Kato lacked tuition, never gave up his dream to join university

At the end of January, Laban Kato went viral on Twitter after sharing his story from grass to a university graduation. 

Born in a family of 10, Kato says he did not attend nursery school but attended a primary school that was Church of Uganda based. At the time his parents were paying his school fees which was Shs1,000 per term. However in Primary Six, he could not continue with school  because of tuition constraints.

“My father placed our family land as collateral to a Sacco to acquire a loan of Shs500,000 and he left home. He defaulted and the Sacco confiscated our property. When our mother protested, she was jailed for two weeks,” Kato recalls. He says this disrupted his studies.

“Towards the end of that year, I travelled to Kabale and stayed with a relative for a short time before I left for Kampala to seek greener pastures,” he adds.

SEE PICTORIAL: Makerere University 73rd graduation ceremony

He stayed with one of his aunts who was working at the police training school in Kibuli. They lived together  for eight months.

“At the beginning of 2007, my aunt helped me start an airtime business from which I used to earn Shs30,000,” Kato recollects.

Rough patch with ray of hope
One day in 2008, on his way from work he was attacked by a thief who robbed him clean.
“Part of the money that was stolen was capital from an uncle,” he shares.

Kato says his uncle suspected him for the theft and wanted him arrested but they came up with an agreement with his aunt to refund the money that had been stolen. 
“I worked the whole of 2008 to refund the money,” he says.

At the end of 2009, he started working for Mukwano Industries.
“I left home and co-rented a house with a friend of Shs 60,000 per month. I used to earn Shs3,500 per day,”Kato remembers.

One day, towards the end of the year he met his father walking to the Old Taxi Park. He told his father about his desire to return to school, and he gave him a chance,” he says.

Kato sat Primary Seven interviews at Red Stars Primary School, Kasubi but he failed.
The school advised him to join Primary Five instead but he pleaded and they allowed him in Primary Seven.
“I was given an opportunity to study Primary Seven and I scored Aggregate 17 at Primary Leaving Examinations,” Kato says.

He says when the results came out in 2011 his father declined to pay fees for Senior One.
“My father said he wanted me to complete primary school and fend for myself,” he says, adding that he had also promised him that if he found the money, he would take Kato to Kisekka Market for apprenticeship in automotive mechanics.

Turning point
Kato did not heed his father’s advice. One day, he met his friend Frederick whom he shared his dilemma with.
“Frederick told me about Kampala High School whose tuition was Shs50,000 per term and offered me a job to wash his car, he says.

Kato had initially wanted Mengo Senior School but did not make the grades.
Frederick would be paying him Shs80,000 per month.

He gave Kato money for a school uniform which was Shs45,000shs. At the time Kato was staying with his father who was oblivious of his activities.

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In his Senior Three, together with his mother they approached a legal organisation and sued the Sacco which had confiscated their family land. “By God’s grace, we won the case,” he says.

Towards the end of 2013, his friend Frederick died in a motor accident. 
“Before his death, I was performing well in class because I read hard not to disappoint him,” he says. Kato got a job at an eatery but discovered he could not make as much to raise tuition. Then, he talked to his friend Molly who had a job at Equatorial Mall.

“She promised to talk to her boss so that I could find work placement,” he recollects. 
Indeed, lady luck smiled at him.

“I was working at a restaurant where I had to do deliveries and sometimes cooked since I was studying Food and Nutrition at school,” Kato says. “I cooked recipes from my exercise book," he smiles.
His wage was Shs8,000 and he left his father to co-rent with a friend.

“At the end of 2014, I sat for Uganda Certificate of Examinations (UCE) and during my vacation I was still working at the restaurant,” Kato says.

He had saved handsomely and along the way had met a lawyer whose office was at Equatorial Mall. The lawyer used to give him errands.

“She used to give me work in her office and pay me,” he says.
 His results came out and he had scored Aggregate 31. He returned to the same school and read Physics, Economics and Maths because he wanted to be an engineer.

Tough seasons
“The tuition for A-Level was higher, so I had to keep working at the restaurant as I studied,” Kato explains.
He says he had a schedule on when he would go to school and the restaurant.
“My results came out in 2017 but I had eight points without two principal passes,” he recalls.

Things looked gloom again and he was indecisive about his situation. He chose to keep working during vacation but went to rent somewhere else.

Kato says he spoke to a friend who advised him to repeat Senior Six and to register from Isingiro District.
“My friend promised to cater for everything. When I went to Isingiro he paid my registration fees,” he recalls.

Kato says in August 2017 he found out that he was not registered for UACE. The money for registration had been given to the headmaster of the school but it never made it to the bank.

“The headmaster was arrested and he refunded. I registered at another school in Church of God High School in Kasubi,” he says.

He worked during the day but would read with others in the evening hours. He wanted two principal passes that would propel him to university.
“I did the final exams and I got 12 points,” he shares.

Meanwhile, his boss had put the restaurant up for sale. With his friend, they pooled funds and bought off the business.

Kato applied to Makerere University for a Bachelor of Commerce and was admitted on August15, 2018 which was a milestone for him.

“In my first year, I paid my tuition using my savings,” Kato recalls.

In his first semester of second year, they sold off the restaurant business due to the losses they were making.
“Our employees cheated us yet we had loans to service. So, we sold the business on good will and cleared the debts,” he says.

Breakthrough
Life became extremely hard, but one day, as he was walking around Mulago, he found students filling forms of The Tertiary Education Scholarship Trust (TEST) for Africa which is under Oxford University.

“I printed a form and started looking for copies of my school documents to apply for a scholarship. A month later, I received a phone call saying I had got the scholarship,” Kato says.

He says before the scholarship, life at the university was hard and his grades, not the best since he attended few lectures with divided attention. He was always worried about his next source of tuition and livelihood.

After earning the scholarship, he decided to get a place in Lumumba Hall since his needs would be catered for under the scholarship.

“My friend who encouraged me to repeat Senior Six kept sending me some money even after I got the scholarship,” he recalls.

Leadership role
“In my second year, second semester I contested as the Guild Representative Council and I was appointed as 86th Guild Minister for Security in 2020 after the first Covid-19 lockdown,” he says.

He was in charge of students’ security.

He started different initiatives to support students who were in the same place he once was. He says he has helped 13 students to secure scholarships.

Future
“I plan to start ACCA after graduation and I want to get a scholarship for my master’s degree,” he says.

Kato says he is looking for a job where he can earn a living. He says he would like to contest for a political position in his village when he is ready in future.

Classmate says 

Doreen Namakula, his classmate, says that Kato was active in class.
“When he got the scholarship, I could tell him we have a discussion and he kept his word of attending,” She adds.

She says he is focused and a go-getter.
“He knew he needed the scholarship urgently since he was struggling with tuition and class, and he chased it until he got it,” Namakula recalls.

The  scholarship
The Tertiary Education Scholarship Trust (TEST) for Africa enables gifted students who would otherwise miss out on a university education to get a degree, both unlocking their potential and helping them contribute to their communities.

The Trust currently operates in Ghana, Malawi, Uganda and Tanzania. 

FYI

Did you know? 

Makerere University last week on Monday, February 14, kicked off its five-day 73rd graduation ceremony at the institution’s main campus in Kampala.

A total of 13,221 graduands, of whom 6,809 (52 per cent) were female and 6,412 (48 per cent) were male, graduated during the university’s graduation ceremony, which ended on February 17, 2023.