MAKERERE University has organised a reunion of its alumni and other stakeholders to come up with ways to transform the institution.
The Kenyan President, Mwai Kibaki, and former Tanzanian leader Benjamin Mkapa are expected to attend the celebrations.
Kibaki graduated from Makerere in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, while Mkapa graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
Bruce Balaba, the chairman of Makerere University Convocation, said Mkapa confirmed that he would attend the celebrations, slated for November 28.
Balaba said Mkapa will deliver a lecture on “The Role of the Alumni and the Academia in the Development of Institutions.”
He said the reunion is aimed at raising funds for the university, which is cash-strapped.
“Makerere must regain its glory of the 1900s when it was called the ‘Havard of Africa’. It is high time the alumni came back and supported the university,” said Prof. Edward Kirumira, who heads the organising committee.
They were briefing journalists about the celebrations at the Kampala Sheraton Hotel recently.
Other notable alumni lined up for the celebrations include the Karamoja affairs state minister, Janet Museveni, who graduated in 1998 with a Bachelor of Education degree.
Outgoing vice-chancellor Prof. Livingstone Luboobi in May last year launched a campaign for the university to turn to the alumni to bridge the budget gap.
“We have already contacted over 5,000 alumni, but the number is still very small. We want to remind them that Makerere University is still active and they should support us,” Luboobi said.
