Prever Mukasa: The journalist training Uganda’s future journalists

By Christine Mirembe

When Prever Mukasa completed her secondary education, she wasn’t sure what course to pursue at university. Rather than take a gamble, she pulled back, giving herself a two-year break to attend Bible School and be grounded in the Christian faith.

As expected, like many young people at that stage of life, she received several suggestions from family members and friends about possible career paths, yet none felt deeply aligned with her purpose. During her time at the Bible School, clarity began to emerge, pointing her towards journalism.

Prever Mukasa is currently pursuing PhD in Journalism, Media and Communication at Uganda Christian University

More than two decades later, Mukasa is not only a journalist, but also training Uganda’s future journalists as a university academic. And she is currently buttressing her journalism expertise with a PhD in Journalism, Media and Communication that she has been pursuing at Uganda Christian University (UCU) since 2023. The PhD is under the Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development.

At nine years old, Mukasa lost her father. The burden of raising the young family instantly fell on her 34-year-old mother, Sarah. However, their mother still maintained the responsibility of looking after some children from the extended family, quietly imparting to her children the fact that you do not have to have much to take care of others. And this did not change even when she lost her firstborn child four years after the death of her husband.

“We were to love one another and never point out to anyone our differences in ancestry, where such cases existed,” said Mukasa, noting that this communal setting taught her selflessness. 

Around that time, her brother, Dr. Gerald Sseruwagi who had been studying in the USA, returned home and took on the mantle of looking after Mukasa and another sibling. “My brother became my friend, confidant and the person that led me to salvation at 13 years [old],” Mukasa said. And that love from Mukasa’s brother continued until he passed away in 2016.  

Mukasa attended Rubaga Girls’ School in Kampala for O’level. She believes the school shaped her mindset by helping her understand why it was important to follow school rules.

From Rubaga, Mukasa headed to Vienna College, Namugongo near Kampala, for A’level, from 2000 to 2001. Vienna, Mukasa says, shaped her self-confidence and introduced her to an international community where she got the opportunity to appreciate culture beyond her space. Between Vienna College and university, Mukasa enrolled for Bible School at Wyoming Valley, PA, USA, a course she studied for two years. 

Part of the sign-off activities at the Bible School was voluntary work. “Volunteer work is a humbling experience: some people’s experiences sweep your pride away while others’ make you ponder on your own life – the times you have been ungrateful for whatever you can afford in life.” 

For university, Mukasa attended UCU, from 2005 to 2008, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication. She credits UCU for laying the foundation for her wholesome education of the body, mind and soul. It is at UCU, she says, where her work ethic and a passion for a people-centered career were also founded. 

“For every advanced assignment that I took up at the UCU Honors College, it was a reminder that education was more than just an attained degree,” Mukasa recalls, adding, “it was a preparation of the mind for the secular world yet bringing others to the saving faith through living experiences.”

A number of staff members, she says, made her UCU experience unforgettable: Ben Bella Illakut, Okoku Obomba (RIP) and the Rev. Jackson Turyagenda approached the journalism course with the seriousness it deserved and yet left room for the fun that was needed to nurture learning.  The Rev. Can. Dr. John Senyonyi, Mukasa says, nurtured her faith and often shared the gospel of divine grace, while the Rev. Dr. Sam Opol made her journey at the Honors College manageable. 

The UCU Honors College, which Mukasa was part of, is designed for high-achieving undergraduate students who demonstrate strong academic potential and leadership capability. Having accepted to become a member of the college, students commit themselves to an institution whose aim is simply to nurture them. 

Mukasa has worked at The Standard UCU as a news editor, anchored the weekend news bulletin on Uganda’s NBS TV, and taught journalism at UCU, African Bible University in Uganda and Uganda Technology and Management University. She has also worked with corporate organizations, implementing projects for the European Union and USAID.

Three years ago, just when she was pondering a shift in career, she received a call from UCU don Prof. Monica Chibita, asking if she was willing to teach at UCU. 

“I smiled. I knew God wasn’t done with me teaching young people. It had been two years since I took a break from teaching and I was only focusing on corporate and NGO work.”  Mukasa later joined the teaching team.

And Chibita was not done yet. She again asked Mukasa if, indeed, she felt academia was a calling she wanted to pursue. Her affirmative answer meant that Mukasa had to enroll for a PhD in journalism at UCU in 2023, which she is still pursuing.

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