Ms. Carol Adoch is the first woman to be awarded a Doctor of Laws from Makerere University.
Adoch was among the graduands today and was awarded a Doctor of Laws (LL.D), making history.
Prof. Christopher Mbazira, the Principal Makerere Law School, presented the list of graduands during the 72nd Graduation Ceremony held at Freedom Square on Monday.
Prof. Ezra Suruma, Makerere University Chancellor, did the honours of conferring the doctorate on Adoch.
Prof. Christopher Mbazira @bazzira Principal @MakerereLaw presenting the list of graduands during the #Mak72ndGrad Ceremony @Makerere pic.twitter.com/362GzbNCve
— Makerere Law School (@MakerereLaw) May 23, 2022
Bakesima gets PhD at 29
Meanwhile, Dr Ritah Bakesima Ssozi also got awarded a PhD at the age of 29 after completing her doctorate in Reproductive Health.
Her research was on modern contraceptive use among female refugee adolescents.
Bakesima studied modern contraceptive use among female refugee adolescents in northern Uganda: the prevalence, effect of peer counselling, adherence, and experiences.
Julia Muhumuza, a Bachelor of International Business student with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 4.91, became Makerere University Business School (MUBS)’s best student.
The University said it had committed to increasing access to higher learning for the girl child.
“Evidently, the percentage of female graduands from Makerere has increased from 6.5% in 1957/67 to 52% in 2021/22.”
Drop in first class degrees
Makerere academic registrar, Alfred Namoah Masike, said a total of 12,474 students are expected to graduate in different disciplines.
A total of 6,538 are female, representing 52 percent while 5,936 are male, representing 48 percent.
Of these, 283 students are expected to graduate with first class degrees compared to the 312 students last year.
Prof. Ezra Suruma, Chancellor of Makerere University, congratulated the parents, guardians and sponsors upon making it to this day and thanked them for the sacrificial support.
He said the global invasion of the Covid-19 pandemic since 2019 thrust the world into unprecedented change.
“The threat to life was real and indeed we lost some students, staff and parents,” he noted.
He added: “I trust that your passage through Makerere has strengthened you and empowered you to thrive and prosper in a constantly changing world. As you step out into the world, please be mindful of your direction and destination.”
Dr. Carol Adoch @MakerereLaw
Awarded a Doctor of Laws (LL.D) by Prof. Ezra Suruma, Chancellor @Makerere during the #Mak72ndGrad Ceremony. Congratulations! 👏🏽🙌👌👍🙏 #MakerereAt100 pic.twitter.com/CbMIjUdnXq— Makerere Law School (@MakerereLaw) May 23, 2022
On his part, Makerere University Vice-Chancellor, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, reminded graduands, parents, guardians, development partners and well-wishers that Makerere University is now 100 years old.
“I sincerely thank His Excellency The President whose support led to the creation of the Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF) with initial funding of UGX 30 Billion per year.”
“As you leave the gates of Makerere today, I invite you and your parents and guardians to join all those who have already made individual and corporate contributions to #MakerereAt100 Celebrations both in cash and kind, by making your personal contribution,” he noted.
