'Resurgence of Makerere University' after Ivory Tower reopens

___________________
The reconstructed Makerere University main building, also known as the Ivory Tower, was reopened Wednesday by President Yoweri Museveni and First Lady and education minister Janet Museveni.

On the same day at the university's main campus in Kampala, Museveni also officiated at the installation of the new chancellor, Dr Crispus Kiyonga, who replaces Dr Ezra Suruma.

The chancellor is the titular head of the university.

 PICTORIAL 

The Musevenis were received at Makerere University by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, members of the University Council and higher education state minister Dr John Chrysestom Muyingo.

They were then led to the main building to unveil the restored facility.

Inside the main building, President Museveni and the First Lady took group photos inside the main hall. Here, they also met the Makerere University guild president and part of his team.

After the two high-profile visitors were shown some of the works done during the restoration process, they were led out of the building to proceed with the next session of the day's programme: installation of the university chancellor.

President Museveni and the First Lady emerged again wearing ceremonial gowns to attend the installation of the new chancellor.

They were led down to the Freedom Square in a procession led by the mace bearer, where many other guests had convened for the function to get under way.

Former University Chancellor Mondo Kagonyera (below, C) was among the several high-profile faces in attendance.

Dr Crispus Kiyonga, set to be installed the new chancellor, was accompanied by his family.

President Yoweri Museveni handed over the ceremonial key to Dr Kiyonga, symbolizing that he is now at the helm of Uganda's oldest university.

Lorna Magara, the chairperson of the Makerere University Council, handed over the instruments of power to the new chancellor.

Vision Group CEO and managing director Don Wanyama (below, C) attended the installation function.

In his speech, Dr Kiyonga thanked the President and First Lady "for deploying me to this area", saying that "the struggle to develop and transform Africa is a revolutionary duty".

'Standing tall again'

In his remarks, Vice-Chancellor Prof Nawangwe thanked the President and his government "for wiping away our tears and bringing new smiles to our faces".

He said the ceremony to open the reconstructed Ivory Tower "alleviates the anxiety among Makerere staff, students, alumni, and other stakeholders".

"They can now see their icon of higher education in this region once again standing tall, beautiful, and proud, announcing to the world: 'We Build for the Future' once again.'"

'Road maintenance unit'

"We therefore request your support, Your Excellency, to consider Makerere University as a district for the allocation of a road maintenance unit as part of the district road maintenance unit programme," urged Nawangwe.

"With this unit, we will be able to train our students by maintaining the university roads and the roads of the surrounding communities like Katanga, Kikoni, and others. We can make those roads."

'Rebirth'

University Council chairperson Magara called it a celebration of "the rebirth of the iconic Ivory Tower", adding that the facility has been restored with "advanced technology after the tragic fire of 2020".

She said it is "a symbol of our renewed vision and commitment to national and continental transformation".

'Resurgence of Makerere'

The First Lady and education minister, Janet Museveni, said it is a celebration of the building's "restoration and the newly ignited hope for the future".

"The Bible says a righteous man may fall seven times, but he rises again (Proverbs 24:16). The restoration of the Main Building symbolizes the resurgence of Makerere University.

"I am happy to join you in thanking God for the successful restoration of the Main Building, a monumental piece of infrastructure, and for the installation of our new University Chancellor, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga."

'I will definitely come'

"I congratulate Makerere upon restoring the main building, which had been burnt. I am truly happy to take part in commissioning this building," said President Museveni in his speech.

"Today, I participated as a tour guide, showing the new guests where we used to host our student debates.

"My main issue was the students' records, which, thank God, were safe. When Prof. Nawangwe told me that the records were secure, I replied, 'All is well; we shall build another building."

Museveni said further: "Regarding the vice-chancellor's request for the allocation of a road maintenance unit for Makerere, I am fully in support. Our engineering students should be equipped with practical skills that ultimately benefit the country."

And about the invitation to talk to Makerere students about ideology, the President said: "Oh, I like talking! If you invite me, it's at your own risk — I will definitely come."

'Good news'

“We bear good news for you. The iconic Ivory Tower has been restored to its original colour and architectural design," said Buyinza Mukadasi, the university academic registrar, in the buildup.

“The university is celebrating the reopening and restoration of the building to its original shape. The reconstructed main building has more compartments, which include a museum in the basement, the administrative wing, the service wing and business centre."

Fire gutted the 70-year-old iconic building, a UNESCO-recognized facility and also considered a national pride, on September 19, 2020.

The university's vice-chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, called it "a very dark morning for Makerere University" and that the destruction was "unbelievable".

But he maintained a tone of optimism, saying: "We are determined to restore the building to its historical state in the shortest time possible".

The fire incident immediately brought about questions of how to resuscitate the image and recover the lost history. As a result, a committee was put in place to ensure restoration of the building.

“Indeed, the Ivory Tower is the icon of higher education in the eastern and central African region. And that is why we found it extremely important to reconstruct it exactly as it was before the fire destroyed it in 2020,” said Nawangwe.

President Yoweri Museveni, according to the university administration, is set to officiate the reopening of the iconic building on October 2, 2024.

The tower

 HISTORY 

The breaking of the ground ceremony for the Main Building was on November 28, 1938, under the leadership of George C. Turner who was then Principal of Makerere College. Construction of the building was completed in 1941.

His Majesty King George IV of Britain was represented by the Duke of Gloucester to break the ground for the construction of the tower.

In 1940s Makerere became an affiliate of the University College of London and the architectural design of the building with discrete white walls and blue windows emulated the British style of the 20th century.

It had a T-shape with a bare stone on the extreme top. 

A replica of the University of London, it had a large bell housed in four arches and a large gents of Leicester clock on the entrance.

The building housed Makerere University’s main administrative offices of the vice-chancellor, academic registrar and his deputies, as well as the finance, among others.

To date, the cause of the fire, according to the university administration, has never been clear although the Police report by the Criminal Investigations Directorate and the works ministry has since ruled out arson or deliberate fire, pointing to electricity as the likely cause.

Vision Group celebrates Ivory Tower

To celebrate with Makerere University on the milestone of restoring the iconic building, New Vision in its October 2, 2024, edition inserted a free magazine which tells the story of the Ivory Tower, groundbreaking research and innovation achievements and prospects at Makerere University, among others.

“The magazine is exploring the story of the Ivory Tower and how Makerere has undone the flattering Ivory Tower analogy and positioning itself towards a research-led university,” said Sidney Miria, the head of special projects at Vision Group.

Reconstructed Makerere University Ivory Tower/ Main Building.

 ABOUT MAKERERE 

Makerere University began in 1922 as a technical college. In the 1940s, it became an affiliate of the University College of London.

At that time, being an affiliate, it ran approved programmes but the curricula were more for the University of London. It then became the University of East Africa in a consortium of Makerere, University of Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam University.

This meant each of these universities the East African University had specialties.
Makerere specialised in human medicine, Nairobi University in engineering and veterinary medicine, while Dar-es-Salaam majored in legal practice and training.

In 1971 Makerere University became a National University of the Republic of Uganda with its own curricula and programmes.