Africa-Press – Uganda. Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe has paid tribute to former Vice Chancellor Prof Livingstone Luboobi, describing him as a calm and composed leader who quietly endured some of the toughest challenges in university leadership.
Speaking at a prayer service held at St. Francis Chapel on the Makerere campus, Prof. Nawangwe praised Prof. Luboobi, who passed away earlier this week, as a distinguished mathematician with a notably unshakable temperament.
“Prof. Lubobi never got angry,” Nawangwe said. “Maybe it’s because of the numbers he was always calculating. Of all the Vice Chancellors we’ve had, he was the calmest—but he suffered the most at the hands of MUASA.”
Prof. Lubobi served as Makerere University Vice Chancellor from 2004 to 2009, a period marked by tensions between university management and the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA), which represents lecturers and senior academic staff.
In his remarks, Prof. Nawangwe linked his own current struggles with MUASA to a longer history of friction between the association and university leadership.
“He suffered the wrath of MUASA, and when you see me having the same struggles, it’s not a new thing,” he said, recalling how the association once attempted to pass a vote of no confidence in the vice chancellor.
“But they don’t understand the law,” he added.
Prof. Nawangwe went further, accusing MUASA of orchestrating negative media coverage against Makerere University.
“Whenever you see a negative story about Makerere, just know it was drafted by MUASA and handed to a corrupt journalist to publish,” he claimed, drawing murmurs from the audience.
His comments sparked reaction from sections of the congregation, with some expressing surprise at the sharp tone during a service meant to honour Prof. Luboobi’s legacy.
Despite the controversial remarks, the service remained focused on celebrating the life of Prof. Lubobi, who was remembered as a scholar, mentor, and administrator committed to the advancement of education and mathematics in Uganda.
Prof. Luboobi held a PhD in mathematics and contributed to the growth of applied sciences at Makerere, mentoring several generations of scholars.
He was also involved in regional academic networks and was credited for efforts to modernize the university’s academic systems during his tenure.
The prayer service was attended by senior university officials, academics, students, and members of Prof. Luboobi’s family, who described him as a “quiet pillar” of Uganda’s intellectual community.
Prof. Nawangwe’s remarks, while controversial, also highlighted the ongoing tensions between university management and staff unions—an issue that has long shaped governance at Uganda’s oldest public university.
Prof. Luboobi will be laid to rest in his ancestral home later this week.
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