By Our Reporter
President Yoweri Museveni yesterday appointed Dr. Crispus Kiyonga as the new Chancellor of Makerere University.
“His Excellency the President of Uganda has appointed Dr. Crispus Kiyonga as the new Chancellor of Makerere University. On behalf of the Makerere University Council, I extend our warm congratulations to Dr. Kiyonga on this prestigious appointment and warmly welcome him to the service of Makerere University,” said Barnabas Nawangwe, Vice Chancellor of Makerere University.
Kiyonga succeeds Dr Ezra Suruma, whose term ended eight months ago. He served in various ministerial positions since 1996. He served as the minister of Defence for a decade before being appointed Uganda’s Ambassador to China.
His tenure as minister of Finance, which spanned six years, was marked by significant contributions to the privatization and liberalization of Uganda’s economy.
About Kiyonga
Kiyonga was born in Kasese District in the Western Region of Uganda on January 1, 1952. Between 1959 and 1966, he attended Bwera Primary School in Kasese. During 1967 through 1970, he attended Nyakasura School from S1 to S4. He studied for his S5 and S6 at King’s College Budo from 1971 to 1972.
From 1973 through 1978, he attended Makerere University School of Medicine, where he obtained his first medical degree, the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB), in 1978.
Later, in 2004, he obtained a Master of Health Science (MHS) with a specialization in Population Dynamics from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
During the first post-Idi Amin national elections in Uganda in 1980, Kiyonga participated as a candidate on the Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM) platform. He won in his constituency, making him the only UPM candidate who won during those elections.
He joined the National Resistance Movement (NRM) during its struggle against the second Milton Obote regime from 1981 until 1986.
From 1986, when the NRM assumed power in Uganda, until 2006, when he was appointed as Minister of Defense, Crispus Kiyonga held several cabinet and non-cabinet posts in the Ugandan government:
- 1986 – 1986: Minister for Cooperatives & Marketing
- 1986 – 1992: Minister of Finance – Credited with the establishment of the Uganda Revenue Authority
- 1994 – 1996: Minister of Internal Affairs
- 1996 – 2001: Minister of Health – Credited with efficient handling of the Ebola outbreak in Gulu in 2000 and Chairman of the Global Fund
- 2001 – 2006: Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the President and National Political Commissar
- 2006 – 2016: Minister of Defense
Between 1992 and 1994, Kiyonga left the government temporarily to serve as a consultant with the World Bank and the African Development Bank. He returned to active politics in 1994 when he was elected to the Constituent Assembly that drew up the 1995 Uganda Constitution. He continuously represented Bukonzo County West in Parliament from 1980 until 2016. In 2016, he was appointed Uganda’s Ambassador to China.
