Africa-Press – Uganda. The government has formally acquired 100 acres of land for the establishment of a public university in the Bunyoro sub-region, following the official handover of the land title to the Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataaha Museveni.
The title, covering land located in Buhimba Town Council, Kikuube District, was handed over by Dr. Henry Wamani, a former lecturer at the Makerere University School of Public Health and the donor of the land.
The ceremony took place at State House Nakasero on Thursday and was witnessed by senior officials from the Ministry of Education and Sports, including Permanent Secretary Kedrace Turyagenda, and members of the Taskforce Management Committee (TMC) overseeing the establishment of the university.
The handover marks a significant step in the development of the long-anticipated institution, coming just four months after President Museveni presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the university in March this year.
With the land ownership now formalized, the government is moving into the planning phase. According to Professor Samuel Kyamanywa, the Chairperson of the TMC and Vice Chancellor-designate, physical planning is underway and designs for the university are expected to be completed by mid-July. He said construction is scheduled to commence in September 2025, with the university projected to open a year later.
“This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for higher education in the region,” Prof. Kyamanywa said. “We are moving swiftly, and we believe this university will be a transformative institution for not only Bunyoro but for the entire country.”
Prof. Grace Bantebya Kyomuhendo, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Vice Chairperson of the TMC, emphasized that the university will be a national institution, though residents in Bunyoro stand to gain unique advantages due to proximity.
“We encourage the local community to start preparing now. There will be academic, employment, and business opportunities that come with the university,” she said.
The university is expected to boost access to higher education, promote research and innovation, and spur socio-economic development in the Bunyoro region and beyond.
How the process started
On August 17, 2021, Members of Parliament and academics from Bunyoro made a presentation before President Yoweri Museveni at the State House, Entebbe, highlighting the need to fast-track the establishment of a public university of Earth and Applied Sciences in the region. They told the President that multiple sites had been proposed to host the university.
These locations included land owned by government institutions, including Uganda Cooperative College in Kigumba (Kiryandongo), Kamurasi Primary Teachers College (Masindi), Bulera Core Primary Teachers College (Hoima), Former National Teachers College (Masindi), Kibaale Town Council, Birembo War Memorial Technical Institute (Kakumiro), Gulu University Hoima Campus, and Kihonda Demonstration Farm (Masindi). Additional land offers came from Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom and Dr Henry Wamani, a former lecturer at the School of Public Health, Makerere University.
In June 2022, the Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, constituted a six-member taskforce management committee (TMC) to oversee the establishment of a public university in Bunyoro. One of its tasks was to identify and secure the land for the university. A few days later, on 9 June 2022, the Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, chaired a meeting (attended by Members of Parliament and academics from Bunyoro) that set up a three-member subcommittee to carry out a rapid evaluation and verification of the proposed sites.
The subcommittee comprised Fred Kabagambe Kaliisa, the chairperson of the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom Royal Commission (representing Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom), Jacob Karubanga, the Member of Parliament for Kibanda South, and chairperson of the Bunyoro parliamentary caucus (representing political leaders), and Patrick Byakagaba, a natural resource and environmental governance specialist at Makerere University (representing academia). The subcommittee identified Buhimba and Bulera as suitable locations, but only 20 acres of land were available at Bulera.
Detailed technical studies
Thereafter, the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) and the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development conducted detailed technical assessments of all the proposed sites. Except for the Buhimba and Kihonda land, all the sites inspected were less than 50 acres in size, yet the government needed 50 acres or more. Subsequently, Buhimba emerged as the most suitable location.
“Based on the overall assessment of all the proposed sites visited, the team found the land offered by Dr Henry Wamani in Buhimba was the most suitable for the establishment of the main campus for the proposed public university in Bunyoro region,” the March 5, 2025, NCHE report reads.
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