Dr. Nathaniel Walemba, DMin

On behalf of Rwenzori International University (RIU) Directors, the Chancellor, University Council, the Senate and Management, I welcome you to our University Website. Thank you for showing interest in reading about our institution. We trust that by the time you finish the reading, you will have known more about it than you did before you read.

At RIU we seek to create an environment which is conducive to learning and enticing to learners. We work with all stakeholders because everyone has a useful role to play. Therefore, we invite all stakeholders – state and non-state actors, namely parents, students, members of staff, the management team, the university council, the Board of Directors, local authorities, National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), and well-wishers to join us on this journey. We desire to demonstrate what is encapsulated in our university motto, “Together we will”.

As we begin this journey, we aim at walking the talk in terms of integrity and work ethic. We purpose in our minds to be accountable and transparent. In this regard, I cherish what Mrs. Ellen White said: “The greatest want of the world is the want of men—men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.”

As an institution, we would like our influence to radiate the local community, nation and the international community. Even if we influence one person at a time, we will consider ourselves successful. Megan Whalen Turner said, “Sometimes, if you want to change a man’s mind, you have to change the mind of the man next to him first.” We therefore agree with Beatrix Potter who observed that a strongly marked personality can influence descendants for generations. We hope that one day it can be said of us that we individually and collectively changed generations.

We are fortunate to be located between the equator and a snow capped mountain in equal proximity. This makes us unique and we invite those who do not have such an exciting environment to come and share with us what we have. We want to be the home away from home to students, researchers, faculty of other institutions, and other people who would like to explore the Rwenzori Mountains, a UNESCO world heritage site rising to 5109 meters above sea level and measuring 120km long and 65km wide. It is the highest mountain in Uganda and the third highest in Africa. We hope that the more than 217 recorded bird species, over 994 recorded plant species around us and the series of lakes – -Albert, George, Edward, Katwe (salt), and the crater lakes in our neighborhood, geological formations in our area will inspire many researchers to join us in our own research initiatives.

As a young institution which was given a license in June 2022 by National Council for Higher Education, we seek to learn from those who have perfected this game. Even though Tom Robbins said that “Cries for help are frequently inaudible”, I hope that ours will be. As we start this institution, we aim at nothing but excellence in everything we will do-research for generation of knowledge, teaching for impartation of knowledge and community outreach for service.

We believe in team work. Accordingly, we seek linkages with other institutions of higher learning. We believe that we have something to offer to those who will chose to partner with us in areas of tourism, environmental conservation, peace building initiatives, village level economic empowerment which augers well with Uganda government national development plan and wealth creation initiatives which are a stepping stone to the national vision 2040, Africa vision 2063 and the sustainable development goals 2030. Service delivery is one of our core values, thus we want to be seen as people who did what they set out to do, and we believe that together we will. Thank you.