Uganda's Cabinet has approved a significant allocation of Shs 180 billion in the Financial Year 2025/26 National Budget to support the establishment of the Karamoja Peace and Technology University (KAPATU) Project.
This decision was made during a special Cabinet meeting held at State House Entebbe on December 16, chaired by President Museveni, who also serves as the Founding Chancellor of the university.
He was joined by Vice President Jessica Alupo, the university’s Deputy Chancellor.
In a letter dated December 18, Bishop Dominic Eibu, the President of the KAPATU Project and Bishop of Kotido Catholic Diocese, expressed his gratitude to President Museveni for his strategic support of the KAPATU project.
The establishment of KAPATU aims to enhance peace and technology in the region, which has long faced challenges related to security and development.
“On behalf of the Roman Catholic Church led by His Holiness Pope Francis; on behalf of the Uganda Episcopal Conference; the Catholic Lawyers Society International; on behalf of the Karamoja Parliamentary Group (KPG), on behalf of the 1.4 million Karamojong people and all the Ateker People in Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and on my own behalf, I feel profoundly honoured and exceedingly humbled to extend to Your Excellency a message of profound gratitude for your support of Shs180 billion in the national budget for the Financial Year 2025/26 for the establishment of Karamoja Peace and Technology University (KAPATU) Project,” reads the letter from Bishop Eibu to President Museveni.
The letter further stated: “The KAPATU education, therefore, focuses on these specific aspects and targets specifically the youth, the Karachunas, the Warriors, and street children. Therefore, KAPATU is a game changer in the great scheme of things and, as such, it is a special university that is designed to transform the region.”
The Chairperson of the University Council and the President of the Catholic Lawyers Society International, Counsel Twinobusingye Severino, said: "This is great news for the people of Karamoja, the Ateker Region, and the Great Lakes Region."
He added that the university will address critical issues such as cattle rustling, food insecurity, homelessness, and unemployment, among others.
“I would like to extend my special thanks to our Founding Chancellor, President Yoweri Museveni, for his steadfast strategic leadership regarding the KAPATU Project.”
KAPATU will also enhance peace and technology, promote peacebuilding and technological advancement in the Karamoja region, increase access to quality higher education in the region, as well as foster regional development and contribute to the socioeconomic development of the Karamoja region and beyond.
The Cabinet’s approval marks a crucial step towards realizing the vision of KAPATU, promising to bolster educational opportunities and promote peacebuilding in the Karamoja region.
