School of Postgraduate Studies and Research

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Rural Poverty Eradication and Sustainability Consciousness in Kyanamukaaka Sub-County’s Decentralised Framework
(Uganda Martyrs University, 2011-01) Ssentongo, Jimmy Spire
Development and governance literature is affluent with theorisations that a decentralised system of governance stands high chances of translating into improved service delivery. Some of such literature hardly qualifies this expectation with a value addition that there are some minimum requirements for decentralisation to realise not only poverty eradication but 'sustainable poverty eradication'. They also seem to hold a limited view of decentralisation just as a development strategy and less as the ethical mandate that it is through the socio-ethical principle of subsidiarity. This paper is based on research carried out in Kyanamukaaka Sub-County in Masaka District which was prompted by the observation that despite the fact that a decentralised system of governance had been adopted there seemed to be (some but) minimal impact on the trend of poverty. In some instances, where there seemed to be traces of a downward trend of poverty, there were quite a number of inherent sustainability issues. The sustainability concerns within the scope of this paper are mainly social and economic. Thus the analysis focuses on the nature of poverty eradication initiatives in the area, the role of the community in the poverty eradication initiatives, and the life of the initiatives after the Sub-county hand. The findings indicated that some of the eradication measures through direct provision are not sustainable, as a number of them had died out. Further still, the level of community involvement in the conception and implementation of poverty eradication initiatives was found to be inadequate for the sustainability of the related projects.
Inquiry into a Withering Heritage: The Relevance of Traditional Baganda Approaches to Sustainable Environmental Conservation Today
(Uganda Martyrs University, 2012-01) Ssentongo, Jimmy Spire
Humanity is currently faced with several environmental problems. From North Pole to South Pole it is vividly clear that there is much still wanting in environmental conservation on this volatile planet, our only home. It is therefore a daunting task to scholars and all other stakeholders to think out possible strategies and mechanisms of conserving our environment. But before we stretch too far for viable answers, it would be very important to critically search out into our traditional knowledge which has been relied on for generations to pick out knowledge and practices that could still be relevant. Unfortunately, most of this 'wealth' of knowledge is disappearing so fast due to the homogenising effects of globalisation! The aim of the research whose findings are reported in this book was to specifically explore and analyse Baganda (a Ugandan ethnic group) traditional approaches in light of their relevance to sustainable environmental conservation in the current era. An attempt is accordingly made not to nostalgically romanticise the heritage but to look out for what can still be useful.
Living with Ethnic Difference in Uganda: Reflections on Realities and Knowledge Gaps with Specific Reference to Kibaale District
(Cultural Foundation of Uganda, 2014-01) Ssentongo, Jimmy Spire
Contemporary Uganda is embroiled in a number of inter-ethnic challenges at varying degrees of intensity and complexity. Kibaale presents a curious case that is grounded in a complex history of pre-colonial inter-ethnic rivalry; colonial ethnic manipulation; a colonial legacy of strained ethnic relations; and contemporary trends of massive immigration into the area with attendant immigrant-phobia catalysed by memories of foreign domination and humiliation. In 2002, the ethnic tension in the area peaked with the outright rejection by the Banyoro of an ‘outsider’ (immigrant) who had been elected to the post of District chairman. While the Banyoro feel threatened by the rising number and influence (political and economic) of immigrants in their area, the immigrants are also insecure about their future in the area without a political power base. Moreover, it is their constitutional right to stand for political office as legitimate residents of the district. The above situation raises nagging questions about the possibility of pluralism in the area. Within the painful memories (history) of the Banyoro in relation to domination by the ethnic other (Baganda), do possibilities remain for living in ethnic difference even when the ‘new other’ becomes politically or/and economically influential? It raises a query on how the different ethnic groups in the area feel and what they make out of the situation. This query is further raised by the observation that the people of Kibaale have harmoniously co-existed at some points of their history (1960s – 2000) when they went to the same schools, churches, markets and even intermarried (Schelnberger 2005). This paper particularly focuses on explaining the realities of living with ethnic differences that the Kibaale case presents and the questions raised by those realities. The questions specifically concern the possibilities of pluralism in Kibaale and the conclusive suggestion is that these are best answered through a study that focuses on the perceptions of the people themselves. This suggestion is grounded on the researcher’s constructivist theoretical outlook by which social reality is viewed as constructed by the people through whose agency meaning and relations are formed
Introduction: Reflections on the Interplay between Postcoloniality, Globalisation, Decolonisation and development.
(Uganda Martyrs University, 2017) Ssentongo, Jimmy Spire
Towards Validating Research Discourses Among Bantu in Africa: Obuntubulamu as a Possible Transforming Agent.
(Uganda Martyrs University, 2017) Muwanga-Zake, Wycliffe Frank
"If I Only get a Visa": Configurations of Residential Preferences and Contemporary Migration of Africans to Europe and North America.
(Uganda Martyrs University, 2017) Ssnkosi, Moses Balyejjusa; Kasoma, Abisagi Ndagire
Whose Education is it? The Exclusion of African Values from Higher Education.
(Uganda Martyrs University, 2017) Muwanga-Zake, Wycliffe Frank
Decolonisation Pathways: Postcoloniality, Globalisation, and African Development
(Centre for African Studies, Uganda Martyrs Univrsity Book Serries (UMU BS), 2017) Ssentongo, Jimmy Spire
One of the perennial questions in all former colonies is that of how to break the chains in which they are still entangled in various ways long after official ‘independence’. Subsequent developments, such as globalisation, continue to make the situation even more complex. Marks of colonial chains are boldly imprinted in many Africans’ psyches and relayed in practice in ways quite often contradictory to the continent’s development demands. This book is an effort by Ugandan scholars at making sense of the intricate challenges of the African postcolonial situation. It tackles a wide range of areas, including: education, research, gender, migration, cultural identity, and environment. The overarching theme that binds together the different chapters is how to theoretically understand the dynamics behind Africa’s colonial history and postcolonial performance/identities in the wake of globalisation. The theoretical analysis is then used to draw out ideas on how Africa can move forward on a self-decolonisation path to meaningful development.
Justice and the Dynamics of Research and Publication in Africa: Interrogating the Performance of "Publish or Perish"
(Uganda Martyrs University, 2017) Ssentongo, Jimmy Spire; Draru, Mary Cecilia
In this paper, we analyse how Ugandan academics are negotiating the age old academic tradition of ‘Publish or Perish’ by differently curving their own identity in academia. The ‘publish or perish’ adage has marked the academic career track not only in Europe and America where it originates from but also in Africa. The major publication outlet target for many African academics are international highimpact-factor journals (with which promotion is smoother and academic reputation higher), most of which are based in the West and hardly accessed by local Africans. The contextual relevance of the ‘publish or perish’ performance has remained largely unquestioned, especially on the African continent. This positions the practice as an uncritical imitation/conformist exercise and affects the relevance of African academics to their local contexts. Here we interrogate the ‘publish or perish’ adage/norm, examine the paradigm on which it is based and how it differently affects career tracks of African academics and their colleagues in the West. Basing on the theoretical stance of ‘research justice’, we agree that research is an indispensable part of academia but differ on the methods of disseminating the generated new knowledge and the measurement of impact factor of the published knowledge. Publication of knowledge should not only be contextual but also accessible and relevant to the target audience. We argue that the impact factor is most importantly how knowledge influences attitudes and practice of the target audience (or what should be the target audience). The chapter is based on personal experiences of several years in performance of the norm, conversational interactions with peers, plus empirical qualitative research carried out among women academics in four Ugandan universities using indepth interviews and, as such, though generic, pays some more attention to the peculiar gender circumstances of African women academics
Higher education for African challenges of the 21st century :
(Uganda Martyrs University Press, 2018-11) Ssentongo, Jimmy Spire; Byaruhanga, Aloysius
Acholi Manyen made us Fight': Understanding the Metaphor in the Former Lord’s Resistance Army Female Fighters' Battle Spaces
(2019) Komakech, Daniel
Drawing on from literature on women‘s agency in wars and case studying the various battlespaces occupied by the former Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) female fighters, I seek to argue that theformer LRA female fighters' role in the war was unthinkable without the nonutilitarianattitudinal-psychovalue motivation construct of Acholi manyen (New Acholi).Therefore, the repertoire of violence participated in by the former LRA female fighters, was constructed around the Acholi manyen ,making it pervasive in the LRA war discourse and system. In a sense, I try to validate the point that the stage of the politicalin the LRA rebellion was majorly the reconstruction of Acholi many through re-Acholicisation. This reconfiguration and imagining, was to reconstitute the political, economic and social land scape of Acholi. A transition from the 'outside'-the bush (a metaphor for old Acholi, Acholi B) that was ambiguously inhabited, to the 'inside'-a restructured and re-spatialised continuum. A new'Jerusalem' (asAcholi manyenwas alternatively referred), asplaceholder of the normal (Prugl, 2003).Second, by typifying the former LRA female fighter status, I connect to the broader literature on female fighter status (Coulter, 2008) and literature on the motivation of the female fighters.
Liberated Followership and Philosophical Reflective Thought for Meaningful Feminist Engagement
(Lit Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 2021) Nakabo, Robinah S.
Philosophy and feminism in Uganda are subjects to be discussed with reservation. Arguments about feminism mostly collapse into one category – radical feminism. Even with this common speech that refers to feminism as radical feminism, it is not clear whether those who hold such a conception of feminism understand what exactly radical feminism is, or even what feminism is all about. Philosophy, which ought to be a discipline that aids in understanding concepts such as these, their usage and implications, is avoided at all costs by most Ugandans. It is common for someone to say that philosophy is a complex subject for confused individuals and there is no sense in one setting time aside for philosophical study. With such attitudes, one wonders why and whether Ugandans meaningfully participate in globally-uniting phenomena, for instance the annual “Women’s Day” celebrations set for 8 March. It is also intriguing that if they do, they do not yet engage in any discourse about perceptions of 8 March for females and males. What do they celebrate and how does it impact on their lives the rest of the year? The argument here is that in order to understand feminism and all it represents, philosophy is an important tool without which, Ugandan’s wallow in endless prejudices and contradictions that do not help better interaction between women and men or to equally participate in globally discussed issues. In this paper, I attempt to answer: Why is philosophy not appealing to women in Uganda and what can be done to have changed attitudes?
Dialectics of Followership and Leadership in Relation to Globalization: A Case of Uganda
(The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2022) Nakabo, Robinah S.
We cannot deny the complex, multidimensional and uneven nature of the globalization process1 which is considered in different perspectives according to the benefits and risks it imposes on humanity. Some perceive it as widening and deepening the flow of economy, finance and communication, 2 global interactions or the assumed connection between peoples of the world and the fading of natural and artificial barriers. 3 However, the perception for the majority in a country like Uganda is rather the oneway flow of all these aspects, for this widening and deepening means for the least developed countries the export of cheap labor and the erratic consumption of global products. Natural and artificial barriers are not shrinking but rather thickening. Cultural influences for some countries are unidirectional, making many of them experience globalization only from the receiving end (mostly of the risks) instead of actively participating in the various opportunities of exchange. Why is this so? The answer I suggest is the nature of followership in some of these countries because this followership has led to various external influences, from the pre-colonial period, through colonialism to the present. Unless followership is active, effective and exemplary,4 Uganda will continue to go through globalization reaping only risks. Meaningful participation in globalization is hindered by leadership that takes precedence over followership. If the two move in tandem, all people can benefit from globalization opportunities. Followership in this context means the capacity and power with which every citizen is endowed so that she/he can act upon that capacity or exercise her/his power to keep leadership in check. According to Gautam Sen, the major actors in the globalization move are governments and multinational corporations.5 In Uganda, governments are a composition of a few leaders and are in most cases not representatives of the general will of the people. For instance, the Over the Top Tax (OTT) imposed on mobile money transfer and access to social media on July 1, 2018 and the constant modification of the constitution of Uganda, illustrate the conflicting interests between those entrusted with the responsibility of making laws, and those most affected by the same laws. The general reaction towards the mentioned laws suggested displeasure with the decisions, but leaders insisted that these are important measures. The question is, important for whom? This is why in all situations where decisions have to be taken to link Uganda to the global community, in this case mobile money transfer and access to social media, followers ought to be very keen and actively engaged in discussions and deliberations leading to such decisions. A representative government demands that the people be consulted. However, this aspect is overlooked or where consultation takes place, it is a formality which fails to collect representative views of the people.6 This paper is divided into four sections starting with a discussion of the pitfalls of globalization as an outward approach to development, the opportunities promised by globalization, a history of globalization in Uganda, and lessons learnt from elsewhere.

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