Professor Eli Katunguka-Rwakishaya has been officially appointed vice chancellor of Kyambogo University for the next five years.
According to yesterday’s statement by the secretary to the university council, Patrick Madaya, council held a special meeting on March 17 that recommended Katunguka for appointment, beating Prof Geoffrey Bakunda and Prof Aaron Wanyama.
He was eventually appointed on March 21 by university chancellor Prof John Ssebuwufu, in accordance with section 32(1) of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act (UOTIA).
The UOTIA provides that a vice chancellor shall be appointed by the chancellor on recommendation of the university council from among three candidates nominated by the university senate.
This brings an end to a five-year wait for a substantive vice chancellor at the country’s second-largest public university since Prof Isaiah Omolo Ndiege was suspended in 2012. Efforts to appoint a substantive VC have since been riddled with irregularities.
Katunguka, a professor of veterinary medicine, has been acting vice chancellor since 2014, on top of his official position as deputy VC in charge of academic affairs.
In November 2016, a five-man search committee – with three members from the university senate and two from university council – was established to look for a substantive vice chancellor. The committee conducted interviews and identified five suitable candidates and submitted its report to senate on March 7, 2016.
Senate met on March 14 and zeroed on the trio of Katunguka, Bakunda and Wanyama for nomination to the university council, which eventually recommended Katunguka.
“I’m not so excited because the process has taken a long time but I expect to get a smooth ride during my term,” Katunguka told The Observer.
Even before he takes office, Katunguka has already received a nod of approval from non-teaching staff, renowned for frequent strikes over pay. Jackson Betihamah, the chairperson for public universities non-teaching staff executive forum (Puntsef), told The Observer yesterday that the hardworking and approachable Katunguka brings hope to Kyambogo.
“We have high hopes in Prof Katunguka because he has tasted the murky waters of Kyambogo as acting VC and he has delivered,” Betihamah said. “In 2016, he walked with us up to State House to meet the president in our struggle for salary enhancement. Our 2015/16 arrears amounting to Shs 28.5bn were finally paid to all non-teaching staff.”
Betihamah now wants Katunguka to push the finance ministry for payment of salary arrears to non-teaching staff, which he says amounts to Shs 13.4bn.
