A retired Makerere University senior lecturer, Dr Henry Wamaani, has offered 100 acres of land for the establishment of Bunyoro University main campus at Mabaale Cell in East Ward, Buhimba Town Council in Buhaguzi East County, Kikuube District in mid-western Uganda.
Dr Wamaani who holds a PhD in Public Health said before donating the land for the construction of the university, he agreed with his family members to offer this titled freehold land as a way of pushing education in Bunyoro to greater heights.
Taking the Kikuube Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Amlan Tumusiime, around the land, the Bunyoro Kitara Diocese Lay Canon Designate in the Church of Uganda, assured him that the land is free from any dispute.
He said he saw it imperative to offer that piece of land since Uganda still needs more universities to cater for the big population seeking to access higher education at degree level nearer their homes especially Bunyoro which has never had any university.
Reacting to the offer, Mr Tumusiime said while being taken around the land, he interacted with some people developing it confessing that it belongs to Dr Wamaani and that allowed them to use it for seasonal crops only, thus, it is free from any wrangles.
The RDC said he will write to the president and the concerned ministries about the land offer to enable the establishment of the university.
After a closed door meeting with the Bunyoro Parliamentary Caucus at State House Entebbe on August 17, 2021, President Yoweri Museveni gave a green light to the construction and operationalisation of Bunyoro University on a zonal basis.
A letter that surfaced online penned on November 24, 2021, Mr Museveni directed his wife who is the Minister of Education, Ms Janet Kataha Museveni, to plan and budget for the operationalisation of Bunyoro University in the 2022/23 financial year.
However, the university was not included in the national budget.
In February 2023, Masindi district council passed a resolution allowing the allocation of 52.7 hectares of land at Kyanja village to Bunyoro University only to learn that the land offered to the university belonged to an alcohol distilling company.
Early this year Bunyoro University task force, Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom Officials and Bunyoro Parliamentary representatives visited various pieces of land in Hoima city for the establishment of the university but they are yet to come out with a lasting solution on where it should be constructed.
The visited areas include, Bulera Core Primary Teachers College in East Division, Hoima city, Gulu University land located in Kasiingo Ward in West Division, Hoima city and others.
Prof Samuel Kyamanywa was appointed the chairman of the task force for establishment of Bunyoro Public University that was rumoured to begin admissions in the 2023/24 academic year.
