How Tumuhamye defied her background to become top academic

By Christine Mirembe 

The academic journey of Comfort Mpiriirwe Tumuhamye was initially hindered by a language barrier that nearly threatened her future career. 

While attending Rubaya Primary School in the southwestern Ugandan district of Kabale, classes from Primary One through Five were conducted almost entirely in Rukiga, the local dialect. Many of the teachers found it easier to use Rukiga because they were not fluent in English, leaving Tumuhamye with a shaky foundation in the English language. 

This weak start followed her up to Kabale Trinity College, which she joined in 1996, for O’level. At the college, she struggled with self-doubt as she watched her peers, many of whom had arrived with superior grades, speak English well and with confidence. 

This is when her maternal aunt, Lydia Tukamuhabwa, became pivotal. “My aunt kept telling me that I was capable of being the best; she believed in me.” 

Tumuhamye’s teacher of Literature in English was equally central in helping her build confidence. Marinah Kanabahita often gave Tumuhamye poems to recite at school, including to congregations like during a school parents’ day. Actions like these built her confidence, eventually earning her a partial scholarship from Senior One to Senior Four. In the end-of-term examinations, Tumuhamye often emerged either top or second best student in her class. 

In 1999, she was one of the school’s top two performers in the national examinations, a success she carried into Kigezi High School in southwestern Uganda, where she studied A’level. At Kigezi, her great performance again earned her a partial scholarship from Senior Five through Senior Six. At the Senior Six national examinations, she was again among the top performers in the school. 

Today, Tumuhamye, the ninth of 10 children of Jackson and Lillian Hope Mpiriirwe, is the head of the Department of Postgraduate Studies at the Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) School of Business. In this position, Tumuhamye oversees graduate academic services, drives research, curriculum development and academic excellence, while focusing on nurturing competent, ethical business leaders. 

The education of Tumuhamye was largely supported by her elder brother and his wife. The Rev. Dr. Jasper Tumuhimbise Mpiriirwe, and his wife, Peace, paid school fees for Tumuhamye from Primary Five up to undergraduate level. Tumuhimbise is currently a priest in the Church of Uganda under the Diocese of Kampala, Uganda. He heads the Church Commissioners Holdings Company Ltd, the investment arm of the Church of Uganda.

Knowing the level of sacrifices that the Tumuhimbises were making to keep her in school, Tumuhamye often worked exceptionally hard. For instance, she earned a First Class in Bachelor of Procurement and Logistics Management that she studied at Kyambogo University. For that excellent performance, the university retained her as a teaching assistant. And that is the opportunity that Tumuhamye used to launch herself into a career in academia. 

Building on this success, she was awarded a prestigious master’s scholarship from the Belgian Technical Corporation, earning a Master of Science in Procurement and Supply Chain Management from Makerere University in 2011. To further solidify her expertise, she completed all six levels of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) UK. 

During her tenure as Head of the Department of Undergraduate Studies from 2023 to 2025 in the UCU School of Business, she championed an innovation: “From Classroom to Market”. This initiative allows students to progress through three distinct sectors: first-year students work with market vendors in Mukono to learn “street-smart” skills, pricing and customer care. This is intended to expose them to how vendors practice the trade and navigate through life challenges.

The second-year students are attached to the semi-formal sector within businesses like hardware shops and supermarkets to help them understand mid-tier operations while the final-year students work with people in the formal sector to apply their cumulative knowledge within corporate organizations. This experiential learning model was a key factor in Tumuhamye receiving the November 2024 UCU Staff Award for her outstanding contributions to teaching, learning and the internship program.

Beyond the academia, Tumuhamye is dedicated to community empowerment. Inspired by her late mother who impacted lives despite never attending school, Tumuhamye has helped establish women’s savings and investment groups. These groups have empowered members to purchase and own land and to educate their children. 

Since 2014, Tumuhamye and her husband, Duncan Tumuhamye, have partnered with Life Ministry Uganda, a Christian non-governmental Organization, to host marriage counseling sessions every second and third Sunday of the month. They lead couples through practical and challenging sessions that have resulted in numerous testimonies of transformed marriages. 

The Tumuhamyes are proud parents of four sons: Darwin Carl Bamusiime, Delvin Cary Ndyaguma, Delton Casey Bamuhamye and Darrian Corwin Bakakira. 

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