This has been quite a semester (or rather still is). Prof. Stephen Noll’s last at the helm of UCU. Parties have been thrown to celebrate his achievements and bid him farewell. The much awaited construction of the state-of-the-art Ham Mukasa Library finally kicked off. UCU held its 11th graduation ceremony and so on.

Two of UCU’s definitely qualify for The Mo Ibrahim prize. Guild President Rodney Bamusede and his predecessor Martin Aliga made my semester.
Aliga gave us new meaning to the hit Bond movie “Die another Day”. He has been a man on a mission; saving face after overseeing a scandal ridden government. First, he played a pivotal role in the suspension of a fraudulent Guild official. Then he refunds money!! The money was never used to open a website for the Guild. All this in the land of Mbabazi, Muhwezi, Mukula, Jamwa and millions more!! What a renaissance!
Bamusede would be this year’s Nobel laureate, if I were on that panel in Oslo. He sacrificed a trip to help some buddies pay up their tuition. Huh, not typical of a politician, especially Ugandan! He certainly is in the league of the Rainbow Nation’s father. The semester’s theme “Faithful stewardship of Leadership and Management” is bearing fruit.
Do you recall the day when we had a special “buffet” in the dining hall? Not the General Assembly day, I mean the day porridge was served during supper?? I over heard a freshman (a May lad) intimating that it was their Freshers’ Ball!! I was too surprised or rather shocked to even bother verifying his comments. If indeed it was the ultimate dinner, then it was the perfect one.
Then we had the World Cup. As expected, lectures were massively cut. In fact, a certain guy “suspended” lectures for a month to fully experience the “Once in a life time” show piece. When he returned ready to resume lectures, he had forgotten the lecture schedules. Then he dashed to the Pilkington block notice board. He could not see the lectures time table.  He almost fainted at the sight of the Exams time table!! Allan Galpin staff, with the Exams up-next, better be on stand by!!
Sadly, The World Cup ended tragically for us. Bombs rocked Kampala.  Business entities and institutions subsequently stepped up security. I did not know that gossip spread faster than a bad rash. Some course mates spoke of an incident in the Library. Yet again, I was either too surprised or shocked to give it a second thought. Ultimately, Security Personnel on campus demanded identification at the gates. Your jaws will drop at the number of students who have lost their IDs, but not the beloved meal cards!! Many a student would rather lose an ID than a meal card; especially that the semester is in “Injury time”.
Success in your Exams. To the Noll family, what more can I say? A time well spent in the jungles of Africa. Fare thee well Rev. Prof. Stephen Noll.
 Success in your Exams. To the Noll family, what more can I say? A time well spent in the jungles of Africa. Fare thee well Rev. Prof. Stephen Noll.