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Bugema University

By Nathaniel Mumbere Walemba, and Daniel M. Matte

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Nathaniel Mumbere Walemba, D.Min. (Andrews University, Berrien Spring, Michigan U.S.A.), retired in 2015 as executive secretary of the East-Central Africa Division (ECD) of Seventh-day Adventists. In retirement, he is assistant editor of this encyclopedia for ECD. A Ugandan by birth, Walemba has served the Seventh-day Adventist Church in many capacities having started as a teacher, a frontline pastor, and principal of Bugema Adventist College in Uganda. He has authored several magazine articles and a chapter, “The Experience of Salvation and Spiritualistic Manifestations,” in Kwabena Donkor, ed. The Church, Culture and Spirits (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2011), pp. 133-143. He is married to Ruth Kugonza and they have six children and fourteen grandchildren.

Daniel M. Matte, D.Min. (Adventist University of Africa, Nairobi, Kenya), is currently the president of Uganda Union Mission. He previously served as the Uganda Union Mission executive secretary. He also served as president of a field, a departmental director and a frontline pastor. He is married to Sarah Mbambu Matte and they have seven children.

First Published: October 6, 2022

Bugema University was chartered in 2009 by the Uganda government and is a Seventh-day Adventist Church institution of higher learning owned and operated by the Uganda Union Mission. It is located 30 kilometers north of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, on Gayaza-Zirobwe Road, in the Luwero District of Central Uganda. It is the largest Seventh-day Adventist school in Uganda.

Nchwanga Training School, the Precursor of Bugema University

Available Adventist Church records indicate that Brother Booth was the very first Seventh-day Adventist missionary to visit Uganda in 1903, for the purpose of establishing a mission station in Uganda1. He came to Uganda from South Africa. The South African Missionary periodical of June 1903 reported that Brother Booth visited Uganda in 1903 to contact the local natives, assess the needs, and study the openings available in Uganda to begin church work there.2 He is said to have come to Uganda via Mombasa and travelled inland by train to the shores of Lake Victoria, which he crossed by steamer and landed at Entebbe.

His assessment report to the team in South Africa was that he had found many people in Uganda anxious to learn and interested in the elevating influence of the gospel. He further reported that the authorities offered very favorable inducements to establish mission stations and that a splendid site for a mission station and schools in Uganda, with buildings already erected, was offered on agreeable terms. The report ended by indicating that Brother Booth left Uganda for England via Cape Town to raise funds to begin the work in Uganda.3

In 1906, another Seventh-day Adventist missionary by the name of E. C. Enns, a German missionary who was working at Suji in the Pare region of Tanganyika (now Tanzania), entered Uganda from South Nyanza, Kenya.  According to Virgil Robinson, “Enns called on Bishop Tucker of the Church Missionary Society during his several weeks of stay in the country. He is reported also to have called on the regent of Buganda and saw two young Christian princes, one of whom was the eleven-year-old Kabaka (king). It is said that the regent urged him to establish a medical mission among his people.”4  Thus Brother Booth and E. C Anns are the two Adventist missionaries who made initial contacts with Uganda to establish Seventh-day Adventist church work in Uganda in 1903 and 1906, respectively. However, it was not until 1927 that the first official Seventh-day Adventist mission station was opened in Uganda at Nchwanga near Mubende.5 This is about 125 kilometers west of Kampala.

Ugandan history from 1894 to the 1940s was characterized by what was called religious wars in which Catholic missionaries from France who arrived in Uganda in 1879, and Anglican missionaries from England who arrived in Uganda in 1887, got caught up in bloody battles with each other and with Muslims who had been in Uganda since the 1840s for political influence with the local kings and the colonial authorities.6 The delay in establishing the Seventh-day Adventist work in Uganda until 1927 is attributed to these battles which made the conditions unfavorable.

In the latter part of the year 1927, pastors W. T. Bartlett and S. G. Maxwell went through the country searching for a suitable place to establish a mission station for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Uganda.7 This search process finally led them to Nchwanga, an old coffee estate, one square mile in size, which they purchased for the first Seventh-day Adventist mission station in Uganda.8 Early in 1928, Pastor Spencer G. Maxwell and his wife, Constance Mary, moved to settle in Uganda. He came along with seven specially chosen African workers from Kenya and Tanganyika where the Seventh-day Adventist work was already established. These included: Petro Resase, Paulo Nyema, Samson Nyainda, Hezekiel Rewe, Yeremia Osoro, Abraham Musangi, and Ibrahim Maradufu.9 Spencer and Constance Maxwell and these seven African workers were the pioneer Adventist workers in Uganda who sowed the first seeds of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Uganda. Shortly, this pioneer team was joined by E. R. Anderson from Denmark and his wife. The latter were the pioneer Adventist medical missionary workers in Uganda whose work was based at Nchwanga.10 Others associated with the pioneer work of the Seventh-day Adventist work in Uganda were Aksel Valdemar Emil Toppenberg (also known as V. E. Toppenberg) and his wife, Minnie, then Vagn Rasmussen and his wife.11

G. A. Lindsay reports that by 1931, Seventh-day Adventist missionaries received several invitations from other parts of Uganda to send workers who would help them understand biblical truth.12 He observes that with these calls, it was clear by 1931 that one mission station was inadequate to meet these interests. He says that after some study of the field and its needs, it was decided that the Church must open another station in the vicinity of Kampala, which among other things, would serve as the headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist work in Uganda. The choice of Kampala as a place for the second mission station is understandable because Kampala was the seat of political power and the center of authority and other services.

In 1931 G. A. Lindsay visited Uganda and wrote as follows on how Kireka, the second Seventh-day Adventist mission station in Uganda, was acquired:

Until about a year ago, we had but one mission station in Uganda, located near Mubendi, about 125 miles west of Kampala, the capital. This lone station was found to be inadequate to meet the calls our missionaries were facing. In addition to this western station, it was realized, after some study of the field, that we must have one station in the vicinity' of Kampala, where the head-quarters could be located. Our brethren found several places which they thought were quite suitable for a mission station, but their budget was inadequate to meet the price. Then, in a very remarkable way, Brother Toppenberg was directed to a business concern in Kampala which owned large plantations of coffee, rubber, and cotton. Owing to the slump in the market for these products, the company was forced to sell some of its estates. One of these was located about six miles outside of Kampala, at Kireka. It was an ideal place, located on the top and down the slope of a hill. Here, in a providential way, the details of which we cannot now give, Brother Toppenberg was able to secure about forty acres of land. It is well developed, and planted with fruit and rubber trees.13

The Founding of Nchwanga Training School

The need to expand the mission services in Uganda naturally necessitated more workforce and more financial resources. Vagn Rasmussen, the first principal of the first Adventist school in Uganda, highlighted another reason why opening a training school in Uganda was necessary. He said that when the imported workers from Kenya and Tanganyika went back home after their first term of service, only two came back for a second term, with the rest opting to stay back home.14 This situation further made it necessary to begin a training school in Uganda to raise the much-needed local workforce to meet the growing demand for more workers.15 It was the needs of the growing missionary work and the sudden departure of Kenyan and Tanzanian workers that led to Nchwanga Training school's opening. According to Vagn Rasmussen, in the autumn of 1931, the Uganda Mission committee voted to begin a training school for workers at Nchwanga the following year, 1932.16 He further says that the East African Union Mission, in February 1932 authorized the Uganda Mission to use £44, a saving from its budget of 1931, for promoting the training school at Nchwanga.17

Rasmussen reports that by that time, there were eight groups of believers in the country, and from these groups, 16 students were picked to compose the very first student body of the training school. Seven of them were Baganda, seven were Banyoro, and two were Banyarwanda.18 “The average age of the students was eighteen, the oldest being about twenty-seven and the youngest fifteen years of age. Fourteen of these young men were baptized members of the church when they entered the school, and one is ready for baptism now.”19 Rasmussen, the pioneer principal of Nchwanga Training School, reported: “Our object in beginning a training school as soon as possible was primarily in the minimum of time to train as workers what material we had in order to fill the vacancies left by our imported workers from Kenya and Tanganyika who, with the exception of two, failed to return for a second term of service.”20 The language of instruction in the inaugural class at Nchwanga was Luganda. This was because there was no common education background as an entry requirement for the students. The need was to build workers from what was available.21

By the time of the founding Nchwanga training school, there were two mission stations, namely Nchwanga and Kireka; but Kakoro in Eastern Uganda was soon to be opened in 1933,22 which would increase the need for manpower to take care of the work. Between 1932 and 1933, the Seventh-day Adventist work in Uganda was organized into a Union called “Uganda Union Mission.” The Union territory included Uganda Protectorate, and the provinces of Bahr el Ghazal, Mongalla, Sobat, Pibor, and Upper Nile of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The Union Mission superintendent was V. E. Toppenberg, who also doubled as the mission superintendent of Kampala Mission.23 Between 1933 and 1934, Uganda Union Mission was renamed “Upper Nile Union Mission” with the same territory. V. E. Toppenberg remained the superintendent while V. Rasmussen was made the Union Mission secretary and Miss Esther Hange from Denmark was treasurer. 24

Founding of Bugema Training School

The growth and expansion of Church work in Uganda necessitated more plans for training more local workers to support the growing work in Uganda. More expansion was made between 1933 and 1949 when more mission stations were opened in Uganda: Kakoro - 1934, Katikamu - 1943, Rwenzori - 1945, and Ankole - 1949.25 F. H Muderspach in his article, The History of our Work in Uganda, indicates that Seventh-day Adventist work in Uganda was reorganized in 1943 when Upper Nile Union Mission was removed and Uganda Mission was made part of the East African Union.26 The record indicates that two years later, which takes us to 1946, one square mile of land was purchased nineteen miles from Kampala. This is the land on which Bugema Missionary College was founded with Brother G. J. E. Coetzee from South Africa as its first principal.27 The growing need for more workers led to the founding of Bugema as a training school.

Regarding the acquisition of the Bugema land, after several visits, the search team was convinced that the land was good for establishing a Training School. Thereafter, Uganda Field bought the land at Bugema, 640 acres, to establish Uganda Training School.28 Later, what was to be for the training of workers for Uganda was changed to become the Training School for the three countries–Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, after the organization of East African Union in 1943.29

In early 1947, construction of the new school commenced. Towards the end of the year, the furniture was moved from Nchwanga to Bugema, and in 1948 the Bugema Training School was opened. I. N. Andrews, an American national, served as acting principal, assisted by G. J. E. Coetzee and a staff of six people. By 1950, the plant included an administration building of six classrooms, four offices, and a dining hall, and only grades 1 to 8 were offered then. When I. N. Andrews left for Nairobi, Goetzee was appointed acting principal, which position he held until 1950 when C. J. Hyde became principal.30 In 1949, a two-year post-grade 6 teachers’ course was launched. In November 1950, the name was changed from Bugema Training School to “Bugema Missionary College.”31

Although the two-year course was approved, it was not recognized by the Uganda Department of Education; however, it prepared the way for a recognized three-year post-grade 6 course, which was first offered in 1951. In the same year a three-year post-grade 9 teachers’ training course (primary teacher training course) was offered. In 1953, the school was registered with the Uganda Education Department as a senior high school, with the first high school students sitting for their Cambridge Overseas School Examination in 1955. Many of the students were Kenyans. Two of the Ugandans available included Prof. Seth Lubega, who was from Mabale in Bunyoro, and the late Mr. Enock from Kakoro, Eastern Uganda.32

When Bugema opened its doors as a training school in 1948, the school at Nchwanga, which had been training vernacular teachers for Uganda, was closed down. The primary purpose of the new school at Bugema was to train advanced teachers for the three fields — Uganda, Kenya, and Tanganyka.33 To get the school operating quickly and efficiently, a number of teachers in Uganda were called to Bugema to join the staff. For a period of three years, there were no vernacular teachers being trained, which caused some concern until a new class was accepted in 1949.34 In 1952, C. J. Hide, the principal, wrote: Bugema is operating two teacher-training courses — the Vernacular and the Primary — both of three years' duration and the latter taught in English.35

By 1955, Bugema had four schools namely, a primary, secondary, a Teacher Training college, and a Ministerial Training school. All these institutions shared the same campus.* The teacher training program at Bugema for the higher grade teachers began at the end of the 9th year of schooling.* It is reported that during the first years, the school was busy preparing and bringing the students to the acceptable standard under some kind of remedial arrangement. The principal expressed the situation as follows:

At present we have Brother G. J. E. Coetzee, Brother Gerald F. Clifford and Brother G. Pursley. Brother Coetzee teaches the Primary Teachers' Course and has the responsibilities of registrar and the whole Normal Department and also comes in to the Junior Secondary Department to teach some classes in Arithmetic. Brother Clifford is housemaster in addition to the heavy teaching programme which he carries and he also keeps all our machines operating. What would we do without him? Brother Pursley, kindly loaned to us from Tanganyika while Brother R. A. Marx is in America, is in charge of our farm. He also carries a full load of teaching and we are thankful for his help here at Bugema. Each man is thus carrying two jobs, and our wives also are with us in the teaching and secretarial work. Without the help of our wives our heavy programme could not be carried. Our African teachers are of a good spirit and are united with us and are loyal and energetic in service; we thank God for them.36

Although there was a small African and European staff when a class of 13 students completed the required academic standard, they were admitted to a teacher training work at the beginning of 1951. Of these, eight were from Kenya and five from Uganda.37

There were questions raised about why the Union Training School was put in Uganda far from the center of the work in East Africa. Moreover, there were only a little over a thousand church members compared with 16,000 in Kenya and 4,000 in Tanganyika. Several answers were given. One of them was that, at that time, the standard of education in Uganda was considered in some quarters to be superior to that in the other two territories. “It was also felt that there was already a heavy concentration of institutions in the Luo fields for up until 1949 that field had the only hospital in East Africa, and was also the site of the publishing house. But there was another factor which seemed to carry more weight and that was “the fact that in 1945 when the move was made, Uganda was the only field in the Union in which our schools were not receiving financial aid from the government. The majority of the committee felt it was better that the Union Training School should not be government aided.”38

After the primary and the training school were transferred to Bugema, Pastor Hyde was assigned to open a school for training evangelists at Nchwanga. The students came from all parts of the Union. So, in 1948, the evangelists training commenced. “Many promising young men came to him for this purpose. They came married with their wives to live on the mission. Mrs. Hyde carried on classes for the wives and the school proved a great blessing. In 1950 when Pastor Hyde was transferred to Bugema, this evangelistic school was transferred with him,”39 and it became part of the Bugema Training College, which continued to grow into a full-fledged two-year ministerial training course for pastors of the three countries.40

Of the first ministerial class at Bugema, W. D. Eva, former president of East African Union wrote:

Advanced training for this work is being given in the East African Union at Bugema Missionary College about thirty miles north-west of Kampala in Uganda. Junior secondary work is offered at Bugema. For the Uganda Mission Field a vernacular teachers' training course is offered as well. Higher teacher train-ing, post junior secondary, has also been commenced this year. But perhaps more important is the evangelists' course that is taught by Pastor C. J. Hyde, the principal, and Pastor Bamanya. There are twelve men who have been sent in from the three fields of the union, for further training. They are men who have had experience and show promise of development as strong workers. The thirteenth member of the class is a ex-minister of a Protestant society who has accepted the message and is preparing to return to proclaim it to his people.41

Speaking of the same class, C. J. Hyde, the principal wrote: “The fresh two-year English Evangelist Class has begun this year and already their practice in personal evangelism in the neighbouring villages is bearing fruit. There are fifteen men in this group of student-evangelists, but twelve of them come from Kenya and Tanganyika and cannot speak the local language. To overcome this difficulty the Vernacular Teachers' Class go out with them on Sundays and act as interpreters.”42 If out of 15 students, 12 came from Kenya and Tanganyika, three must have come from Uganda. That trend of Ugandans being fewer continued for a long time. The main reason for this phenomenon was that Uganda was one mission field while Kenya and Tanganyika had more than one each.

The school continued to run as Bugema Missionary College, training pastors at a two-year certificate level. James T. Bradfield, who was principal then, wrote: “The evangelist training has thus far been on a secondary school level, but the college board took action early in 1969 to begin a junior college in 1970. Now with the organization of the Afro-Mideast Division at the 1970 General Conference, plans have been laid by the new division for Bugema Adventist College to become a full senior college immediately.”43

Bugema Becomes a Senior College

In 1975, Under Joshua Gwalamubisi’s44 leadership as the principal, Bugema attained a full college status under the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church criteria to offer a four-year Bachelor of Theology Programme. Thus, Bugema College became the first institution of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in East and Central Africa to attain this senior status. The college continued very well until September 20, 1977, when President Idi Amin imposed a ban on 27 denominations, including the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The theology students had to be moved to Kenya and finally to a church property at Watamu, a small town at the cost of Kenya, south of Malindi. It is reported that the first class graduated in 1978, at Maxwell Academy in Nairobi. It had three graduates, including the late Amon Rugerinyange, the first national Union president of Rwanda.45 Classes continued at Watamu until the ban was lifted after Idi Amin was overthrown by the National Liberation Front with the help of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, president of Tanzania, who sent Tanzanian troops to assist the Ugandan national liberators in April 1979.46 After the ban, the program was returned to Bugema. It should be noted here that the secondary section of the school continued to run under some arrangements by church members that were acceptable to the government. The second class to graduate was in 1980 with four students, namely Yohana Sunday Muhindo, Stephen Ngango, Rubayiza, Solomon Wakabi, Christian Aliddei.47 The third class graduated September 29, 1981, and it included nine students, namely Dr. Blasious Ruguri, the ECD president; Joseph Twesigye, former Executive Secretary of Uganda Union; James Kaggya–former president of Central Uganda Conference; Aaron Turyomugyendo, University counselor and lecturer, School of Theology and Religious Studies, Bugema University; George Muphagasi, dean of students at Bugema University; Nahshon Magezi, retired pastor in Rwenzori Field- Kasese -Western Uganda; Dr. Nehemiah Nyaundi, professor, University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, Kenya; Ishimwe Samuel; and Rutigunga in Kigali, Rwanda, as a chaplain. These were part of the 35 students who were in the seminary at that time.48 Today the Theology department has over 600 students.

Bugema Becomes a University

In 1990, under Dr. Jack Bohannon as Uganda Union president and chairman of the Governing Board, and Dr. Nathaniel Mumbere Walemba as principal and secretary of the Board, a decision was taken by the Board to separate the college from the secondary school. Accordingly, the primary school was relocated to its present site so the secondary school could occupy its premises. The college retained the old campus.49

The change of name from Bugema Adventist College to Bugema University was voted on September 21, 1994. In the same meeting, it was voted to rename Bugema College Board to Bugema University Council. Pastor S. B Kyambadde was voted Chancellor of Bugema University and Prof. Moses Golola the university Vice Chancellor.50

On June 6th, 1997, Bugema was granted a Provisional License from the National Council for Higher Education, which is the regulatory body of the Ministry of Education and Sports, to operate as a university, to operate a university.51 The Church and the college continued to work for a charter finally granted by the government on July 29, 2009.

Bugema Today

Since the acquisition of a charter in 2009, the university has had steady growth except for the two years of COVID-19 when the enrolment dropped to 824 in 2020. Below are statistics for the last eight years:52

Year Students enrolment
2015 2217
2016 2506
2017 2506
2018 2650
2019 2841
2020 824
2021 2292
2022 2292

Currently, the university is divided into seven schools. Currently, the enrollment in each school is as follows: School of Business, 369 students; School of Computing and Informatics, 163 students; School of Education, 402; School of Theology and Religious School, 645; School of Health Science, 351; School of Natural Sciences, 129, and the School of Social Sciences, 230. For a long time, Bugema has taken a leading role in the training of pastors for the service of the Church in the east and central Africa region. As the record indicates, the school of theology and religious studies has the highest number of students. The University has opened campuses in Arua, in the northwest of the country, Mbale, in the Eastern part of the country, and Kampala city. The campus in Kasese, Western Uganda, has been scaled down to remain a recruitment office for the main campus. The number of employees at 402 has also increased to match the increased number of programs.53 The following programs are offered in the 2022-2023 school academic year.54

Graduate programs:

MBA-Finance and Accounting

MBA-Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management

MBA-Human Resource

MBA-Investment and Entrepreneurship

MBA-Marketing

MBA-Procurement and Logistics

MBA – Project Planning and Management

Post Graduate Diploma International Business Management

Master of Science in Counselling Psychology

Post Graduate Diploma in Counseling Psychology

Master of Arts in Development

Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration and Management

Master of Arts in Education

Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction

Post Graduate Diploma in Education

Master of Science in Information Technology

Post Graduate Diploma in Information Technology

Master Of Public Health (MPH) options:

Health Promotion

Environmental and Occupational Health

Nutrition

Post Graduate Diploma in Public Health

Masters of Science in Information Technology (Information Systems)

PGD – Information Technology

Masters of Science in Information Technology (Network Security)

Masters of Science in Information Technology (Software Engineering

Masters of Science in Information Technology (Information Systems)

PGD – Information Technology

Masters of Science in Information Technology (Network Security)

Masters of Science in Information Technology (Software Engineering)

Doctoral study programs:

Doctor of Philosophy in Development Education Program

Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Management Program

Doctor of Philosophy In Rural Development Program

Undergraduate programs:

School of Business

Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting

Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance

Diploma in Business Administration in Accounting

Bachelor of Business Administration in Insurance

Kenya Accountants Secretaries National Examination Board (KASNEB)

Bachelor of Business Administration in Management

Bachelor of Business Administration in Office Administration

Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics

Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing

Bachelor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship

Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management

Bachelor of Business Administration in Project Planning and Grant Management

Bachelor of Business Administration in Management with emphasis in Transport, Procurement and Logistics

Bachelor of Business Administration in Management with emphasis in Production and Operations Management

Bachelor of Business Administration in Procurement, Supply and Chain Management

BSc. in Computer Networks and System Administration

BSc. in Software Engineering and Application Development

BBA in Business Information System

Diploma in Information Technology

Certificate in Information Technology

Short Courses Offered

CISCO Certified Network Associate (CCNA)

CISCO Certified Network Associate Security (CCNAS)

Linux Professional Institute Certificate (LPIC)

School of Social Sciences

Bachelor of Development Studies with emphasis in Disaster Management

Bachelor of Development Studies with emphasis in Gender studies

Bachelor of Development Studies with emphasis in Community Development

Bachelor of Development Studies with emphasis in Peace and Conflict Management

Bachelor of Public Administration and Management

Diploma in Development Studies

Bachelor of Arts in Social Work and Social Administration

Bachelor of Science in Counseling and Psychology

Bachelor of Social Administration and Sociology

Diploma in Social Work and Social Administration

School of Education

Bachelor of Arts with Education (Secondary and Primary)

Diploma in Education (Secondary and Primary)

Teaching areas: History, Religious Education, Geography, Entrepreneurship & Economics

Bachelor of Science with Education (Primary & Secondary)

Teaching areas: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Agriculture, Mathematics, Computer Science

Bachelor of Arts with Education (Secondary and Primary)

Diploma in Education (Secondary and Primary)

School of Natural Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Biotechnology & Plant Breeding

Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Agronomy & Soil Fertility

Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Crop Science & Protection

Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Animal Production & Nutrition

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Innovation and Management (3yrs)

Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science (Hons)

Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation

Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with Environmental Economics & Policy

Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with Environment &Natural Resources Mgt

Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry (BIOC)

Bachelor of Science in Statistics (BSTA)

Diploma in Science Laboratory Technology (DSLT)

General Science Courses (Biology; Chemistry; Physics; Mathematics, Agriculture and ICT).

School of Health Sciences

Bachelor of Nursing Science

Bachelor of Science in Food Technology and Human Nutrition

Diploma in Nursing (January / July)

Diploma in Food Science and Processing Technology

Certificate in Nursing (January / July)

School of Theology

Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.)

Bachelor of Chaplaincy

Bachelor of Development Ministry

Bachelor of Evangelism and Church Growth

Bachelor of Biblical Counseling

The University’s Contribution to the Mission of the Adventist Church

It is very clear from the information above that Bugema has played a major role in the training of workers for the Church not only in Uganda but in all countries in East Africa, DRC, and Rwanda. For a long time, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanganyia (Tanzania with the unity with Zanzibar) belonged to one union. Tanzania became organized as a separate union in 1960,55 but even then, Bugema remained the training center for all pastors. Since then, Bugema has continued to train workers even though every country in the region has a university or college of its own. But it has also contributed to the education of civic and political leadership in those countries. The institution has also impacted the world church as several leaders at division and General Conference levels have been graduates of Bugema schools.56

The community around the University has been impacted by the school's evangelistic programs. Many church congregations have been planted as a result of the work of the department of theology. Lately, the department of agriculture has been teaching people modern methods of farming so that even those who do not have much land can still produce enough for their own consumption and the market.

The nursing and midwifery department has impacted the community through the nurse training program, which requires intensive interaction with the community. The University health center III has been a blessing to the community as well.57

Bugema Leadership

Bugema Training School: W. N. Andrews (acting), 1948; G. J. E. Coetzee (acting), 1949.

Bugema Missionary College: C. T. J. Hyde (1950-1959); G. F. Clifford, (1959-1966); M. A. Morford (acting), (1996-1967); J. T. Bradfield (1967-1971).

Bugema Adventist College: E. H. Sequeira (1971–1972); L. L. Nelson (1972-1973); J. Gwalamubisi, 1973-1978 (first national); Christian Aliddeki (1978-1979); E. Lugoye (1979-1982); J. Villagomez (1982-1988); Nathaniel M. Walemba (1988-1990); Moses Golola (1991-1996). S. K. Thumasi (1999-2001).

Bugema University: Moses Golola (1997-1999); S. K. Thumasi, (1999 -2001); Elisha Semakula (2001-2006); Christian Aliddeki, acting (2006-2008); Patrick Manu, 2008-2021; Paul Katamba, Acting (2021- ).

Sources

Annual Statistical Report. Silver Spring, MD: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1928.

Bradfield, James T. “Bugema Adventist College to Receive Thirteenth Sabbath Offering Overflow.” Far Eastern Division Outlook, April 1971.

Galimaka, Herbert Ithram. Conflicts in Church and Society in Uganda with Special Reference to Politics and Education. M.A Thesis University of Durham, Department of Theology, Durham, England, 1997.

Hyatt, W. S. “A Visit to East Africa.” South African Missionary, June 1903.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Hyde, C. J. “Bugema Missionary College.” Southern African Division Outlook, July 1, 1953.

Lindsay, G. A. “With Our Missionaries: The Advent Message in Uganda.” The Advent Survey, August 1931.

Muderspach, F. H. “The History of Our Work in Uganda.” The Southern African Division Outlook, June 1955.

Rasmussen, V. “The Nchwanga Training School.” The Advent Survey, June 1933.

Robinson, Virgil, “The History of Africa,” DF 4001-E, 277, Ellen White Research Center, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Robinson, Virgil. “Third Angel Over Africa.” Advent Survey, June 1933.

Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia. Second revised edition. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996. S.v. “Bugema Adventist College.”

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

Unpublished manuscript on Adventist work in East Africa. “One Union Again,” chapter 7. Accessed February 15, 2021. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Books/TAOA1954.pdf.

Wharrie, M. “In the Uganda Protectorate.” The Advent Survey, June 1931.

Notes

  1. W. S. Hyatt, “A Visit to East Africa,” South African Missionary, June 1903, 3

  2. Ibid.

  3. Ibid.

  4. Virgil Robinson, “The History of Africa,” DF 4001-E, 277, Ellen White Research Center, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, U.S.A.

  5. Annual Statistical Report (Silver Spring, MD: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1928), 5.

  6. Herbert Ithran Galimaka, Conflicts in Church and Society in Uganda with Special Reference to Politics and Education (M.A. Thesis University of Durham, Department of Theology, Durham, England, 1997), 4.

  7. F. H. Muderspach, “The History of Our Work in Uganda,” The Southern African Division Outlook, June 1955, 6.

  8. Ibid.

  9. Ibid.

  10. M. Wharrie, “In the Uganda Protectorate,” The Advent Survey, June 1931, 4-5.

  11. Muderspach, “The History of Our Work in Uganda,” 6.

  12. G. A. Lindsay, “With Our Missionaries: The Advent Message in Uganda,” The Advent Survey, August 1931, 6.

  13. Ibid.

  14. Vagn Rasmussen, “The Nchwanga Training School,” The Advent Survey, June 1933, 5-6.

  15. Ibid.

  16. Ibid.

  17. Ibid.

  18. Ibid.

  19. Ibid.

  20. Ibid.

  21. Ibid, 6.

  22. Lindsay, “With Our Missionaries,” 6.

  23. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Office of Archives and Statistics, Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook 1933, (Silver Spring, MD: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists,1933), 156.

  24. Ibid.

  25. F. H. Muderspach, “The History of our Work in Uganda,” Southern African Division Outlook, June 1955, 6.

  26. Ibid.

  27. Ibid

  28. Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (1996), s.v. “Bugema Adventist College.”

  29. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 1945.

  30. Unpublished manuscript on Adventist work in East Africa, “One Union Again,” chapter 7, page 267, accessed February 15, 2021, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Books/TAOA1954.pdf.

  31. Ibid.

  32. Prof. Moses Golola, telephone interview with the author on May 11, 2022. Prof. Golola is one of the graduates of Bugema who became a vice chancellor of the university. He is a researcher who has written about the SDA Church in Ugnda.

  33. James T. Bradfield, “Bugema Adventist College to Receive Thirteenth Sabbath Offering Overflow,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, April 1971, 3.

  34. Unpublished manuscript on Adventist work in East Africa, “One Union Again,” chapter 7, page 267, accessed February 15, 2021, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Books/TAOA1954.pdf.

  35. C. J. Hyde, “Bugema Missionary College,” Southern African Division Outlook, July 1, 1953, 2-3.

  36. Ibid.

  37. Ibid.

  38. Ibid.

  39. Ibid.

  40. Ibid

  41. W. D. Eva, “Bugema Missionary College,” Southern African Division Outlook, May 15, 1951, 6.

  42. Hyde, “Bugema Missionary College,” 3.

  43. “Bugema Adventist College to Receive Thirteenth Sabbath Offering Overflow,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, April 1971, 2.

  44. Joshua Gwalamubisi, a Muganda by tribe, was the first Ugandan national to head the school.

  45. James Twesigye, unpublished write-up which he gave to the author before he passed away. He was one of the students who graduated from the same college in 1981.

  46. The authors’ personal knowledge as Ugandans.

  47. Yohana Sunday Muhindo, a personal interview with the author in his home in Katoke, Kasese, on May 2, 2022. Sunday Muhindo is a retired pastor and was one of the graduates of the second class of 1980.

  48. Joseph Twesigye, Unpublished writeup. The information was collaborated by Nehemiah Nyaundi, also a graduate of the same class, in a telephone interview on May 4, 2022.

  49. As principal, Nathaniel Walemba spearheaded the separation.

  50. Bugema University Board Minutes, 1994.

  51. Copy of the License in the principal’s office.

  52. Bugema University online management system, accessed on May 8, 2022, by Brian Bwambale, a lecturer at the University, on request by the author.

  53. Brian Bwambale, interview with the author on May 8, 2022, in Kasese. Brian is a lecturer at the university.

  54. https://ugcolleges.com/list-of-bugema-university-courses/. Accessed on May 15, 2022.

  55. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 1960.

  56. Author’s personal knowledge as a church leader and former principal of the school.

  57. Ibid.

×

Walemba, Nathaniel Mumbere, Daniel M. Matte. "Bugema University." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. October 06, 2022. Accessed June 13, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=CF8F.

Walemba, Nathaniel Mumbere, Daniel M. Matte. "Bugema University." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. October 06, 2022. Date of access June 13, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=CF8F.

Walemba, Nathaniel Mumbere, Daniel M. Matte (2022, October 06). Bugema University. Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved June 13, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=CF8F.