The appointment of Dr. Crispus Kiyonga as the new Chancellor of Makerere University is nothing short of a disastrous move for Uganda’s academic integrity. This decision, a calculated maneuver by President Yoweri Museveni, reeks of the usual deceit and cunning that has defined his decades-long stranglehold on power. Museveni’s blatant disregard for the values of meritocracy and intellectual freedom is evident in this appalling choice. By appointing Kiyonga, Museveni is making it abundantly clear that Makerere University, a once-proud symbol of African education and intellectualism, is now just another pawn in his ruthless game of political chess.
Dr. Kiyonga’s political career is a litany of failures and controversies, yet he is rewarded with one of the highest academic positions in the land. This is a man who, during his time as Minister of Defense, presided over a ministry mired in corruption, where millions meant for the welfare of soldiers were embezzled, and where allegations of human rights abuses were met with silence and complicity. His leadership was a dark chapter for Uganda’s military, with funds vanishing into the pockets of his cronies while the army became a tool for suppressing opposition and instilling fear among the populace. The notion that such an individual is fit to lead Uganda’s premier university is not only laughable but an insult to the institution’s history and legacy.
Museveni’s choice of Kiyonga is a perfect illustration of the deep-seated rot within his regime. It is a regime built on loyalty, not competence; on fear, not respect; on control, not freedom. Kiyonga’s loyalty to Museveni and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) is well-documented, stretching back to the guerrilla days and his role as the sole victorious candidate of the Uganda Patriotic Movement in the 1980 elections. This loyalty has always been Kiyonga’s ticket to power, not his abilities or achievements. By placing Kiyonga at the helm of Makerere University, Museveni is reinforcing a culture of patronage that rewards the sycophantic and sidelines the capable. It is a message to all Ugandans that the way to success in this country is not through hard work or innovation but through submission and subservience to the ruling elite.
This appointment is an outright assault on the autonomy of Makerere University. What should be a beacon of independent thought, a crucible for future leaders, is being turned into a breeding ground for mediocrity and servitude. Kiyonga’s appointment is not about leading the university into a new era of academic excellence. It is about ensuring that Makerere remains under the thumb of the state, that it produces graduates who are docile and compliant, not questioning or critical. This is Museveni’s vision for education in Uganda: institutions that do not educate but indoctrinate, that do not inspire but suppress.
The academic community, both within Uganda and internationally, should be alarmed by this development. It is a clear signal that Makerere University, once a symbol of hope and progress, is being dragged down into the murky depths of political machinations. Museveni is effectively telling the world that there is no place for excellence in his Uganda, only obedience. By appointing a political hack like Kiyonga to oversee Makerere, he is saying that Uganda’s brightest minds are to be shackled by the ignorance and corruption that have characterized his rule.
In the corridors of Makerere, the echo of past glories fades, replaced by the hollow rhetoric of a regime more interested in control than progress. Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, with his dubious past and questionable credentials, is the latest instrument of that control. Museveni has once again shown that his primary goal is not the betterment of Uganda but the perpetuation of his own power, no matter the cost to the nation’s soul. Makerere’s new chancellor is a grim reminder that in Museveni’s Uganda, mediocrity is rewarded, excellence is punished, and the future is held hostage to the past.
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