Dr Mukama’s legacy at Makerere speaks volumes for itself

There is a quiet buzz of excitement in the lecture room. The audience in the room is made up of different generations. The younger people sit talking in hushed tones to each other though I manage to overhear their topic; is the person replacing their lecturer able to fill her shoes?

Hanging on the periphery of the younger people, is the older generation which looks nostalgic to find themselves back in one of Makerere University’s Main Hall lecture rooms. The unifier of the two generation is Dr Ruth Mukama, the prominent scholar who has been and a professor of Linguistics at Makerere.

The professor was giving her valedictory lecture after 28 years at the institution. She describes linguistics as more about harmonising languages, discussing and teaching them or more of a science of describing languages.
On this august occasion, she is accompanied into the main hall by the chairperson, inaugural professional lectures organising committee and the vice chancellor; all dressed in their ceremonial clothing.

Dr Mukama’s farewell lecture is about changing the world through language.
“Most of the times we talk about a language that we may not be able to use or speak but we can analyse through interpretation or through other people and your work is to describe it,” notes Mukama.
The professor speaks three languages fluently— Lugwere which is her mother tongue, English and Kiswahili. She can speak Luganda too but finds difficulty with the idioms.

In her lecture, she teaches how language controls the way societies are structured. Her informative yet simple lecture is an example of brilliant preparation, passionate gender activism and a mastery of language. It encompasses Dr Mukama’s world since she was 26 years old; linguistics and gender mainstreaming.

Dare that birthed a career
Dr Mukama was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of East Africa in 1970. Shortly after that, she was invited for an interview by a professor of linguistics who doubted her ability to study and pass linguistics.
“The professor pointed out to me that while I might be good in literature, linguistics was a different game altogether. He seemed to insinuate that its discipline and approach were beyond my capacity. I told him that the field might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I was determined to make it mine,” narrates Dr Mukama.

Her determination earned her a Masters scholarship to the University of York, England in 1971.At York, Dr Mukama showed an extraordinary grasp of her studies in the qualifying exam resulting in an unprecedented first.
“Linguistics is not an easy field but I was determined to work hard and excel. My determination paid off and I was allowed to do my PhD without first doing a Masters degree as was required. After three years, I got my PhD. I managed to do in three years what others do in five,” she relates.

Rude welcome
Dr Mukama relates that on her return to Uganda, she applied to the department of Linguistics at Makerere University but was turned down on account of over qualification. She was then appointed lecturer in Makerere University, a post she declined.Instead, she applied to the University of Zambia in Lusaka where she lectured in Linguistics and English Language until 1976.

“I opted to work in Zambia because of the rumour that was circulating that Idi Amin, who had taken over power by then, was killing people who were returning from abroad,” she says.
From Zambia, Dr Mukama became the coordinator of the Joint Graduate Programme for the departments of Foreign Languages and Kiswahili at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania and worked until 1978. She then took a position at the University College of Botswana, Gaberone, as the head of the graduate programme of English Language and Linguistics until 1979.
“When the Amin regime fell, I returned determined, like other colleagues, to do my best to develop the nation.

“Makerere University however, was still determined to employ me as a lecturer and not as a senior lecturer as per my qualifications, which I refused to settle for. This struggle took me six years but I finally got what I wanted.
“This experience opened my eyes to the realisation that gender bias was real at the institution and the ceiling for women was very low. A woman could serve the university, but not at the central management level. I also realised that women’s struggles are usually lone struggles and that women tend to struggle harder than men,” she relates.

Living single
Talking of the lone life, Dr Mukama has been single all her life. The professor who describes herself as quiet and recluse, relates that she never married after her fiancé ended up with someone else because he could not wait for her to come back to Uganda.
“It was not about the person per se. It just happened that when I missed that window, I never met any other eligible person. And with time I realised it was too late for me. I enjoy the life I have since I love being quiet and keeping to myself,” she adds.
Although she never had children of her own, Dr Mukama has raised many children over the years with whom she has developed a strong bond.

Becoming dean
Dr Mukama was the first female dean of a faculty and headed the Faculty of Arts for 15 years. These achievements did not come easy. She had to overcome biases and discriminations, which would be unbelievable to many women who came after her.
In 1993, when she applied for the dean of Faculty of Arts position, Dr Mukama faced a lot of opposition which, she says, was gender based because “people do not have much faith in women.”

The appointment which had to go through an electoral process dragged on for a year and she was appointed in 1994. It did not take long before Dr Mukama started pushing for gender mainstreaming at the university.
Teaming up with other notable women activists such as Prof Joy Kwesiga, law professor Sylvia Tamale and Prof Consolata Kabonesa, Dr Mukama agitated for and eventually succeeded in attracting local and international funding for the establishment of the Makerere University School of Women and Gender Studies.

Drawing on her real-life struggles against gender bias, Dr Mukama and her colleagues were determined to find a way they could bring more women into management positions. They started the Gender Mainstreaming Division, through which they submitted a paper to the University Council proposing that at least one out of the three top posts be held by a woman.
“After the paper was discussed, a policy was passed stipulating that the first deputy vice-chancellor (Academics) should always be a woman,” Dr Mukama relates.

Plan after retirement
Dr Mukama’s brilliance and wealth of experience would be wasted in quiet retirement. The professor has managed to make inroads against gender based biases, paving way for generations of women.
With her retirement from Makerere University, Dr Mukama signed a contract with Kabale University where she will be teaching for the next three years. Barring other tempting offers, the professor is planning to settle down and finish her incomplete manuscripts after serving the three years.
“My years at Makerere University were too busy to let me complete and publish my own books. With this lull coming up, I hope to catch up,” she intimates.

Other contributions
“In my heyday I was always a serious and committed result oriented performer, as a result I was continually called upon to numerous tasks institutionally, nationally and internationally. I, therefore, contributed greatly to the university, general public, and government of Uganda as well as internationally,” says Dr Mukama.
She says she has served on the university senate, council, the appointments board, the senate committee on gender mainstreaming and chaired many other boards and standing committees.

One of her biggest credits is her contribution to curriculum development as she designed key programmes. She also launched the teaching and institutionalisation of Kiswahili at Makerere University, and by multiplier effect, in several other public and private universities in Uganda through her students and the subject programmes she generously availed to the starters. She also launched the Makerere journals of languages.

Mukama is one of the founders of Action For Development (Acfode), an NGO that spearheads the struggle for women’s rights and gender equality in Uganda. Her good writing skills have been well utilised for editorial and rapporteur work; she has edited books and other documents for organisations like Acfode, Fowode, Uwonet, EASSI and AMwA. She has also done editorial work for the office of the Auditor General.

The Makerere community too benefited from her great editorial expertise.
She edited documents and reports for the department of women studies, the graduate school, the gender mainstreaming division and Makerere Institute of Social Research.
Her work has also enabled her to officiate at notable conferences such as the Social Science Conference 2000 and the Women’s World 2003.

In 2009 to 2014, she represented Anglophone Africa on the high level panel for the pan-African university.
Dr Mukama’s legacy at Makerere University and other Linguistics departments will continue to speak for itself even after her retirement.

Leaving a mark
At the University of York, where Dr Mukama had earned a scholarship for a Masters programme, she showed an extraordinary grasp of her studies during the qualifying exam, resulting in an unprecedented first. She was allowed to pursue a PhD without having to complete the Masters programme as is required. She therefore completed in three years what most do in five.