Kyabazinga launches Lusoga at Makerere, calls for digital innovation

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The Kyabazinga of Busoga, William Wilberforce Gabula Nadiope IV, has officially launched the teaching of Lusoga at Makerere University, marking what leaders described as a historic milestone in Uganda’s efforts to preserve indigenous languages through digital innovation.

The launch was the highlight of Uganda’s 2026 International Mother Language Day celebrations, organised by the School of Languages, Literature and Communication in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.

The event brought together cultural leaders, scholars, policymakers, researchers and students under the theme Languages Matter: Harnessing Technology to Document and Develop Uganda’s Indigenous Languages.

Makerere Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe signing on a dummy during the launch of Lusoga teaching at Makerere University. (Photo by Sharon Nabasirye)

Addressing a packed audience at the university’s Main Building, the Kyabazinga described the moment as both celebratory and urgent.

“International Mother Language Day is a celebration, but more importantly, it is a call to action,” he said. “Our languages are far more than tools of communication. They are vessels carrying our history, knowledge, identity and aspirations.”

He said Lusoga is not merely a language within the Busoga Kingdom but the heartbeat of our expression, pride and identity, connecting generations through storytelling, songs, proverbs and collective memory.

The inclusion of Lusoga at Makerere, he noted, expands opportunities for research, documentation and the development of educational materials with socio-economic benefits, while empowering a new generation of linguists, educators and cultural ambassadors.

Presiding over the celebrations, His Royal Highness William Wilberforce Gabula Nadiope IV, the Kyabazinga of Busoga, described the day as both symbolic and urgent. (Photo by Sharon Nabasirye)

The launch adds Lusoga to a growing list of indigenous languages taught at Uganda’s oldest university. Over the decades, Makerere has introduced Luganda, Runyakitara, Luo and other local languages at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Makerere Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe said the university’s commitment to indigenous languages is rooted in both scholarship and national responsibility.

“Globally, a language disappears approximately every two weeks, and with it an irreplaceable body of intellectual heritage. Uganda is endowed with 41 living indigenous languages, making her one of the most culturally diverse countries on earth,” Nawangwe said.

He revealed that the School of Languages, Literature and Communication, working with the School of Education, has more than 20 PhD holders and three professors dedicated to indigenous language teaching and research.

Nawangwe said the university is leveraging artificial intelligence and digital platforms to support language documentation and learning. Among the innovations showcased were applications capable of transcribing English speech into local languages a development he said could revolutionise science education by making complex concepts accessible in mother tongues.

“If we can speak in English and have it transcribed instantly into Lusoga, we shall have transformed how science and other disciplines are taught,” he said.

While celebrating the milestone, leaders warned that many indigenous languages remain on the margins of technological advancement.

His Royal Highness William Wilberforce Gabula Nadiope IV, the Kyabazinga of Busoga signing on a dummy during the launch of Lusoga teaching at Makerere University. (Photo by Sharon Nabasirye)

The Kyabazinga cautioned that technological progress has left smaller languages vulnerable to extinction due to limited digital resources.

“The digital divide threatens the survival of our smaller languages,” he said. “We must embrace technology as a tool to document, teach and promote our mother languages through digital archives, online dictionaries, literature, mobile applications and e-learning platforms.”

He called upon universities, policymakers, researchers, the private sector and communities to invest collectively in digital innovation for local languages.

“Every language lost is a piece of humanity lost. Every language preserved is a gift to the future,” he said.

Representing the Minister of State for Gender and Cultural Affairs, Peace Mutuuzo, Permanent Secretary Aggrey David Kibenge reaffirmed government’s commitment to promoting multilingual education and strengthening traditional cultural institutions.

Makerere Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe said the university’s commitment to indigenous languages is rooted in both scholarship and national responsibility. (Photo by Sharon Nabasirye)

“When a language declines, we do not merely lose words; we lose identity, history and generations of accumulated knowledge,” Kibenge said.

He urged stakeholders to digitise dictionaries, folklore and oral histories, develop language learning applications, promote translation and speech-recognition technologies, and integrate indigenous languages into artificial intelligence systems.

“If our indigenous languages are absent from digital platforms, they risk marginalisation in the modern knowledge economy,” he warned.

Kibenge described language preservation as both a cultural imperative and a development priority, noting that learners grasp concepts better when taught in their mother tongues.

Delivering the keynote address, writer and academic Shirley Cathy Byakutaaga warned that languages not documented risk disappearing silently.

Uganda marked the 2026 International Mother Language Day with a strong call to digitise indigenous languages. (Photo by Sharon Nabasirye)

“If something is not written, if something is not recorded, then it didn’t happen,” she said, sharing an example of an indigenous Canadian language that dwindled to only a handful of elderly speakers due to lack of documentation.

She challenged universities to take research beyond campus gates and work closely with grassroots communities where languages are actively spoken.

“Languages may survive on the lips of elders, but they may not survive in the digital world where so much of modern life is unfolding,” she cautioned.

Byakutaaga urged policymakers and innovators to close the technology gap that places African languages at risk of digital exclusion, calling for digital dictionaries, automated translation tools and increased local-language presence on social media platforms.