Makerere University has rebuked the rising public criticism on the William Ruto Institute of Leadership Studies, accusing critics for being “misguided and out of context.”
Speaking to Daily Monitor yesterday, Dr Muhammad Kiggundu, the director of communication and public relations at Makerere University, said they will not be dragged into political squabbles in Kenya.
“Makerere University is an education institution and again, our approach to development may not be much more inclined to political affiliation,” he said.
Dr Kiggundu said with close to 100 years of its existence, the university has relied on partnerships with those whose concern is to develop education.
“William Ruto’s initiative should be commended by all patriotic African elites and not condemned out of apparent misconception. Makerere awaits the implementation of yet another initiative by another great Kenyan leader, Mwai Kibaki, which he launched four years ago,” Dr Kiggundu said.
The university also later took to its social media accounts calling on critics to embrace investment opportunities that would shape the institutions academic and public image.
On December 21, the university erected a foundation stone for the Institute to be named after Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto. The leadership institute is expected to cost up to $7 million (about Ksh700 million).
COUNTERPART FUNDING
President Museveni has also pledged $100,000 (Ksh10 million) as counterpart funding.
The project has, however, drawn criticism from a section of politicians and academia both in Uganda and Kenya, who attacked the university for dealing with a “dirty” politician.
The chairperson of the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Prof Makau Mutua, scoffed at the partnership as “a butt of all jokes.”
Prof Mutua is the Dean of the University at Buffalo Law School, where he also serves as Distinguished Professor and the Flyod H. & Hilda L Trust Faculty School at State University of New York.
In his missive, published by the Daily Nation, Prof Mutua wondered why Mr Ruto is interested in Uganda’s academia but has never lobbied for improved education back home.
“The logical question to ask is why Makerere, a university, would name a highfalutin institute after a person whose doctorate is at the very least suspect?” Prof Mutua asked.
Mr William Kamket, the MP of Tiaty Constituency in Kenya, said whereas universities need money for infrastructure and research, they must be careful not to be associated with everyone who comes around with bags of cash.
The other controversy revolves around the fact that the foundation stone for the ‘Ruto Institute’ was placed on the same plot earmarked for Kibaki’s Presidential Library, something which according to Prof Mutua should be rejected “pronto.”
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