news Friday, july 29, 2022 ebenezer 7 Amoru is Uganda’s envoy to South Africa School of Journalism, Media and Communication By Yasiri J Kasango (This article was edited from the March 2022 published version) Paul Amoru Omiat’s leadership star is bright. The Uganda Christian University (UCU) alum of the School of Journalism, Media and Communication and former legislator in the Ugandan Parliament was recently named Uganda’s High Commissioner to Pretoria, South Africa. Amoru, whose appointment was confirmed after a vetting by the Ugandan Parliament, took over Uganda’s High Commission from Barbara Nekesa Oundo. As Uganda’s envoy to South Africa, Amoru also will be in charge of Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and the Royal Kingdom of Eswatini. Amoru intends to use his new position to improve the trade balance between Uganda and countries in southern Africa. For instance, he said he will focus on expanding the market for Uganda’s agricultural produce. According to UN statistics, Uganda’s imports from South Africa in 2020 were worth $220 million while the country exported goods worth $11 million to South Africa. Whereas Amoru is new to diplomatic service, it is not his first time in leadership. The 39-year-old journalist-turned politician represented Dokolo North, a constituency in northern Uganda, in Uganda’s Parliament from 2016 to 2021. His re-election bid during Uganda’s general election in 2021 was not successful. Amoru started his education and training at Ngora High School in Kumi district, eastern Uganda, where he attended both O’level and A’level. His primary education often got interrupted because of the insurgency in northern Uganda, where Amoru’s home district, Dokolo, is located. From 1986 to 2006, there was insecurity in northern and part of eastern Uganda, courtesy of the destructive effects of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels. As a result, Amoru attended Agwachibange Primary School, Dokolo Primary School and Lira Faith Primary School for the seven years that he was in primary. As a student leader at Ngora High School, Amoru was in charge of library affairs. He was later voted the district chairperson representing Uganda National Students Association, an umbrella association of the country’s student leaders. When he joined UCU in 2003, Amoru did not take his foot off the pedal of leadership. In 2005, the second born of eight children of Samuel Kofie and Mary Agamah became UCU’s Guild President. Amoru’s relations with UCU continued even when he had left the institution. For instance, he was the president of the UCU Alumni Convocation. He handed over that office in 2021. In 2007, Amoru joined Kumi University as the institution’s Public Relations Officer. A year later, he switched to the Daily Monitor, becoming the newspaper’s staff reporter. He eventually rose through the ranks, becoming a deputy editor at the newspaper by 2011. In 2012, Amoru left the Daily Monitor, becoming the Public Relations Officer of a newly setup government agency, the Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board. “ Amoru intends to take advantage of his leadership experience to strengthen the country’s diplomatic relations. When Amoru joined Uganda’s Parliament in 2016, the institution benefited from his vast expertise in media and public relations. For instance, he became the chairperson of the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Media. He also chaired the Parliamentary Committee on Information and Communications Technology and National Guidance (ICT & National Guidance). In 2019, when Uganda hosted the 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Kampala, Amoru was the chairperson of the parliamentary forum on media. He was charged with co-ordinating and approving all media before, during and shortly after the conference that was held in Kampala. Now that he is in Pretoria, he will take advantage of the vast leadership experience that he has garnered to strengthen Uganda’s diplomatic relations with the countries in southern Africa. School of Business By Jimmy Siyasa (This article was edited from the April 2021 published version) With a new doctorate degree under his belt, Dr. Isaac Wasswa Katono is eager to realize his goal of being among the most cited scholars from Uganda Christian University (UCU). In December 2020, the former dean of the Faculty of Business and Administration at UCU graduated with a Ph.D. in Business Science and Entrepreneurship from the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa. That journey further reinforced his passion and understanding of the value of research for publication. Metric data from the Web of Science reveals a promising, proactive researcher whose impact has risen steadily since 2010. ResearchGate, a European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers, shows that Dr. Katono has 16 publications, 7,029 Reads and 382 citations. This places him at the pinnacle of UCU’s distinguished scholars. GoogleScholar has juried his research on action-based entrepreneurship training, automatic teller machine quality and government impact of multi-party politics, among others. Katono does not simply bask in the glory of his Tudor bonnet. He always has his scholarly sleeves rolled up. “Currently, I have a list of 10 papers, which I am supposed to have finished and published, because I already have the data,” he said. “I pray for God’s peace because all I now need is to sit down and do my data analysis. God willing, I will have executed all of them by ‘this phd was purely god’s grace’ only ugandan in his class... Katono’s graduation ceremony in South Africa happened (virtually, due to Covid-19) in December 2020, just as UCU’s 2020 virtual graduation ceremony did. He was the only graduate from the UCU Faculty of Business and Administration (now the School of Business), let alone being the only Ugandan from his Ph.D. class of 2020 from the South African-based university. His PhD thesis is titled: “Cultural Predictions of Entrepreneurial Orientation and the Moderating Role of Entrepreneurial Competencies on Graduate Entrepreneurial Intentions: A Cross-Sectional Survey of East Africa.” The research focuses on the impact of culture on entrepreneurial orientation. Katono was admitted to UCT in 2012 but wasn’t able to join until 2016 because of lack of funds. year’s end.” Not only Google but friends and colleagues attest to Katono’s unwavering zeal for research. “One thing I know about him is his passion for research,” said Richard Sebaggala, a lecturer of Economics. “He encouraged us to do research and always looked out for opportunities for staff to upgrade their studies when he was still Associate Dean in the faculty. Dr. Katono is also a very humble person.” Everything about Dr. Katono, a man in his mid-60s, seems mellow and simple. His office space is unlike a typical Ugandan office; it is clean and clear of old, dusty files or piles of papers. While a Ph.D. somewhat warrants its bearer in Uganda and some other developing countries some pomp, Katono brushes off that elevated status. He says, “This Ph.D. is not mine. It is for my benefactors. But most importantly, it’s not a fruit of my labour. This was purely God’s grace.” “When I received the news of my admission, I shouted and all the neighbours came,” he said. “I knelt down and thanked God… My admission for the Ph.D. was absolutely by God’s grace. Not my performance or intellectual prowess.” He calls upon students and youth at large to embrace risk-taking, be proactive and undertake entrepreneurial ventures. Dr. Katono argues in his thesis that the education curriculum in these countries must change to solve the problem. Katono’s natural business acumen evolved after acquiring a Bachelors of Science from Makerere University in 1979. He was charged with running the family business – a secondary school called Seeta College where he was Principal for six years. Thereafter, he joined Kasuru Enterprises, an agricultural company in Uganda, where he was head of agrarian projects. In 1995, he quit and enrolled for an MBA at the Makerere faculty of commerce. Earlier in 1986, at age 30 years, Dr. Katono invested in a company called Wasswa Katono’s Hatchery. He bought 50 acres of land in Njeru, Mukono district, for the project. Dr. Katono counts himself blessed because he saw UCU at its beginning stage as it hatched from Bishop Tucker School of Theology in 1997 to become a “Centre of excellence in the heart of Africa” as a university with other faculties in addition to theology. Medicine and music: UCU student from Nigeria seeks nexus UCU School of Medicine By Jimmy Siyasa (This article was edited from the May 2022 published version) As a young girl, Dorcas Chizaram Okeke was thin and weak – a common face at the school sick-bay. At times, she wrote her promotional examinations while receiving intravenous treatment. She had “self-pity.” This early condition and two incidents spurred her on to become a health care expert. From her telling, the first instance was when she interfaced with a malaria-suffering schoolmate, who would later drop out because she was taking frequent sick leave. In the second incident, another schoolmate died after a “long struggle with leukemia,” she said. These early health encounters contributed to the decision of Chizaram, of Nigeria, to pursue a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the Uganda Christian University (UCU) School of Medicine (SoM). “Some diseases are curable,” the first-year student said. “Sometimes doctors just observe a patient and are able to tell what is wrong and then treat it. I wanted to be able to do that someday…Whenever I see someone facing a problem that I am unable to help them solve, I feel so bad.” Chizaram’s lifelong ambition is to set up a large wellness center, Ambassador Paul Amoru where patients or clients can access rehabilitation services with an unusual twist – music therapy. When she joined UCU in 2019, Chizaram underwent pre-year, which is a yearlong, mandatory orientation/ assimilation University program for non-Ugandan students. During that period, she undertook a short course in paracounseling, for which she attained a certificate. She believes with this skill, she is able to help her peers who suffer mental health challenges, such as depression, anxiety and addiction. Chizaram, one of the 60 entry-year medical students, sees UCU as the best place to receive a quality education. The low number of classmates allows closer lecturer attention and builds a stronger community among peers who encourage each other to participate in the twice-weekly community worship. On this March Day and following community worship, she expressed appreciation for the newly assigned pastor at the Mengo (Kampala) hospital campus. Chizaram, a worship choir member, upholds the institution’s strong focus on both the spiritual and intellectual formation of students with the music twist. “I was attracted to UCU because of its Christian moral foundation,” she said. “I think that is partly why I have never heard of UCU students rioting…you study when you are peaceful, without fear of waking up one day to damaged or lost property from a student strike.” Further influence to come to UCU came through two of her older siblings who studied at UCU. One of them, Shalom Okeke graduated cum laude. As a non-Ugandan student studying in Uganda, over 2,400 miles away from her home country, Chizaram is grateful that through music ministry, she easily made/met her first friends in Ugandan. Shortly after enrolling at UCU for the pre-year, she joined a university choir called Mustard Seed Worship Team (MSWT). After completing the pre-year at Mukono, she moved in September 2021 to the SoM academic and training site – rich with career learning, but devoid of the rich music and sound equipment/ facilities that the main campus has.
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