Cabinet has approved the establishment of a public university in the Busoga sub-region, renaming the former Busoga University as Iganga University and allocating Shs89.998 billion to establish the institution and enable it to begin operations.
The decision was reached during a cabinet meeting held on Monday, October 5, 2026, and announced on Tuesday by the Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Justine Kasule Lumumba, while presenting the cabinet resolutions at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala.
Lumumba said Cabinet had considered a proposal by the Ministry of Education and Sports to transform the former private institution into a public university and resolved to establish it under a new name.
“After discussing the proposal to establish Busoga University as a public university, Cabinet decided to name it Iganga University,”Lumumba said.
She said cabinet had authorised the Ministry of Education and Sports to work with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to prepare the legal instrument required to formally establish the university.
“The Minister of Education and Sports will seek Parliament’s approval to establish Iganga University as a public university,”Lumumba said.
The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has been directed to provide Shs89.998 billion to establish the university and enable it to begin operating.
The new university will be based in Iganga and will incorporate inherited campuses previously associated with Busoga University. Cabinet also approved Namasagali as a constituent college, with specialised departments in marine and fisheries studies.
“Namasagali will be a constituent college of the university, with marine and fisheries departments. The university will also include other inherited campuses,” Lumumba said.
The cabinet decision brings to a new stage a government effort that has taken years to transform the former Busoga University from a private institution into a public university.
Busoga University, which was founded by the Church of Uganda and began admitting students in 1999, had its provisional licence revoked by the National Council for Higher Education in November 2017 after failing to meet the regulator’s minimum standards for operating a university. NCHE continues to list Busoga University among institutions whose licences were revoked.
The closure left the institution facing academic, financial and administrative problems, including questions over the qualifications of some staff, accreditation of programmes and the validity of awards issued to students. Reports at the time also pointed to a growing debt burden and internal ownership disputes.
President Yoweri Museveni subsequently directed the government in 2018 to take over the university and facilitate its transformation into a public institution. A committee led by then State Minister for Higher Education John Chrysostom Muyingo was established to spearhead the process, followed by a task force management committee headed by Prof John Tabuti.
One of the prominent political figures involved in the process has been First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga, who played a leading role in pushing for the government takeover.
In February 2022, Kadaga announced that government had completed the takeover process after years of negotiations involving the Church of Uganda and the former university management.
“Today, the government has taken over Busoga University. It has been a long journey since January 8, 2018, when His Excellency the President directed the commencement of the process,” Kadaga said at the time.
The takeover was intended to resolve the ownership and management disputes that had prevented the institution from reopening. Government agreed to assume the university’s liabilities as part of the transition.
However, the takeover did not immediately translate into the reopening of the university, as government still had to address outstanding liabilities, transfer assets, renovate the facilities, develop academic programmes and put in place the governance structures required for a public university.
The Church of Uganda formally handed over the university to the Ministry of Education and Sports in December 2024. The handover included a 215.4-acre land title, an agreement covering the institution’s assets and liabilities and an Auditor General’s report verifying the assets and liabilities.
At the time of the handover, Education Minister Janet Museveni said the government had inherited verified liabilities of Shs15.2 billion, of which Shs7.05 billion was still outstanding.
The Auditor General subsequently warned that delays in implementing key requirements could negatively affect the operationalisation of the university, citing outstanding liabilities and the failure at the time to wind up Busoga University Limited.
Government has since invested heavily in restoring the university’s infrastructure. The UPDF Engineering Brigade undertook renovation works at the Iganga campus, with the first phase costing close to Shs4 billion and covering the central teaching block, administration block, libraries, main hall, laboratories, toilets and other facilities.
The refurbished facilities were handed over in July 2026, bringing the physical infrastructure closer to the required standards and leaving legal and administrative requirements as some of the final hurdles to full operation.
The reopening was nevertheless delayed after disagreements over the name of the institution. In July, the Ministry of Education said government was waiting for President Museveni’s guidance on the preferred name before completing the legal process required to operationalise the university.
The naming issue also triggered debate in Parliament, where MPs opposed an earlier proposal to call the institution Kiira University and pushed for wider consultations and retention of the Busoga University identity.
With Cabinet now approving the name Iganga University, the government is expected to proceed with preparation of the statutory instrument before seeking Parliament’s approval.
The decision also comes amid renewed disagreement over the state of the university’s infrastructure. Busoga Kingdom Prime Minister Joseph Muvawala recently criticised the renovated facilities, arguing that some of the buildings did not reflect the standards expected of a public university.
Kadaga, however, dismissed the criticism, arguing that the institution is now a government university and that responsibility for its development rests with the central government.
The Shs89.998 billion approved by cabinet is therefore expected to provide the financial foundation for the final establishment and operationalisation of Iganga University, nearly a decade after the closure of its predecessor and years after the government began the takeover process.
