Govt gets title for Bunyoro University land
The Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, on 10 July 2025, received a title of 100 acres of land for a public university in Bunyoro sub-region. The title was handed to the minister by Dr. Henry Wamani, who donated to the government the land located in Buhimba town council, Kikuube district.
The ceremony took place at State House, Nakasero in Kampala. It was witnessed by the top officials from the Ministry of Education and Sports, led by the permanent secretary Kedrace Turyagenda, and members of the Taskforce Management Committee (TMC) for the Establishment of a Public University in Bunyoro, led by the TMC chairperson, Professor Samuel Kyamanywa.
The handing of the title came four months after President Yoweri Museveni presided over the ground-breaking function for the university in March. The title handover marks the completion of the land ownership transfer from Wamani, a former lecturer at the School of Public Health, Makerere University, to the government.
President Museveni and First Lady Janet during the ground-breaking ceremony for Bunyoro University in Buhimba, Kikuube district, in March 2025
Following the formal acquisition of land, Kyamanywa, the Vice Chancellor, said the government is currently undertaking physical planning of the area. “We hope the designs of the university will be ready by mid-July, and construction work will begin by September,” he added. “We hope the university will open a year after the construction starts.”
Prof. Grace Bantebya Kyomuhendo, the first vice TMC chairperson and Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of academic affairs, said the university is expected to create several opportunities for Ugandans. “It is a national university for all Ugandans, but the people close to it in Bunyoro will enjoy extra benefits. We urge the people to start preparing now to reap the benefits,” she added.
The First Lady and Minister for Education and Sports receiving a title from Dr Henry Wamaani at State House, Nakasero
How the process started
On August 17, 2021, Members of Parliament and academics from Bunyoro made a presentation before President Yoweri Museveni at the State House, Entebbe, highlighting the need to fast-track the establishment of a public university of Earth and Applied Sciences in the region. They told the President that multiple sites had been proposed to host the university.
These locations included land owned by government institutions, including Uganda Cooperative College in Kigumba (Kiryandongo), Kamurasi Primary Teachers College (Masindi), Bulera Core Primary Teachers College (Hoima), Former National Teachers College (Masindi), Kibaale Town Council, Birembo War Memorial Technical Institute (Kakumiro), Gulu University Hoima Campus, and Kihonda Demonstration Farm (Masindi). Additional land offers came from Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom and Dr Henry Wamani, a former lecturer at the School of Public Health, Makerere University.
In June 2022, the Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, constituted a six-member taskforce management committee (TMC) to oversee the establishment of a public university in Bunyoro. One of its tasks was to identify and secure the land for the university. A few days later, on 9 June 2022, the Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, chaired a meeting (attended by Members of Parliament and academics from Bunyoro) that set up a three-member subcommittee to carry out a rapid evaluation and verification of the proposed sites.
The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, displaying the land title
The subcommittee comprised Fred Kabagambe Kaliisa, the chairperson of the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom Royal Commission (representing Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom), Jacob Karubanga, the Member of Parliament for Kibanda South, and chairperson of the Bunyoro parliamentary caucus (representing political leaders), and Patrick Byakagaba, a natural resource and environmental governance specialist at Makerere University (representing academia). The subcommittee identified Buhimba and Bulera as suitable locations, but only 20 acres of land were available at Bulera.
Detailed technical studies
Thereafter, the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) and the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development conducted detailed technical assessments of all the proposed sites. Except for the Buhimba and Kihonda land, all the sites inspected were less than 50 acres in size, yet the government needed 50 acres or more. Subsequently, Buhimba emerged as the most suitable location.
“Based on the overall assessment of all the proposed sites visited, the team found the land offered by Dr Henry Wamani in Buhimba was the most suitable for the establishment of the main campus for the proposed public university in Bunyoro region,” the March 5, 2025, NCHE report reads.
The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports in a group photo with officials from the ministry
