the School of JMC, Prof. Monica Chibita, referred to a video production of a news bulletin by the students that was shown at the dinner.

Veteran Ugandan journalist John Kakande speaks at dinner.

Chibita said the production was a result of team work between the students and the staff. She lauded John Semakula, who is the head of the undergraduate studies in the UCU School of JMC, for showing an “incredible commitment in leading the team of students that was able to exhibit their TV production.”

Chibita said UCU has been deliberate in focusing on hands-on training to enable their graduates be able to compete favorably in the job market.

“Unlike the previous years, we now even have first-year students actually reading bulletins; that means we are getting better in terms of practical training,” Chibita said at the dinner that was held after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The head of communications at power distributor Umeme, Peter Kaujju, encouraged students to be truthful because the profession they are pursuing comes with the responsibility of being the eyes of the public. He also encouraged students to be resilient and determined if they are to pursue good stories. He said his organisation, Umeme, is ready to offer internship placements for the students, as well as giving career guidance tips.

Hellen Mukiibi, an editor at New Vision, lauded the journalism students for the practical work they exhibited. The production was made under the auspices of the UCU Media Link Association. Mukiibi encouraged the students to develop skills in print, broadcast and online, noting that they are the new demands in a current newsroom.

“You also need to be ready, strong and tough. Prepare for everything, as a journalist. You should be knowledgeable about the subject you’re covering, which means you will need to do a lot of research,” Mukiibi urged the students.

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UCU alum documentary accentuates Kabale sorghum tragedy

August 8, 2022COVID-19, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Alex Taremwa speaks in May to participants of the Junior Achievement climate change innovation challenge where he was a judge

By Vanessa Kyalimpa
Chasing birds away each morning when they came to eat the grains on the ears of the ripe sorghum has been a typical role for any young boy in Kabale, a district in Western Uganda. Such is one memory of the Rev. Prof. Manuel Muranga, a Kabale-born lecturer at the Institute of Language Studies, Kabale University.

“It was our culture,” Rev. Muranga recalls of people known as Bakiga. “We called it ‘okubinga enyonyi,’ meaning keeping the birds away, which wasn’t a nice exercise because it required you to be up very early in the morning.”

At that, Muranga adds, the unwelcomed boyhood task increased his awareness of the importance of sorghum. It was, he said “our identity.”

Alex Taremwa, Uganda Christian University alum

In Kabale, the sorghum seed used for human cereal and for pasture animals, has been the number one crop grown by over 95% of households. It has not only been food for the community, but also a crucial ingredient for brewing “enturire,” a local, delicacy drink made from sorghum and honey and traditionally given to visitors as a sign of hospitality.

This once Kabale delicacy, along with its economic support, is diminishing.

Climate change – namely temperature and water excess or depletion patterns – is to blame, according to Alex Taremwa, a digital journalist and alum of Uganda Christian University (UCU). Together with Shemei Agabo, a Kampala-based multi-media storyteller, Taremwa helped produce a documentary entitled “Enturire” that gives this Uganda agriculture example of what happens to food and people when humans don’t take care of the environment. In short, abuse of carbon (i.e., fuel) pollutes the earth.

The film, possible because of a grant from the Embassy of France, reminds the viewer that while the least industrialized nations like Uganda emit the least carbon, they continue to be impacted the most by climate crisis. In the case of sorghum, it is the world’s fifth most important cereal after wheat, Africa’s second most important cereal crop after maize, and the third most important staple cereal food crop in Uganda and number one in Kabale District.

The documentary accentuates the impact on thousands with a focus on the lives of Mrs. Million Oworinawe, a Kabale sorghum farmer, and Mrs. Alice Asiimwe, a businesswoman. Both have made enturire their livelihood for over 30 years but are coming to the frightening reality that they soon will be unemployed because the harsh climate is rapidly destroying the sorghum quality.

Deus Bagambana Baguma, principal agricultural officer, Kabale, talks about the crop obstacles resulting from rain uncertainty

“Growing up in a family of farmers made me see how profitable sorghum was,” Milion Orinawe recalls. “I used to plant sorghum on a quarter an acre of land and get about 300 kgs (661 pounds) of sorghum when I harvested. The harvest was very bountiful.”

In 2022, Orinawe gets as little as 50kgs (110 pounds) from her garden. She has since moved into Irish potato and maize growing as alternatives.

“More than 90% of the households in Kabale District are finding it harder to grow sorghum – the most grown cereal in Kigezi Sub-region,” Taremwa, a co-founder of Last Drop Africa, a climate change activism not-for-profit, notes in an article that appeared in the Daily Monitor newspaper. “As a result, sorghum production has nosedived.”

This plummet affects incomes of hundreds of farmers, especially women, according to the 2022 Kabale District’s Third Development Plan (2020-2025).

The documentary shows that while the developing nations such as Uganda emit the least carbon, they continue to suffer the biggest effects of the climate change crisis.

Kabale, which was known for chilly weather is now suffering from, “unpredictable rains and rising temperatures,” as captured in the opening statements of the nearly 18-minute documentary.

“In the old times, a farmer would know that by a specific month on a certain day, rains would come, so they would do the early planting,” says Deus Bagambana Baguma, a principal agricultural officer in Kabale. “But now, they have to wait for the rains to first come in order for them to plant and it could stop after a few days. This really affects how the crops come up and how many farmers grow the crop. In fact, now farmers have resorted to doing other things.”

Dr. Richard Edema, director for Makerere University Regional Centre for Crop Improvement (MARCCI), notes that the Kabale hills are warming up, a happening that has reduced the rain and increased the incidences of pests and diseases.

“There are a variety of things that are alleged to be causing this but you cannot deny the change in weather in these places,” Dr. Edema said. “The weathers of Kabale that used to suit the growing of these crops have changed which also affects the performance of these crops.”

While food scientists and agronomists scratch their heads for solutions, such media as Taremwa’s are helpful to create awareness about the dangers of climate change that touch the daily life elements, such as a drink inside a cup.

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UCU embarks on building modern infrastructure, beautification

August 3, 2022UCU School of Business, UCU School of Education, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

A worker at the Bishop Tucker main building.

By Kefa Senoga
Aesthetics is a core design principle. Visually, aesthetics includes factors such as balance, color, movement, pattern, scale, shape and weight. Emotionally, such optics impact attitude that, as in the case of a university, influences work and learning.

Since Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi took over as Vice Chancellor of Uganda Christian University (UCU) in 2020, he has had his eyes set on beautification and improvements. In May 2022, Mushengyezi accelerated the vision to improve both individual safety and sense of well being with a beatification campaign focused on the main campus.

Walkways, parking and painting are being realized at the onset with on-site banking facilities, a first-ever food court and more to come.

Brief look at new touches to a UCU parking area, Bishop Tucker, Nkoyoyo

Eng. David Kivumbi, UCU’s Director of Facilities and Capital projects, has a ringside seat to the activity. As of early August 2022, renovations and additions completed and planned at the Mukono site include:

Nkoyoyo Hall area has a new look with an added balance of greenery and pavement.
Adjacent to the Hall, the building where the worship band holds practices has been refurbished along with the nearby toilets.
The Bishop Tucker building (Principal’s hall) and its executive toilets have been refurbished with paint, updated fixtures and lighting.
Just below Tucker, renovations are planned on a complex that has housed nursing administration, social work and the Standard newspaper.
The building housing the offices of the Directorate of Research, Innovations and Partnerships has been refurbished.
The building that houses the UCU Department of Communication and Public Relations and the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration has had the roof cleaned and building painted, retrofitted, and furnished.
The former Foundations office block near the library is being converted for use by the Computing and Technology department.
Bishop Tucker Road (the murram road below the university) up to Ankrah Road has been improved in order to access the other side of the university premises where the new male halls of residence and the School of Business are being located.
There are plans to work on broken fences and painting to improve the main gate and give a face lift to the eastern side of the campus that includes the Mackay block where the School of Education is located.
At some point, the offices of the Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellors will be re-located together in a new building below the Ham Mukasa library.

“Landscaping is being carried out in preparation for future developments,” Kivumbi said. “We are going to landscape to prepare space for architectural work to begin for the Senate building which is supposed to house offices of all the senior administrators.”

He noted that as renovations, refurbishments and constructions are taking place at the university, lighting of the university campus is being explored.

Workers clean and fix the roof at the former Foundations block that is going to be converted into ICT department offices.

“Right now, we are working on improving the dark spots at night, to put lights in the parking yards, compounds, at the archives building and at the Vice Chancellor’s residence,” Kivumbi said. “We are targeting October, when UCU celebrates 25 years, to finish most of these works.”

UCU ‘s vision statement of becoming a Centre of Excellence in the Heart of Africa is added inspiration for aesthetic change.

At the Kampala campus, the University is refurbishing its new premises and is also constructing a new storied building to act as the main classroom block. The ground breaking for the $703,340 (sh2.5bn) Kampala campus block was done early this year. UCU acquired the land for the Kampala campus in June 2021.

“We are about to reach the topmost floor of the new block and we will begin with the roofing,” Kivumbi said of the three-level building with a basement.

Joseph Kiva, a lecturer at the School of Journalism, Media and Communication who was a student at UCU from 2007 to 2010, muses that his peers who left 12 years ago and never returned would be amazed by the new UCU appearance.

“During our time of study at UCU, most roads were murram (clay like) in the campus and most of the infrastructure that has been set up like the Noll building, main library, school of journalism offices, basketball court, volleyball courts were not there,” he said. “In fact, during that time we used the current small gate as the main gate.”

Opolot Cuthbert a third-year law student at the UCU says that one of the key things he has observed from the management and administrations that lead UCU, is that they understand the value of infrastructure in a high learning institution. “These kinds of developments create a conducive environment for studying and other student related activities,” he said.

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Norway partnership drives development at UCU

July 28, 2022UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Staff from the UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication pose with staff at the NLA University College and others under the NORHED project in Norway.

By Geoffrey Ssenoga
When Hamu Mukasa, the Buganda County chief for Kyaggwe, offered land to build the Bishop Tucker Theological College (BTTC) more than 100 years ago, he set in motion a functional partnership for growing and sustaining a private university. That partnership model has successfully accounted for many landmarks in the development of Uganda Christian University, which metamorphosed from BTTC 25 years ago.

One of the partnerships is the recent collaboration between the Norwegian NLA University and UCU’s School of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMC), which has transformed journalism and communication training in Uganda.

In 2013, UCU signed a $1.3 million partnership agreement with Norway’s NLA University under the Norwegian Program for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development (NORHED), which offered post-doctoral research studies support, leading to the full professorship of the dean in charge of the School of JMC.

The program also led to the training of five members of the faculty to acquire a PhD, as well as sponsoring graduates for master’s studies and equipping an audio-visual motion picture studio. The graduates have since joined the school as members of the faculty.

UCU Vice Chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi (left) meeting with the NLA University Rector, Prof. Sigbjørn Sodal, recently, in Norway

As a result of the partnership, the school has undergone a complete revolution, acquiring 10 Handycam video cameras and more than 15 DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) cameras, with their accessories, such as tripods and a comprehensive journalism and communication book bank.

Now, UCU has signed NORHED two, which is bringing more equipment support and faculty development through training to attain doctoral degrees up to 2026.

While partnerships fit with the Christian way of loving and helping one another, they are nevertheless difficult to start and get off the ground without a personal connection. Hamu Mukasa had a personal relationship with Bishop Alfred Tucker, the founder of BTCC, and the Anglican church in Uganda. That, perhaps, explains his generous land donation.

Generations later, partnerships continue to sprout from personal relationships. Terje Skjerdal, the co-ordinator of the NORHED project, reveals that NLA and UCU’s relationship began at a personal level in the United States, where he had gone to study. It there that he met the now Dean of School of Journalism, Media and Communication, Monica Chibita, who was then teaching Development Studies at the university where Skjerdal was. The two later met at conferences on the African continent and promised “to work on something together.”

Another colleague, Assoc. Prof. Carol Azungi, was brought into the loop when she met Terje at the University of Oslo in Norway and responded eagerly to his beckoning when the opportunity to teach in the NORHED program for Uganda Christian University availed itself. Azungi had been an undergraduate student under Chibita’s instruction at Makerere University.

As the second phase of the NORHED program begins, other partnerships could sprout out of the venture.

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Azania molds UCU students in poetry, performing arts

June 24, 2022News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication, UCU School of LawPatty Huston-Holm

Edwin Masingano, president of Azania (foreground), with other members of Azania after a poetry event in Kampala

By Agatha N. Biira
When there is a burning desire for wordsmiths to breathe life into the spoken word, they rarely fail to find a platform to express their craft. If such a platform doesn’t exist, they create their own.

A group of Uganda Christian University (UCU) students, passionate about poetry, did just that in 2008. The poetry group named Azania at UCU was born.

For 14 years, the faction has given students a place to express their talents. Once every year, there is a meeting of like minds for the group’s annual ritual, the Grand Azania – a concert of poetry, music, dance and drama – at UCU’s iconic Nkoyoyo Hall.

Mark Mulwanyi, a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws, performs as part of Azania.

Whenever people gather in Nkoyoyo Hall for the annual event, ears stand still so they do not miss the craft from the presenters of poetry and music.

Since its formation, the group has been evolving, incorporating performing arts, such as music, dance and drama. Azania’s current president, Edwin Masingano, a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws, says poetry could have stood on its own, but that they thought the group could get better when accompanied by other creative productions.

“When we incorporated music and art into Azania, we pulled another crowd which would not have known about poetry if it was all we did,” Masingano said.

He says he joined the group in 2018 when he came to the university. According to Masingano, the group not only gave students a platform to express talent, but also helped them transition with it into the real world.

He adds: “Students can get opportunities of performing elsewhere through the group because they get the platform to showcase their talents.”

Azania group members, such as James Tukupee, participate in weekly meetings, where they perform before other group members, for purposes of training and mentoring new students.

“If you are performing four times a week, within six months, you will be better than you were at your first performance,” Masingano says.

Azania also has a WhatsApp group, where members post their work for critiquing. It is through such engagements that students get opportunity to polish their craft. The group also conducts trainings before shows, so as to produce good quality work. Azania has taken part in several events, such as participating in guild and university activities through reciting their poems. It has also taken part in many inter-university poetry shows.

Gavin Mugisha, a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws, who is the group’s vice president, said the platform allows members to have conversations about life as they grow their talents.

“I have been part of Azania for four years and it has helped me improve my talent as a singer. I now have a band that I manage, all because of Azania,” Mugisha says.

WATCH: Gavin Mugisha performing Heaven by Mark Mulwanyi at the weekly Azania meeting.

For Mark Mulwanyi, a fourth-year student of Bachelor of Laws, Azania has helped him work through his stage fright.

“I’m now more confident performing before a crowd; and it’s taught me how to engage with the crowd while performing,” he said.

Philip Bravo, one of the students who usually attends the weekly Azania meetings, says the group’s performances are great and inspirational.

“The fact that they encourage one to freely express one’s feelings through music, poetry and conversations that are opinionated makes one relate easily,” Bravo said. “I think more students should engage with Azania.”

Brian Kabogozza, a student of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communication and a member of Azania, says the group has “interesting, motivating and life-changing stories that build confidence and solidarity among the students.”

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US departments recognize UCU’s research ethics committee

June 20, 2022News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication, UCU School of Social SciencesPatty Huston-Holm

Osborne Ahimbisibwe, secretary of the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Research Ethics Committee, notes that the committee is registered as the UCU Institutional Review Board on the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP) website.

By Kefa Senoga
The Uganda Christian University-Research Ethics Committee (UCU-REC) has been accredited by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Osborne Ahimbisibwe, the secretary of the UCU-REC, said the accreditation is as a result of UCU-REC’s success in fulfilling its professional duties that include looking out for privacy and protection of persons in studies. He said the ethics committee is listed on the HHS and OHRP website as the UCU Institutional Review Board (IRB), Number IRB00013492.

Ahimbisibwe explained that funding agencies use the HHS and OHRP website to verify that an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Research Ethics Committee (REC) has an active registration. The OHRP provides leadership in the protection of the rights and well-being of human subjects involved in research conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services while FDA protects public health by ensuring safety of human drugs.

“The accreditation means that if someone is coming from the U.S to conduct research in Uganda and they get approval from UCU-REC, the findings of their study will be recognized back in the United States,” Ahimbisibwe explained.

There are a number of Research Ethics Committees in Uganda that include the Uganda Virus Research Institute Research Ethics Committee (UVRI-REC), Mbarara University of Science and Technology Research Ethics Committee (MUST – REC), Nkumba University Research Ethics Committee (NU-REC), and the School of Medicine Research Ethics Committee at Makerere University College of Health Sciences, among others.

Ahimbisibwe explains that the UCU-REC on average does 200 protocol reviews annually and it’s mandatory for postgraduate students and other researchers outside academia for example clinical trials. He adds that membership of the committee is comprised of scientific and non-scientific members who are made up of UCU community representatives and non-UCU-affiliated members.

Commenting on the development, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Rev. Prof. John Kitayimbwa, said that the accreditation is an important development for UCU, which intends to drive the agenda of research.

A post-graduate student works in the UCU library, which is working to drive the agenda of quality research to increase global visibility and maximize impact of these studies.

“We are transforming the university from one that’s been majorly teaching to a research-led one,” he said. “However, in order to do research, especially where you have human subjects, you have got to do that work ethically.”

Kitayimbwa noted that UCU’s REC ensures that the standards, which have been set in terms of the ethical considerations worldwide, are followed when dealing with human subjects in a research activity.

Dr. Angela Napakol, a REC member and senior lecturer at the School of Journalism, Media and Communication, said the accreditation was not only vital in science-related research, but also in other fields, such as social sciences and humanities.

Napakol noted one example of a researcher who is going to the field to discuss mental health and could bring up sensitive topics that may trigger trauma because of a past experience. If information is not acquired properly, including with sensitivity and respect, the questions can trigger a breakdown. Thus, it is important to ensure that ethic practices are followed.

“So, as REC, we want to make sure that the discussions between the researcher and the participants don’t trigger episodes of mental breakdown,” she said. “That is why we put emphasis on ethical standards.”

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Prof. Ripley Smith: ‘Students who have Christ in their studies’ have an edge

June 2, 2022News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication staff (left to right) Geoffrey Ssenoga, Francis Acaye, Proscovia Namyalo Sempugu, Frankiline Adeka, John Semakula, Prof. Ripley Lawrence Smith (Visiting Professor) and Prof. Monica Chibita after a training session in February 2022.

By Muduku Derrick Brian
During his sabbatical from his duties at Bethel University in Minnesota in the United States, Prof. Ripley Lawrence Smith became part of the Uganda Christian University (UCU) community. Coming from a University that shares similar Christian virtues and beliefs, Prof. Ripley Smith was at home at UCU.

Prof. Ripley Lawrence Smith, a visiting professor at UCU ‘s School of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMC), had multiple messages during his visit with one advising journalism students to stick to the elements of good story telling in the wake of changing technology and journalism practices.

“When you go out in the field, the software will change but what will still remain are the elements of good story telling no matter what channel you are talking to,” he said.

Prof. Ripley Lawrence Smith narrating about discourse analysis while at the School of Journalism, Media and Communication at Uganda Christian University.

In a UCU podcast, Smith emphasized that journalism students should embrace new technological and audience trends and get acquainted with audio production skills as are their peers in the United States where many students prefer listening to podcasts over radio.

Smith, who is the Department Chair of Media Communication at Bethel University, explained more about why he is interested in UCU and why he came.

“I have a close relationship with Prof. Monica Chibita, and she invited me to come and do some seminars with the students here,” he said. “Also, I wanted to explore partnerships between my University (Bethel University) and the School of Journalism, Media and Communication here.”

Smith says that Bethel University has had a long-standing partnership with UCU, primarily with the nursing faculty where students and faculty members have been involved in an exchange program.

Smith, who has been teaching at Bethel since 2008, says he hopes to do the same for journalism students. This exchange would engage students in writing and telling stories that can be documented as well as boosting research among students in the two institutions.

A renowned scholar, Smith who is familiar with discourse analysis, explains: “Here we are not interested in why people are saying what they are saying but what they do as they are saying it. It is a deeper-rooted form of research.”

He urges universities and other learning institutions to embrace discourse analysis that gives students a unique angle to understand what is taking place. He says that discourse analysis offers another lens in what is happening which one may not get without using this methodology.

He also hopes to produce a magazine with the help of students as one application of story telling programs. This would involve faculty and students of his university travelling out to various countries such as Morocco, and working with the local community to co-produce a magazine and create stories. He believes this will enrich cooperation between the students of the two universities (Bethel and UCU) while building student resumes.

“This is one of the areas in which students can come and work with each other,” he said.

Smith acknowledges the challenges of media students in the United States. ”Our students in the United States are so used to short form story telling,” he said. “You find that a student wants to tell an entire story in a 90-second TikTok clip. They are narrowing their field of view of storytelling.”

He urges media students at UCU and in Uganda to embrace online journalism and to blend Christianity further into their education.

” If we study the world and keep God out of it, we are missing the motivation,” he said. “We are missing a whole slice of reality. Students who have Christ in their studies work hard and are trustworthy and such virtues give them an edge even in the job market.”

Prof. Monica Chibita, the Dean of the School of JMC at UCU, says that Smith is a committed journalist.

“I met him in 1993 together with my husband as we were teaching in Northwestern College,” she said. “He used to play football with my husband and he is passionate about integrating faith in his teaching.”

Chibita says that the School of JMC intends to work with Smith in such areas as qualitative research under discourse analysis.

“We are more than ready to work with him and tap into his vast tank of knowledge,” she said.

Prof. Smith has research interests in social networks and socio-cultural adjustment, trust development in partnerships across cultures and organizations, international crisis intervention processes, and prophetic rhetoric.

A father of four daughters and a husband, Smith is an enthusiast of the classical guitar and has been involved in playing and coaching competitive soccer. A strong reader, one of his favorite books is The Passion of the Western Mind by Richard Tarnas.

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Uganda’s only university podcast – More cutting-edge at UCU

April 25, 2022News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Andrew Bugembe, member of the initial UCU podcast team, shown in a recent photo in Mbale.

By Patty Huston-Holm
Andrew Bugembe’s early experience with audio journalism involved walking outside the Uganda Christian University (UCU) gate and, with his phone, recording what random people along a dusty street thought about topical sports issues. He, thereafter, walked back on the Mukono campus and shared his “African English” recordings with five friends who used this information raw or as background for stories in UCU’s student newspaper, The Standard.

“I wasn’t good at writing; I wasn’t good at sports,” Andrew, who hails from Mityana in central Uganda, admitted. “The credit I got for this work was ‘thank you,’ and that was enough. God puts you where He can use you.”

Sitting on a black, wrought-iron bench between the newspaper and communications offices in the third month since post-Covid, in-person learning resumed, the final-year student in UCU’s School of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMC) shared his comfort and enjoyment of being behind the scenes.

Thus, as UCU launched in January 2022 its first podcast – the only university podcast in Uganda – Andrew was the guy splicing the audio and monitoring the analytics of who was listening and from what devices.

“It was exciting,” he said during a March 2022 discussion. “I didn’t even know the word ‘podcast’ until I was tapped to be a part of it last year.”

The UCU podcast training for a small group of students began through David’s United Church of Christ in Canal Winchester, Ohio, USA, in June 2021. Students used the church’s podcast platform to conduct interviews on topics such as Black Lives Matter, Hate Speech, Street Preaching and Fake Pastors.

Geoffrey Ssenoga, UCU podcast supervisor, with a UCU original podcast team member, Christiana Ampeire, talking outside the student newspaper office

Under the supervision of veteran broadcaster and UCU lecturer, Geoffrey Ssenoga, and with support by the School of JMC head of undergraduate studies, John Semakula, UCU started its own podcast.

By early April, students had recorded and produced 17 podcasts under the umbrella of the new on-line Standard newspaper with the theme “Lighting our Way.” With a combination of fun (male-female differences, etc.) and serious (Ankrah Foundation, etc.) topics, the initial target audience is students.

“Students are always excited about new ways of applying their knowledge and skill,” said Geoffrey, a lifelong journalist with most of his work in television. “We were teaching radio, but during the Covid shutdown, the practical application of that was mostly non-existent. Podcast recordings via Zoom allowed students to learn this form of media while practicing coronavirus safety protocols.”

As the School of JMC revises its curriculum for the Council of Higher Education, podcasting – the fastest-growing media channel with two million globally – is included.

Stephen Ssenkaaba, award-winning journalist who helped start New Vision’s podcast in 2019

While not necessarily listening to recordings in the initial phase of UCU’s podcast, two Ugandan professionals, New Vision’s Stephen Ssenkaaba and Max Adii, are lauding them. Together, they started the New Vision podcast three years ago. Fresh from a research project on online strategies for emerging markets as part of a fellowship in Michigan, Stephen became fascinated with podcasting and pitched the idea upon his return to Uganda.

“I came to understand how podcasts were relevant to people in Uganda and Africa where the culture revolves around talking, and having conversations,” Stephen said. “After I pitched to the Editorial Board, I was charged to work with our radio expert, Max. We got it rolling.”

“More and more, media audiences are shifting to on-line content,” Max said. “Podcasting is Internet-based – allowing our audience potential to be people all over the world.”

Data indicate podcasting is especially popular with those under age 35 because of the content’s 24-7 accessibility, generally casual delivery by interviewers and ability to stop and start a 15-to-30-minute recording. To date, podcasting is less expensive and less regulated than radio.

Max Adii, a key member of the New Vision podcast implementation team

Commenting from Oregon, USA, where he is studying for his Ph.D. in Media Studies, Stephen said “a one-size-fits-all” podcast should not be the goal in today’s cafeteria of media genres. At that, younger listeners lean towards light-hearted, celebrity podcast content, while those older tend to want to supplement what they don’t “have time to get sitting and reading a newspaper or listening to radio at home,” he added.

“Podcasts done right take the listener into a situation,” Max said. One of his favorites that does that is a 12-episode New Vision podcast that tells the story of an undercover reporter who became part of the slave trade in Dubai.

Nicollette Nampijja, original UCU podcast team member

Student Nicollette Nampijja, one of the first UCU Podcast interviewers, expressed appreciation for UCU’s launch into the podcast medium. Despite her experience speaking in front of classmates in secondary school, her “heart was beating” for the first recording she did at UCU. Now, with three podcast interviews under her belt, confidence of the 22-year-old has soared.

“The UCU podcast has added excitement for students while giving them hands-on experience in a cutting-edge part of our industry,” Geoffrey said. “That we added the podcasting piece to what we teach and did it in the midst of coming off a pandemic lockdown speaks volumes about where UCU is going and can be.”

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PODCAST LINKS RELATED TO THIS STORY

‘Giving a voice to the voiceless’ – Inspiring women into investigative journalism

April 11, 2022News, Students, UCU School of Journalism, Media and CommunicationPatty Huston-Holm

Cecilia Okoth, UCU alum and New Vision Investigative Reporter

By Patty Huston-Holm with Israel Kisakye, Vanessa Kyalimpa and Yasiri J. Kasango
In mid-May 2021, Cecilia Okoth broke a story about how health care workers were charging money for the government’s free vaccination against Covid-19. The next month, she wrote about hospital patient expense, treatment and lax safety regulations regarding coronavirus.

UCU Vice Chancellor Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi exchanges signed copies of the Memorandum of Understanding with AIIJ Executive Director Solomon Serwanjja.

Expose’ stories like these in the height of the pandemic are nothing new to this New Vision investigative reporter. In 2018, she uncovered a scam involving cancer patients and wrote about a possible solution to the stigma of HIV-AIDS in men. In 2019, she reported about “brokers” who lure public hospital patients to private facilities and how Karimojong girls were trafficked, with some ending up with the Al-Shabaab terrorist group.

These are only a few of the investigative journalism pieces authored by Okoth, a 2010 graduate of Uganda Christian University (UCU) and a speaker for a March 2022 event focused on engaging more women in deep, fact-finding news stories. The occasion was co-sponsored by the UCU School of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMC) and the Kampala-based African Institute of Investigative Journalism (AIIJ) with the nonprofit, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), in Nkoyoyo Hall of the UCU Mukono campus.

The School of JMC and AIIJ have a new Memorandum of Understanding that seeks collaboration in research and training of investigative journalists in the country.

Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, Anna Reisman, Solomon Serwanjja and Monica Chibita cut cake to mark International Women’s Day, aligned with the investigative journalism event at UCU in March.

“We are doing a lot of research in areas for journalism within Uganda and we think that UCU offers us that margin, but also think that UCU would love a space where they take their students for internships and could benefit from the guest lectures that we’ll have,” said Raymond Mujuni, of AIIJ and an editor and talk-show host at the Nation Media Group in Uganda.

Before an audience of 100, Okoth served on panel of journalists and media scholars who discussed press issues under the theme “Women and Investigative Journalism: An untapped opportunity.” Other panelists were Dr Patricia Litho, a communications specialist and trainer; Dr. Annette Kezaabu, the Head of Postgraduate Studies at the UCU School of JMC; and Anna Reismann, the country representative KAS Uganda and South Sudan. Mujuni moderated the discussion.

“In our early time of investigative journalism, we didn’t have such training to equip the young female journalists,” Okoth said at the event. Later, she shared how, as her career seemed to be stagnant, she stumbled on a deeper story she saw at a routine press conference.

“When I arrived, I immediately noticed an anomaly,” she recalled of the press event. “Many patients were lying on the verandas at the institute. I later learned that patients had to bribe medics to access the radiotherapy machine which was known to be free of charge. That was the story I wrote after a three-month investigation. My career has never been the same.”

In an interview after the March 2022 event, Okoth shared her thoughts about challenges and opportunities, especially for women. Investigative journalism is tough enough, but tougher for women as the difficult assignments often go to men.

“The onus is on a woman to fight and prove that you can equally accomplish a ‘man’s’ task,” she said. “Investigative journalism involves unearthing well tucked secrets by the powers that be or highlighting the injustices and abuses of power. It is giving a voice to the voiceless. However, in trying to accomplish this, you will rub some people the wrong way or even get frustrated along the way, or face threats.”

Investigative pieces require time, patience and stamina for the reporter, and a budget for a newsroom – all four of which can compromise the quality of the work, according to Okoth. The content of the investigations can be “very disturbing” psychologically with risks from perpetrators reporters are researching to expose wrongful deeds.

“As journalists, we are told that no story is worth your life,” she said. “So, you have to know when to retract when an assignment gets dangerous.”

At the same time, deeper fact-finding stories provide opportunities not only to clear up corruption, but also to gain recognition as reporters. Okoth has received accolades, such as the August 2018 editorial innovations award, 2019 runner up in the Uganda National Journalism Awards explanatory reporting category, and 2020 Nominee for the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ) Knight International Journalism Awards. She also has had several training and mentorship opportunities globally.

“As a field journalist, I have seized the opportunity to transform the lives of people I have been assigned to report about,” Okoth said. “The stories I have covered have helped start uncomfortable conversations that have created awareness or led to policy change.”

Another panelist, Dr. Kezaabu, implored lecturers to mentor their students on life skills, adding that “the skills taught in class can be compromised if we don’t teach or mentor our students on how to focus on their life and conduct themselves.”

“Go for it if it’s your passion, if it’s your conviction, go for it,” added panelist, Dr. Litho, encouraging upcoming female journalists to break the bias. She added that ladies should not be relegated to soft stories like beauty contests.

“As journalists, we are often told, you are as good as your last story so that technically means your best story is one that you have not yet done,” Okoth, mother of a 16-month-old son, said. “This pushes me to work harder…Plus, being a mother shouldn’t deprive someone of career goals. You can definitely achieve both.”

In addition to hearing speakers, attendees watched a documentary film known as a Thousand Cuts about the life of Maria Ressa, a female investigative journalist who put her life at stake to hold the Philippine President accountable for killing innocent people under the disguise of drug abuse.

The March activities were attended by UCU Vice Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushenygezi; Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academics, Assoc. Prof. John Kitayimbwa; Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance and Administration), David Mugawe; Dean for the School JMC, Prof. Monica Chibita; head of the School of JMC undergraduate studies, John Semakula; and AIIJ executive director Solomon Serwanjja.

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