Table Of ContentThe value of this brilliant, thoroughly researched, and vigorously written
book extends far beyond Makerere University and the case study of its
academic union that is a central feature. The authors raise questions appli-
cable to universities worldwide: the meaning of “democracy” for members
of the academy, the relationship of the university to government, and the
responsibility of academics and the media to the society that they osten-
sibly serve. Makerere’s failure to advance gender equity is the main focus
of one chapter and a leitmotif in several others. A probing and sometimes
personal analysis of the Law School, with which all the authors are associ-
ated, complements its contribution to the cause of democracy in Uganda.
At once reflective and challenging, the authors invite further exploration
by academics and policy-makers around the world.
— C arol Sicherman author of Becoming an African
University: Makerere, 1922-2000 (2005),
Professor Emerita, Lehman College, City
University of New York
Penned by brilliant legal academics, this anthology about that African
academic giant—Makerere University—takes the reader on a fascinat-
ing and engaging journey about the history of the organizational expres-
sion of African intellec tuals and their links to the democratic struggles in
Uganda. Arguably the best text on academia I have read in a long time,
the book provides a deeply examined and superbly chronicled account of
the manner in which Makerere University has been a thorn in the side of
successive dictatorial governments, while also unpacking the warts that
threaten to blight the academy; simply magnificent!
— D r. Willy Mutunga, Chief Justice & President of
Supreme Court, Republic of Kenya, 2011-2016
This is a very valuable and a timely contribution to our understanding of
sites of struggle in African countries. It focuses on Makerere University as
a site of struggle for democratisation. The authors have done a marvellous
job. If the sister universities of Dar es Salaam and Nairobi were to produce
studies, we would have a veritable trilogy of struggles at our universities in
East Africa.
— I ssa Shivji, Professor Emeritus of Public Law &
First Julius Nyerere Professor of Pan-African
Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Politics,
Democratization
and Academia
in Uganda
Politics,
Democratization
and Academia
in Uganda
The Case of
Makerere University
J. Oloka-Onyango
Editor
2021
Published by
Daraja Press
https://darajapress.com
This work is published under a
Creative Commons Licence:
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0: 2021 International Governance Alliance
ISBN 9781990263163
Cover design: James Wevugira
Book design and typesetting: Kate McDonnell
Publication of this book was made possible with the support of the
Ford Foundation grant to the International Governance Alliance.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: Politics, democratization and academia in Uganda : the case of Makerere University /
edited by Joe Oloka-Onyango.
Names: Oloka-Onyango, Joseph, editor.
Description: Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20210183926 | Canadiana (ebook) 20210252154 | ISBN
9781990263163 (softcover) | ISBN 9781990263262 (PDF)
Subjects: LCSH: Makerere University. Academic Staff Association. | LCSH: College teachers—
Political activity—Uganda. | LCSH: Education, Higher—Political aspects—Uganda. |
LCSH: Democracy—Uganda.
Classification: LCC LA1568 .P65 2021 | DDC 378.6761—dc23
COnTEnTs
Preface ..................................................................1
Hon. Justice Solomy Balungi Bossa
1. Introduction:
The Academy and Political Struggle in Uganda ...................5
J. Oloka-Onyango
2. The Role of Academia in the Democratization Process ........ 35
Benson Tusasirwe
3. For Whom Doth the Academic Bell Really Toll?
Unpacking the Engagement of Makerere University
Academic Staff Association (MUASA) in Uganda’s
Democratization Struggles......................................... 76
Maria Nassali
4. I ntellectuals and the Fourth Estate: Analysing the
Coverage of Makerere University Academic Staff Association
(MUASA) in the Ugandan Media (1989-2020).................134
Ivan Okuda
5. Between Activism and ‘Hooliganism’:
Civic Engagement and Democratic Struggles
in Makerere University Students Guild ......................... 172
Dan Ngabirano
6. J uggling the Personal and the Political:
The Case of Female Academics at Makerere University.......220
Sylvia Tamale
7. C ontending with the Past and Building for the Future?
The Paradoxical Contribution of Makerere University School
of Law to Dictatorship and Democratization in Uganda ......266
Busingye Kabumba
8. Conclusion—The Political Economy of University Education:
Revisiting the Democratic Alternatives for Makerere
and Uganda.........................................................335
F. W. Jjuuko
Contributing Authors .................................................361
vi Hon. Justice solomy Balungi Bossa
Preface 1
Preface
I feel privileged to write the preface to this book and to introduce
its genesis. The International Governance Alliance (iGA) supported
the publication of this book as a contribution to a project addressing
The Strategic Role of Academia in Strengthening Democracy and
Civic Engagement in Uganda. In this regard, it is our hope that the
book contributes to the long-term goal of the project, which seeks
to ensure that the internal governance practices of academia are
strengthened to enhance their legitimacy to catalyse action for their
collective participation in the democratic arena, as well as to use
their strategic placement to support other stakeholders to improve
equity, transparency and accountable governance.
It is a significant publication for various reasons. First, it offers
the first critical in-depth analysis of the staff, student and institu-
tional engagement with the democratic struggles in Uganda both
inside and outside the university. The focus on the Makerere Uni-
versity Academic Staff Association (MUASA) provides a critical
entry point to a wider debate about the place of organized demo-
cratic action by academics in a post-conflict context where the
tradi tional institutions of political and civil society, i.e. political
parties and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), have either
been severely compromised or discredited, or where they are too
weak and inorganic to provide any form of significant counter-
juxtaposi tion to the government in power. By organizing the first
strike by academic staff in the 67-year history of the university, for
a time MUASA became the focal point for democratic organizing
against a regime that was yet to fully expose its often violent and
anti-democratic practices.
The book examines the broader issues concerning the rela-
tionship between organized academic action and democratization;
the place of the media in reviewing these struggles; the position of
