KAMPALA – The Makerere University staff and the student fraternity have celebrated the life of former Vice Chancellor, Prof. Livingstone Sserwadda Luboobi
Prof. Luloobi passed away on Wednesday July 16, 2025, at the age of 80 after many years of battling Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cancer.
Vice Chancellor for Makerere, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, with heartfelt tributes during the funeral service at St.Francis Chapel at Makerere on Friday , described Luboobi as a distinguished scholar, a man of composure and gentility who selflessly served Uganda’s top institution with humility and integrity.
“I was mentored by seven Vice Chancellors and it was Luboobi who introduced me to research management in Makerere. He made Makerere a research university, especially when he drafted the second strategy, where we managed to get 300 research grant publications in just one year,” Nawangwe said.
“He knew where Africa should be heading, and he cautioned us to invest in research as the only way to fight poverty in Uganda and the rest of the world,” Nawangwe disclosed.
Prof Luboobi was born on December 25, 1944, in Mitondo, Kalisizo in Kyotera district..
“By the time of his death, Dad was suffering from lymphoma cancer, which destroyed his lymphatic system, but he had the best doctors managing him at Uganda Cancer Institute. He spent some time in Mulago Referral Hospital, but he could not make it back,” Prof Dan Kibule, a son of the deceased said.
Luboobi served as Vice Chancellor from 2004 to 2009, leading the university through a critical period of transformation and growth, especially in the field of academic research and publication.
The Chairperson of Makerere University Council, Lorna Magara, praised Prof.Luboobi as a distinguished academician who was passionate about his work, especially in promoting the plight of mathematics in the institution.
“He won the Makerere University College, Faculty of Science Archer Strurroch prize. Jointly with Kirunda, he obtained a research grant from Makerere University to work on a research project: Mathematics models for the study of sexual activity groups and contribution of mobility to the spread of HIV/AIDS epidemic,” she said.
Luboobi hated corruption like a stepmother hates a co-wife’s child
According to Prof. John Magero, Luboobi was a highly principled man who sat above corruption cycles.
“In the early 1990s, I clearly remember him terminating the contract of a staff member in Mathematics on grounds of integrity. He could never twist his stand for personal gain or any sum of money to compromise standards, even if it meant to disappoint the government,” he observed.
Education career
According to Prof. Winston Tumps Ireeta, the Principal College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS), Luboobi started at Kakoma Primary School, Lwanda Kooki, went to Matale Primary School, Kalisizo, Kako Junior Secondary School, Ntare School, Mbarara and Makerere College School.
He joined Makerere University (First Class Hons BSc. Degree in Mathematics, University of Toronto, where he obtained Master of Applied Science, Operations Research, University of Adelaide (Applied Mathematics PhD in Bio Mathematics and the University of Bergen, where he obtained an honorary Doctorate (Honoris Causa).
Luboobi’s academic excellence propelled him to become a Full Professor in 1997.
During his tenure as Vice Chancellor, Prof. Luboobi championed international collaborations, enhanced institutional fundraising efforts, and supported strategic investment initiatives.
He also established the Makerere University Private Sector Forum, bridging academia and industry to spur innovation and entrepreneurship. His leadership style encouraged open dialogue and academic freedom, making Makerere a respected institution nationally and internationally.
“Prof. Luboobi was not only a pillar of academic excellence but also a transformative figure in the history of Makerere and the field of Mathematics in Uganda. He supervised more than 35 PhD and 53 MSc students, including Makerere’s first female PhD graduate in Mathematics and revitalised a once-declining department into a thriving academic hub,” Ireeta insisted.