In 2023, the grounds of Makerere University buzzed not only with students and scholars but with the weight of legacy. The university hosted the first annual Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile Memorial Lecture, paying tribute to one of Uganda’s most influential economists and public servants. It marked the beginning of a tradition meant to reflect on Professor Mutebile’s contributions to economic thought, policy, and education—not just in Uganda, but across the African continent.
Born in 1949, Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile’s story began at in 1970, where his passion for economics took root. His academic journey later led him to Durham and Oxford, but it was in Uganda where his ideas would take flight. As Governor of the Bank of Uganda for two decades, he guided the country through economic turbulence and reform, shaping the financial architecture of modern Uganda.
“Mutebile wasn’t just an economist he was a compass,” said one speaker during the memorial lecture. “He knew how to navigate stormy waters and bring an entire nation with him.”
The 2023 lecture was more than a look back; it was a call forward. Held in the university’s Central Teaching Facility, the event drew economists, academics, government officials, and students all eager to honor Mutebile’s memory by engaging with the pressing economic challenges of today. The keynote address by Finance Minister Henry Musasizi emphasized the importance of safeguarding macroeconomic stability an area Mutebile fiercely protected throughout his career.
President Yoweri Museveni, who worked closely with Mutebile during the economic reforms of the late 1980s and early ’90s, hailed him as a “patriot of exceptional clarity,” recalling how his advice was pivotal during Uganda’s transition to a liberalized economy.
Makerere’s leadership also used the occasion to reaffirm plans to actualize initiatives Mutebile had championed before his passing, including the establishment of a Chair in Monetary Policy, Banking and Finance, and a Center for Private Sector Development both to be housed at the School of Economics.
But perhaps the most enduring tribute was the crowd itself students jotting notes, young professionals asking questions, and a community reminded that policy, when driven by principle, can leave a mark not just in textbooks, but in people’s lives.
As the annual lecture series continues, it will serve not only to honor Mutebile’s work but to inspire new thinking, spark dialogue, and ensure that the questions he wrestled with continue to be asked and answered with rigor and courage.
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