BOU job: London university takes pride in Prof Nuwagaba

LONDON - Prof. Augustus Nuwagaba has become the pride of his former university in London after his appointment as Bank of Uganda (BOU) deputy governor in February this year.

The president and vice-chancellor of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Prof. Larry Kramer, has hailed him for using the knowledge and the ethos he developed as a student for the betterment of society.

This is contained in a letter he wrote to Nuwagaba, congratulating him on his appointment as BOU deputy governor by President Yoweri Museveni.

“It brings our entire community great pride when LSE alumni use the knowledge and the ethos they developed as LSE students for the betterment of society,” Prof Kramer said in a letter dated March 31, 2025, a copy of which New Vision has seen.

He told Nuwagaba that he should be very proud too of what he has achieved so far, and everyone at LSE wished him the very best in his important new role.

“I know that our students would be enormously grateful to hear from you when your time allows. Please do keep in touch and let us know if you ever have plans to be back in London. We would be delighted to welcome you back and show you how our campus has changed since your time with us,” Kramer told Nuwagaba.

On March 12, Prof. Nuwagaba, an international consultant on economic transformation, said he had accepted the BOU job with humility.

“I thank H.E President Yoweri Museveni for the trust he bestowed on me to lead BOU at the level of deputy governor. This is a heavy and critical responsibility, which I accepted with humility,” he said on social media platform X.

President Museveni also appointed Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego, who had been serving as deputy governor since April 23, 2020, as new BOU governor.

Atingi-Ego replaced Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, who died on January 23, 2022.

Prof. Nuwagaba pledged that he would “dispense all my energy, zeal, commitment, and resilience” to realise the BOU’s objectives, namely price stability and sound financial system.

“However, these tenets will be achieved through sustained macro-economic stability, financial inclusion, and ensuring environment and social governance, all aimed at one major goal of socio-economic transformation,” he said.

He also thanked the President for peace and security, which he said are sacrosanct for anyone to conduct any given economic activity.

Their appointments came at a precarious time for Uganda after US President Donald Trump’s order to halt foreign development assistance for 90 days pending a review of efficiencies and consistency with his foreign policy.