Dr. Musaazi was a man of many gifts, one of Makerere's best

 Excerpt from Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe's speech

Dr. Moses Kizza Musaazi is a Ugandan inventor, who passed on Tuesday. Musaazi was easily one of the most illustrious academics to ever serve this great institution.

He was a man of many gifts, all carefully veiled in his humble, down-to-earth nature.

As a serial inventor he turned the most pressing needs of poor communities and large-scale businesses alike into creative holistic innovations. He demystified often complex societal problems with turn-key solutions that sought to leave no waste and almost no need unmet.

On April 25, 1975, the vibrant Musaazi took up his appointment as Tutorial Fellow in the then Faculty of Technology and in August 1975, he was recommended by the then Dean, Faculty of Technology, Dr. Wilfred Fishwick for postgraduate study.

 Musaazi  was offered a one-year postgraduate course in Control Systems at the Imperial College London under Africa Educational Trust from October 1976 to October 1977.  He was also awarded the Master of Science of the University of London on 25th January 1978, having completed an approved course of study in Control Systems.

Upon his return, on 1st October 1979 he was temporarily appointed as a Lecturer in the then Department of Electrical Engineering and on 30th April 1980, he was appointed on permanent terms.

He was offered a UNESCO scholarship for research studies leading to the degrees of a Masters of Philosophy and PhD at the Imperial College, London on 4th October 1982 which he completed in 1985.

He served as a visiting Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Zimbabwe from 1st October to 5th November 1987, on 11th July to 13th August 1988 and again from 13th August to 21st September 1990.

Musaazi was promoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering with effect from 1st November 1987.

In January 1988, he was contracted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to write a flexibility study for setting up an Electrical Engineering Centre at Makerere University.   

On 1st September 1993, he was appointed as Head of the then Department of Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Technology until 23rd September 1996.

He was nominated to represent Makerere University on the Board of Makerere College School on 14th August 2000.

In 2006, he won the Presidential Scientific Innovation Excellence Award, in recognition of the lasting impact that his innovative research had had on Ugandans.  In the same year, he won the Mashariki Award from UN Habitat. In 2012, he also received the Africa Initiative award worth 10,000 Canadian dollars.

He also won the Siemens Stistung award worth Euros 20,000.

In January 2007, he was nominated by then Vice Chancellor, Prof. Livingstone Luboobi to represent Makerere University on the planning committee for the Pre-CHOGM Science Symposium. This event was successfully hosted by Uganda in September 2007.

Dr. Musaazi retired from University Service on 5th July 2011 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60. 

During his service, he was a very conscientious person who demonstrated a high sense of responsibility. He was therefore a great asset to Makerere University.

Even when he left University service in 2011, Dr. Musaazi continued to nurture upcoming scholars and researchers at this great institution. He remained a goodwill Ambassador of Makerere University, and practically invested his energy and resources in coming up with innovative solutions to meet emerging development challenges.

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Musaazi has given his best to Makerere University, Uganda and the world at large. 

Musaazi  served as Head, Department of Electrical Engineering in the then Faculty of Technology and touched many with his practical leadership style, often attributed to his great mind.

This great mind has been a source countless innovations drawn out of research that seeks to impact the community. One of his greatest inventions the MakaPad sanitary towel has transformed countless lives of school-going girls and created hundreds of jobs for poor youth and refugees.

Rest in peace Comrade!

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