The study focused on neo-liberalism and its influence on Governance Reforms and Student Politics at Makerere. Systematic Literature Review was employed to review academic journals, policy papers and book chapters. Both broad search and specific focused search were used to generate themes and subthemes of the required literature. The study was guided by the public-private distinction theory which elucidated succinctly on the role of public-private organizations and their relevance to this study. The study revealed that before and after independence, higher education in Uganda was a monopoly of the state. However, in the late 1980s and early 1990s there were reforms in Uganda’s higher education delivery based on neo-liberal policies. It is pointed out that government was no longer competent enough to maintain its monopoly in the management of higher education in the country because of its inability to adequately fund the system. So what happened is that a number of governance reforms were implemented based on neo-liberal policies which focused on market-oriented approaches. Such market-oriented concepts included; cost sharing in public universities, private higher education, commercialization/commoditification and massification of higher education. Students’ response to such neo-liberal reforms was particularly significant especially at Makerere. These policies shaped students’ politics at Makerere characterized by violent demonstrations and strikes which at times led to lose of lives and property in and around Makerere.

This paper explores the contributions of four eminent political figures namely Edward Bitanywaine Rugumayo, Dani Wadada Nabudere, Omwony Ojok and Yashpal Tandon to the post-independence politics of Uganda. The quartet belonged to the anti-Amin groups in exile who participated in the Moshi conference in Tanzania with the support of President Julius Nyerere. They were dubbed the gang of four by President Godfrey Binaisa during his short-lived regime in 1979. The four had been members of the National Consultative Council (NCC) which served as the legislative arm of the UNLF government under Yusuf Lule and Godfrey Binaisa. Edward Bitanywaine Rugumayo chaired the NCC; in other words, he was the speaker of the then National Assembly. During his tenure as the chairman of the NCC, Lule was removed from office after only 68 days. After Lule’s overthrow, Godfrey Lukongwa Binaisa was sworn in as president but shortly, he was also overthrown by the military commission under the leadership of Paulo Muwanga and Yoweri Museveni. The gang of four later to played a very critical role in academia and taught in many universities both within and outside Africa. The four never participated in the 2nd Obote regime; they were all in exile. However, they resurfaced after the fall of the Obote II and two of them; Edward Rugumayo and Omwony Ojok worked closely with President Museveni during his lengthy NRM regime and served in different capacities.