Old boys spanning generations, parents, dignitaries, staff and well-wishers were in attendance as the school, famed for its academic prowess, celebrated and reiterated the values that have made it pass the test of time.

The Catholic-founded school’s celebrations were led by Lugazi diocese vicar general Monsignor Richard Kayondo under the theme ‘Fostering God’s family and excellence’.

“Those two virtues are important wherever we are – family and excellence,” Kayondo told the huge gathering. “And once you put God at the fore of family and your pursuit for excellence, success is an inevitability.”

Founded in 1902 by the Mill Hill missionaries with Monsignor James J. Minderop as the first headmaster, Namilyango has weathered the storm through decades to remain one of Uganda’s foremost educational institutions.

The school has produced prominent old boys like former Chief Justice Bart Katureebe, National Planning Authority executive director Dr Joseph Muvawala, DP president Norbert Mao, Prince David Wasajja of Buganda, businessman Emmanuel Katongole, former finance minister Gerald Ssendawula and Justice John Bosco Katutsi.

Others are Fufa president Moses Magogo, former Fufa head Dr Lawrence Mulindwa, Dr Livingstone Ssewanyana, Professor Ssemakula Kiwanuka and lawyers Gawaya Tegulle and Matt Nalyanya.

In the sports subsector, the school has also excelled with revered names like Mike Mutebi (soccer), Robert Seguya, Livingstone Luggya and Ronnie Lutakome (rugby), and Maj Gen Francis Nyangweso and Thomas Kawere (boxing) all having honed their talent there.

The head teacher Constantine Mpuuga mourned the 43 parents and several staff members who lost their battle during the Covid-19 pandemic and noted that Namilyango, like every other school, had been crippled by the lockdown. But, he added, the school was slowly but surely recovering.

A new curriculum, he observed, was being introduced at O-Level to cater for the 21st century academic needs and demands and that the school had already executed the transition with the S1s and S2s and was left with the S3s and S4s.

“We encourage all the students at the lower level to embrace and excel in the new curriculum because this school called Namilyango is synonymous with excellence,” Mpuuga said.

Namilyango College Old Boys Association (NACOBA) president Alex Asiimwe Matayo told The Observer that the overwhelming numbers that graced the day were testament to the contribution of the school in shaping the country.

“The school has been a guiding road through our lives for many generations of students,” he said. “It has shaped excellent individuals who have become public servants in various sectors in the country.”

Asiimwe added that NACOBA would continue giving back to the college through infrastructural development and a bursary fund that supports needy students. It is also his dream that the school adopts innovative technology in the curriculum sooner rather than later.   

Leader of Opposition Mathias Mpuuga, a parent there, thanked the school’s administrations of past and present for instilling the values of human dignity that have upheld Namilyango College’s legacy for decades on end.

Namilyango’s 120-year journey has not been without its challenges. In the 1980s and early 90s, the school had a bad culture of bullying and teasing. It was only after the death of Victor Rwomwiju in 1992 that the then headmaster Peregrine Kibuuka made radical reforms that led to the end of such indiscipline.

There have been queries amongst historians before on which secondary school was started earlier between Mengo or Namilyango.

The Observer has established that while Mengo was begun in 1901 as a primary school, Namilyango was started in 1902 as a secondary school. Mengo started its secondary school section in the middle of the decade, way after Namilyango had started theirs under Headmaster Minderop.

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