Gen. Caleb Akandwanaho, Salim Saleh, the Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation and Senior Presidential Advisor on Defence and Security, has confirmed Operation Wealth Creation’s (OWC) support for the Karamoja Peace and Technology University (KAPATU) Project. The major support will be in operationalizing the Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

He announced this profound decision during the meeting he convened at his residence in Gulu District on July 27, 2024. He was meeting a high-powered delegation from the KAPATU Project Strategic Leadership Committee led by the University President His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dominic Eibu MCCJ accompanied by the Chairperson University Council and President of the Catholic Lawyers Society International Mr. Twinobusingye Severino.

The other senior Leaders in attendance were the Hon. Anthony Akol – MP for Kilak North Constituency and the Chairperson of the West Nile, Acholi, Lango, Karamoja (WALK) Group and the Hon. Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, the Gulu West MP.

During the meeting, Gen. Salim Saleh commended the efforts of the proprietors of the KAPATU Project namely the Roman Catholic Church, the Catholic Lawyers Society International and the Government of Uganda for advancing the operationalization of this university.

He assured Rt. Rev. Bishop Dominic Eibu MCCJ and Mr. Twinobusingye of total OWC’s support for the university by ensuring that there is provision of water for irrigation, and support for mechanized agriculture by provision of tractors and other agricultural machinery from OWC and MAAIF.

The Meeting in Pictures:

This intervention by the CCOWC is a milestone achievement for the University as it provides an essential impetus for the immediate operationalization of the Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

Gen. Salim Saleh informed the Bishop that the Roman Catholic Church is a reliable and trusted partner and the establishment of the KAPATU Project is timely and fits well with the development plans of the government for Karamoja.

He assured the Bishop and his delegation of H.E. the President’s commitment to the KAPATU Project.

Gen. Salim Saleh informed the Bishop and his delegation that he had been keenly following the progress of this project from its inception, the Project launch on 29/4/2023 at St. Augustines Institute Nsambya that was graced by H.E. the President represented by H.E. Jessica Alupo, the Vice President.

He equally keenly followed the laying of the foundation stone on 28/7/2023 at Losilang Catholic Parish in Kotido Municipality where H.E. the President was represented by H.E.Jessica Alupo the Vice President.

Gen. Salim Saleh further revealed to the Bishop that he funded the academic research whose findings and conclusions informed the establishment of the KAPATU Project. The lead researcher that he fully funded under the auspices of OWC was Mr. Twinobusingye Severino. He was grateful to Mr. Twinobusingye Severino for using his research findings to support the Roman Catholic Church and the Government of Uganda by leading this effort of using university education as a tool to liberate Karamoja from its current challenges. He informed the Bishop that H.E. the President was fully committed to ensuring the full operationalization of this university.

The Bishop informed Gen. Salim Saleh that the University through the faculties of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Engineering and Technology and Health Sciences aim to educate and empower students and the communities with practical knowledge, life skills, and value addition to crop and animal production.

In addition, using the Israel Kibbutz approach, the university plans to establish large-scale farms across Karamoja to transform the hunger-stricken Karamoja Sub Region into a food basket.

Given that Karamoja is largely a semi-arid area, the provision of irrigation technology is crucial for realizing this plan. The irrigation will also support other initiatives of the University, such as reforestation, climate change mitigation, and the establishment of model farms with medicinal plants to support edge-cutting research and the establishment of the pharmaceutical industry under the faculty of health sciences to develop modern medicines using plants.

The Hon. Joan Kakwenzire – the Senior Presidential Advisor on Poverty Alleviation, and the Hon. David Bwangamoe Pulkol, the Principal Advisor to the Chief Coordinator of OWC and other officials from relevant government departments also attended the meeting.

In April 2024, the KAPATU Project was granted a Letter of Interim Authority by the National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) and is currently in the process of being operationalized by KAPATU’s Strategic Leadership Committee.

The Strategic Leadership Committee is chaired by H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the President of the Republic of Uganda, as the Founding Chancellor and is deputized by H.E Jessica Alupo, the Vice President of the Republic of Uganda, as the Founding University Deputy Chancellor and the University Chief Promoter. H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has assured the Roman Catholic Church that he shall do whatever it takes to ensure that the KAPATU Project succeeds. The decisions taken by Gen. Salim Saleh are therefore in fulfilment of the President’s commitment to the people of Karamoja sub-region.

The KAPATU Project is a joint venture of the Roman Catholic Church represented by the Kotido Catholic Diocese, The Catholic Lawyers Society International, and the Government of the Republic of Uganda.

The university’s main campus is deliberately located in Jie County in Kotido Municipality at Christ the King Catholic Parish, Losilang, Kotido District, Karamoja Sub-Region, North Eastern Uganda, East Africa.