Kenya’s High Commissioner to Uganda, Ababu Namwamba, has lauded Kampala University’s stability as a reminder of the East African Community as a family. He was speaking at the Ggaba Campus during this year’s 2026 graduation ceremony.
The colourful event was held at Kampala University’s Ggaba Campus in Kampala on Friday, where more than 1,500 graduands were conferred with certificates, diplomas, bachelor’s degrees, and master’s degrees in various fields, including Business Administration, Education, Information Technology, Theology, and Health Sciences. The graduation square was filled with parents, guardians, diplomats, religious leaders, and students from across the region.
Kenya’s High Commissioner to Uganda, Ababu Namwamba, was the Chief Guest. Accompanied by Uganda’s State Minister for Higher Education, Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo, Namwamba congratulated the class of 2026 on their resilience. He praised the University Chancellor and proprietor, Ambassador Al-Haj Prof. Badru D. Kateregga, the owner of Kampala University, for his vision and investment in regional education. Namwamba said the university’s stability and growth reflect the vision of the East African Community as one family, where students from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, DRC, and Uganda study and work together without borders.
In his speech, Namwamba urged the graduands to be ambassadors of integration. He noted that East Africa’s biggest resource is its youthful, educated population and challenged the graduates to use their skills to solve regional problems in trade, health, technology, and peace-building. He praised Kampala University for maintaining academic calendars despite regional disruptions, saying such stability builds trust in East Africa’s education sector.
The Vice Chancellor, Dr Sarah Kizza, highlighted key milestones during her address. She reported that 42% of the graduands were international students from EAC partner states, proving the university’s regional character. She also announced new partnerships with Kenyatta University and the University of Dar es Salaam for joint research and staff exchange. The best overall student, Achieng’ Mercy from Kisumu, Kenya, graduated with a First Class Honours in Bachelor of Commerce and was awarded the Chancellor’s Trophy.
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The ceremony featured cultural dances from all EAC countries, symbolising unity and shared heritage. The event ended with a tree-planting exercise led by the High Commissioner to mark environmental conservation, a key pillar in the EAC agenda. Namwamba concluded by assuring Kampala University of Kenya’s support in cross-border accreditation and student exchange programs, adding that “when our universities are stable, our region is stable.”
By our reporter
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