The Ugandan government has expressed reservations over plans by East African Management Institute (ESAMI) to suspend its fifth director, Dr. Martin Lwanga.
ChimpReports has learned that Dr Lwanga blocked attempts by top officials of the institute to misuse its resources hence the harassment and decision to get rid of him.
Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 4, 2024 wrote to the Governing Board of ESAMI seeking clarification about “the status of the Institute’s current and 5th Director General.”
“The Ministry has learnt that the Institute’s 5th Director General, Dr. Martin Lwanga, a distinguished Ugandan national who was appointed on 19th December 2022, has been served with notice of a motion for decision by the Governing Board for his immediate suspension,” said Uganda in a letter seen by this website.
“If true, then Uganda seeks to be made aware of circumstances under which such decisions could be made outside of due process within the workings of the Institution whose membership is set up by Charter as an Inter- governmental Organization and operating under rules of procedure,” the letter added.
Founded in 1980, ESAMI is a Tanzania-based international university owned by several member states of the East African region.
The founding members are Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Dr Lwanga sits at ESAMI’s headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
His appointment was seen as a major milestone for the renowned institution, as it marked the first time a Ugandan had risen to head the Sub-Saharan institute..
He replaced Zambian Professor, Bonard Mwape.
Since its establishment in 1979 on the foundations of the former East African Management Institute, ESAMI has evolved to become a beacon of excellence in leadership and management development across the African continent, resulting in the empowerment of over 85,000 middle and top- level African personnel with relevant skills and knowledge to navigate today’s dynamic and evolving global environment.
Uganda said it was proud to have been a founding member of the Institute, which is recognized today as a “Centre of Excellence” in the provision of leadership and management development programmes.
However, Uganda expressed concern about the machinations of the institute’s board of governors.
“Uganda remains convinced that the Governing Board of the Institute, whose role is to provide overall policy guidance and direction in the execution of ESAMI’s mandate shoulders the prime responsibility, under trust of its members, for ensuring and demonstrating astute governance in its relations with relevant organs as well as the Executive Committee,” Uganda warned.
“In this regard, due process remains absolutely essential,” said Uganda in the letter copied to ESAMI’s founding members.
Profile
Lwanga started with teaching and supervising postgraduate students at Makerere University for two years before quitting to help start a Christian radio station in Uganda, Power FM (104.1), where he served as CEO until 2003.
He then took on a role as a Senior Management Consultant at the Uganda Management Institute (UMI) for over a decade before moving on to serve as Dean of the Uganda Christian University School of Business.
Lwanga boasts a Doctor of Business Leadership from the University of South Africa, a Masters in Business Administration from the Maastricht School of Management, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Urban Governance from the Institute of Housing Studies in Rotterdam, and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma.
Lwanga went to Kings College Buddo, from where he attained a Higher Education Certificate to qualify which qualified him for university education.
He enrolled at Makerere University (1984) from where he graduated with Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Sociology in 1894.
