President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is the current President of the Republic of Uganda and is the longest serving Chancellor of Makerere University, having served from 1986 to 2002, until he appointed Prof. Apolo Nsibambi as the first non-Head-of-State Chancellor in October 2003.
During his term as Chancellor of Makerere University, H.E. President Museveni initiated the affirmative action policy by requesting Makerere University to come up with measures to increase female students’ admission.
This initiative resulted in the Senate of Makerere University passing a policy on awarding 1.5 points to female applicants. This policy has increased female admissions from 25% in 1990/91 to the current over 40% in most Universities programmes.
His Excellency President Museveni was also instrumental in setting up the Department of Women and Gender Studies. This support resulted in Makerere University hosting the World Congress of Women in 2004.
Through his patronage and initiative, the Food Science and Technology Department was established in 1989. The Department along with other Units of the University have thrived under favourable agricultural sector polices, which attracted donor funds to the agricultural research. H.E. President Museveni then convinced UNESCO to support the establishment of a UNESCO Chair in Food Science and Technology Department.
This attracted a renowned American Professor Paul Hansen in 1994 who developed initial staff and students and further supported research ventures by staff and students in improvement of traditional food processing technologies and Food Biotechnology. Lateron in October 2009, he officially opened the Food Technology and Business Incubation Centre. He also agreed to be the Patron of the incubation programme.
To further agro-based industrialization, H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni caused the Government to approve UGX 4.485billion for the Food Technology Business Incubation Centre. Another UGX 2.5 billion was approved as venture capital, for university and college graduates for food business ideas.
During the H.E. President Museveni's term as Chancellor in the 1980s, Uganda had an HIV infection rate of 30%, one of the highest in the World at the time. The President and First Lady were at the forefront of one of the campaigns; the ABC programme, which had three main parts "Abstain", "Be faithful", or use "Condoms".
Through this campaing and other strategies, Uganda's HIV prevalence rates have declined from the former 30% to an average level of 18% in 1992 to 6.2% in 2002 and to 5.9% in 2009. Uganda currently stands as a rare success story in the global battle against the AIDS virus.
The President even after his term has continued to initiate and support several projects like:
The setting up of a Regional Centre for Veterinary Training and the allocation Nakyesasa Farm to the then Faculty of Veterinary Medicine to transform the farm into an Institute for Strategic Animal Resources, Bio Security, Bio-Technology and Entrepreneurship Development.
The Presidential Initiative, a fund Ushs 25bn fund over five years aimed at promoting technological innovations primarily at the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT). This fund was further boosted and expanded to include other Colleges in Makerere University. The fund helped Makerere University develop Uganda's first electric car, the Kiira EV.
H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) of Makerere University on 12th December 2010. He was also awarded the Doctor of Laws of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota on June 23, 1994 and the Doctor of Laws of Mbarara University of Science and Technology in February 2003. H.E. President Museveni has also received several awards in recognition of his fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda.