MAWAZO

Volume 16, No. 1

Published June 30, 2024

Articles

  1. Edgar Fred Nabutanyi Nabutanyi, Isaac Kiiza Tibasiima (Author)

    “They Did and Taught:” An Audit of the Literary Creative and Criticism Careers of Selected Makerere University Alumni

    This article audits the literary creative, and criticism careers of a special cohort of six Makerere University alumni. It claims that the creative oeuvre and literary critical scholarship of these Makerere University–trained writers and critics represents the finest turnout of the department. While their literary criticism and creativity started in the Department of Literature’s literary publication outlets of Penpoint and Dhana, we demonstrate how their careers grew both in and outside Makerere University. This is perhaps why our reading focuses on the public and critical reception of their creative publications and their contributions to literary critical scholarship of the continent. Our primary reading methodology is textual and content analysis of the literary creative and criticism archive produced by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Timothy Wangusa, Mary Karooro Okurut, Dominica Dipio, Susan Kiguli, and Evelyn Cindy Magara. Our selection is aware that Makerere University’s Department of Literature has produced many writers and critics. However, our subjective selection of the six focuses on the selected six’s creative and critical outputs over a period of 60 years.

  2. John Mbiti’s Legacy on Teaching, Research, and Publication in African Traditional Religion at Makerere University

    The paper examines John Samuel Mbiti’s legacy in teaching, research, and publication in African Traditional to Religion (ATR) at Makerere University. It documents his contribution Religious Studies’ scholarship. The crux of the paper is to interrogate his contribution towards teaching, research, and publication in ATR, with an interest in how this has continued to influence scholarship in religious studies. By examining his legacy, we aim at documenting knowledge production in ATR. This paper utilises data obtained through in- depth interviews with Mbiti’s contemporaries and other scholars, including alumni and current students of Religious Studies, and those that have read his publications. Besides, archival records of Mbiti’s works and online articles were reviewed to provide data that will enhance the discourse on his legacy. The paper contributes to the existing knowledge on Mbiti’s legacy in the teaching, research, and publication of ATR literature.

  3. Anna Ninsiima, Josephine Ahikire, Anna Ninsiima (Author)

    On Decolonising Feminist Studies: Makerere University in Perspective

    How should African feminists respond to the challenge of decolonisation? This article seeks to deepen the debate on feminist studies and how it is and/or should respond to the whole impetus around decolonisation beyond buzzword politics. Without a doubt, quite several African feminists have related to this critical debate (for example, Mama, Tamale, Oyeronke, Amadiume, Yaliwe, and many others). In this case, we relate directly to the classroom experience in our context, and that is, at Makerere University. Feminist pedagogies seek to stress the productive capacity of curiosity, discomfort, critical engagement, and the refusal and resistance to imperial knowledge as necessary and an aspect of bringing about transformative learning and social justice. Using a decolonial feminist pedagogy, the classroom becomes a site not simply for sharing ideas and topics but for remarkably examining the power dynamics of the coloniality of knowledge. It becomes a spark that can light us up for critical engagement. Teaching becomes a tool for transformation, as summarised by bell hooks in “teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom” (Hooks, 1994: 6).

  4. Fredrick Immanuel Kindi, Grace Bantebya-Kyomuhendo (Author)

    Navigating the DUO Mandate of Women and Gender Studies at Makerere University: Achievements and Pitfalls

    The Programme of Women Studies at the SWGS, Makerere University, was a product of women movement in civil society and academia. It was to act as the academic arm, not only to teach, research, and undertake publications but also to perform outreach activities that serve the women’s movement in the civil society and policy makers. While in academia a number of achievements in terms of teaching, research, and publications have been realised, the extent to which the school as an academic arm, has met the mandate of supporting the women’s movement and policymakers has not been studied. The study used qualitative methods of data collection from various stakeholders, including the founding members of the school in both academia and civil society organisations, students and current staff. Findings show that the school’s mandate of outreach is still functional, although the vitality with which it began has gradually waned over time because of some changes within and outside the school. For the school to rekindle this mandate, requires calling upon all the civil society organisations that participated in the establishment of the school to come together and reminisce on the collaborations, and set a new agenda for the year(s) ahead.

  5. Elizabeth Kyazike, Asmeret Ghebreigziabiher Mehari (Author)

    The Archeological Research Agenda in Uganda from 1922-Present

    Colonial aspects of African archaeology include how national archaeology institutions operate, how archaeological research is funded, how archaeological knowledge is produced and disseminated, and who is practicing archaeology. Most edited volumes about African archaeology continue to be dominated by European and North American authors, even several decades after scores of African archaeologists began to research and publish on the continent. Hence, it is essential to ask who and what determines the archaeological research agenda in African countries. This paper presents findings from the quest to historicise the archaeological research agenda in Uganda. It particularly identifies the archaeological research agenda in the last century, examines how it has directed the nature of archaeological research, and questions the role of Ugandan institutions and scholars. Primary and secondary sources in this research include archival research, individual interviews, and literature reviews. The results suggest that despite the well-established Ugandan institutions, including Makerere University, that deal with archaeology and the emergence of Ugandan archaeologists in the 2000s, funding sources continue to dictate the patterns and trends of archaeological research agendas and the impact of practitioners and institutions.

  6. Stevens Aguto Odongoh, Peter Atekyereza (Author)

    The Funding History for Anthropological Research in Uganda since the Colonial Period: Implications for Decolonisation of the Discipline

    This article examines the history of anthropological research in Africa, focusing on the relationship between funding, methodology, and the discipline’s potential for decolonisation. It argues that the field’s development has been significantly influenced by external forces, particularly colonial powers and subsequently, Western institutions. The British colonial office’s Colonial Social Study Council (CSRC) funded anthropological study and education in Africa throughout the 1940s. Britain established the East African Institute of Social Research (EAISR) at Makerere University with the goal of gathering ethnographic data on East African peoples and reporting directly to the British government’s colonial administration. Following the expulsion of anthropologists by President Amin, funding shifted to the Americas and Scandinavia. Anthropology has been criticized for its role in imperialism, and its post-independence trajectory remains unclear. Efforts to decolonise anthropology in the 1960s included Africanisation and breaking with colonial frameworks. However, the universities in the South have limited influence over altering the research agenda and the frameworks for its implementation, since the North continues to dominate funding and agenda-setting for anthropological research. This article questions the possibility of decolonising anthropology given that the field has been historically shaped and financed by those who once colonised Africa and other regions. We examine the funding trends in anthropological research and analyse efforts to make anthropology more African-centered or decolonised. This analysis considers the ongoing power dynamics and competition for research funds both within and between academic disciplines, as well as between the Global South and the Global North.

  7. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo (Author)

    Who is an African? Rethinking the Identity in View of Changing Realities

    For many ‘Africans’ and those that use the identifier in reference to a category of people, it might seem almost self-evident what it means. Yet, on basic conceptual inspection, it becomes apparent how behind the seemingly innocent label lie contradictions with difficult implications to reconcile with both demographic and political changes in Africa over time. Through constructivist identity theory, this paper traces the dialectical process in the construction of Africanness, the evolution of its boundaries, and the implications of its different forms of usage. In so doing, and by using the archive of the 1990s ‘exchange’ between Wole Soyinka and Ali Mazrui and reflecting upon the case of non- black Africans, the paper highlights some of the complicated questions in the debates on Africanness. Focusing the critique on selected two broad definitional categories, here referred to as the nativist and the cosmopolitan, I argue that a clearly delimited or essentialist definition of an African is beyond reach. Our use of the concept has to be deracialised and contextualised, for it may mean different things in different settings including both being a positive rallying nucleus and a tool for xenophobic mobilisation. I do not aim at providing an alternative definition or conceptual orthodoxy, but rather, analytically show the shortcomings embedded in some of the conventional usages.

  8. Firminus Mugumya, David Mugambe Mpiima, Jimmy Baluku Odyek (Author)

    Representation, Voice and Empowerment: Towards gender outcomes in Uganda’s Local Governance Decision-Making Processes

    As part of the wider global effort to ‘liberate’ women from historically and culturally rooted social injustices, Uganda in 1997 enacted a law in which one-third of every local government (LG) council is reserved for female representatives. This move increased the number of elected female representatives in LG councils and promised to eliminate the hitherto male-dominated spaces of decision-making. Given its two decades of implementation, we examine the extent to which this initiative in Uganda has influenced gender inclusion in democratic decision-making processes and the contextual factors influencing its effectiveness. Data was collected from six LG units in western Uganda using mixed methods. Results revealed a 2:1 male-to- female ratio of representation, indicative of a positive step, but LG Council deliberations remain largely gender- neutral. Without affirmative action, LGs in Uganda would almost obviously be male-dominated. We conclude that female quotas for LG councils provide a space that could be more extensively used to address gender imbalances. Actions beyond filling the female quota, such as regular community dialogues and sensitisation on the mandate of their representatives have been given less attention. Yet, these remain critical demand- side imperatives for gender inclusiveness, representation, empowerment, and voice.

  9. Grace Maria Kentaro* (Author)

    Oral History and Gendered Terrain of Anti- Colonial Struggles among the Banyakigezi

    This study explores the distinctive customs and traditions of the Banyekigezi, an indigenous community from Uganda’s Kigezi region. Historically separate from other Ugandan groups, they played a crucial role in the Nyabingi rebellion against colonial rule. Despite this resistance, the Banyekigezi preserved their unique cultural practices, including tools and rituals with deep symbolic meaning. The research focused on how the cultural practices shaped the lives of Nyabingi followers, particularly during the colonial era. It examines aspects of Banyekigezi life such as transportation, entertainment, communication, warfare, household items, medicine, housing, and fashion. The Banyekigezi relied on a specific method of carrying people called “engozi” and used traditional instruments for music and communication. Their daily lives centered around tools and utensils made from natural materials. Healing was based on herbal remedies, and their homes were simple structures. Their clothing and ornaments held significant cultural and spiritual meaning. However, colonial rule, especially the 1912 Witchcraft Ordinance, severely damaged Banyekigezi culture. The study suggests strengthening institutions and raising awareness to appreciate the Banyekigezi’s indigenous way of life. In essence, the article highlights the rich cultural heritage of the Banyekigezi and the urgent need to protect and promote it.

  10. Stephen Kusasira, Peter Atekyereza (Author)

    Environmental Security, Intrastate and Inter-State Wars: A Prospective Analysis

    Wars have been and continue to be part of human culture, in spite of the various international frameworks to prevent them. While the reasons for conflict are varied, this article focuses on the growing role of environmental factors in fueling both internal and external conflicts. The article categorises environmental threats into two main areas: resource issues (scarcity, abundance, and sharing) and climate change. It examines how these threats can impact human security, state security, and ultimately lead to war The overexploitation of limited resources, particularly in areas with rapid population growth and poor governance, is likely to spark or intensify internal conflicts. While abundant resources can support economic development, mismanagement, corruption, and ethnic tensions can turn them into sources of conflict. Sharing resources across borders without fair agreements continues to be a cause of conflict between nations. Climate change exacerbates these problems by reducing the availability and quality of resources, making it harder for governments to protect their citizens and maintain peace. Essentially, the article argues that environmental factors are increasingly important in understanding the roots of conflict and that addressing these issues is crucial for preventing future wars.

Editorial

  1. Levis Mugumya, Peter Atekyereza (Author)

    Editorial

    In June 2019, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) at Makerere University received funding from The Mellon Foundation of New York to support a research project titled, Historicising the Humanities at Makerere University since 1922. The project, which sought to rethink and reshape the role of humanities in Uganda, re- examined the basis and significance of humanities and humanistic social sciences at Makerere University from a historical perspective. The research resulted into a publication of an edited volume titled, Historicising the Humanities at Makerere: Trends, Patterns and Prospects1. The book provides an insight into the intellectual history and trends of the humanities and humanistic social sciences disciplines at Makerere University and raises questions about the basis of their existence and reflects on their trajectories, roles and positions within the changing higher institution education in the region and beyond.