Professor Joy Constance Kwesiga, the Vice Chancellor of Kabale University, has retired after 21 years of service at the institution. The 83-year-old professor retired after completing her second five-year term in June 2026.
Prof. Johnny Mugisha, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, has been appointed by the University Chancellor to serve as Acting Vice Chancellor.
Prof. Kwesiga became the founding Vice Chancellor of Kabale University when the institution admitted its first students in 2002. She continued serving after the university was officially taken over by the government and transformed into a public university in 2015.
Speaking during her farewell ceremony at the university grounds on Friday, Drake Kwarikunda, the Students’ Guild President, hailed Prof. Kwesiga for championing academic excellence, good governance, gender equity, research, empowerment and community development at the university.
Adison Kakuru, the Chairperson of the University Council, recalled how Prof. Kwesiga started the institution with only 42 students and persisted through numerous challenges until the university grew to its current enrolment of more than 5,000 students.
Kakuru also commended Prof. Kwesiga for overcoming stiff resistance from detractors who opposed the government takeover of the university. He used the occasion to renew calls for more infrastructure and additional land to facilitate the university’s expansion. In her farewell speech, Prof. Kwesiga said she was happy to retire like a missionary after serving the university without being accused of misappropriating funds or university property.
According to Prof. Kwesiga, more than 17,000 students have graduated from Kabale University since its establishment in 2002. Canon Matthew Rukikaire, the University Chancellor, said the focus of stakeholders should now be on positioning Kabale University as a regional centre of excellence serving students from the Great Lakes region, including Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Tanzania.
Speaking as the chief guest, Thomas Tayebwa, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, commended elders in the Kigezi region, including Prof. Kwesiga, for envisioning and establishing Kabale University.
Tayebwa also praised Prof. Kwesiga for retiring after leaving Kabale University as an institution of national significance. He used the occasion to urge people in Kigezi to shun religious conflicts, saying such divisions are not helping the region’s development.
Tayebwa further challenged Kabale University management to conduct research into the causes of rising poverty and persistent malnutrition in Kigezi, despite the region’s reputation as a food basket. He said one of the factors contributing to malnutrition is that some households sell most of their food crops without retaining enough for domestic consumption.
Tayebwa said the university should conduct extensive research and community sensitisation to help address the problem. He also called for dialogue between Kabale University and Kabale District authorities, promising to lead efforts to resolve the longstanding dispute over land for the university’s expansion.
Tayebwa said the university’s current 50-acre land holding was too small for an institution of its status, comparing it to the size of land occupied by some secondary schools. He proposed that the university should acquire about one square mile of land to support its future expansion.
When Kabale University was established, Kabale District Local Government donated 50 acres of land to the institution. The district later pledged to allocate an additional 98 acres after the university was declared a public institution by the government. However, the pledge has not been fulfilled despite the university becoming a public university in 2015-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
