Although there are close to 45 registered universities in Uganda, there was no recorded university graduate at the time the nation became a British Protectorate in 1894.
It was not until 1928 that the the country which was then a British colony, recorded its first university graduate in catholic Archbishop Joseph Kiwanuka.
His Grace Kiwanuka who was born in Mawokota County in 1899, was a man of firsts.
He was the first Ugandan ever to attain a university degree, having graduated in 1928 with a Bachelor’s degree in Divinity from the Angelicum University, Rome in Italy.
According to the East African record book: “Who is who in East Africa”, 1961, first edition, the late Kiwanuka remains the first Ugandan to attain this feat in the history of the country’s education.
In 1929, Kiwanuka was ordained a priest before he went on to further his education and got a Doctorate of Canon Law in 1932. In 1939, he was consecrated the first black Bishop of Masaka. In 1961, he was consecrated the first Archbishop of Rubaga when his predecessor resigned and retired back to Europe. By this attainment, he was also the first black catholic archbishop in Africa.
Archbishop Kiwanuka died in February 1966 at Rubaga hospital and was buried inside the Rubaga cathedral.
But his body was later exhumed and reburied in the cemetery adjacent to the cathedral.