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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Police Fire Brigade has managed to put out a fire which had covered almost half of the roof of the institution’s main building.
The main building houses several offices including the university’s main-hall. The printery and Vice Chancellor’s office are also located at the same building.
Makerere University, the ‘Ivory Tower’ of Ugandan education, was due to resume studies next month after a long break off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Main Administration Building is one of the university’s oldest, and was completed in 1941 under the leadership of George C. Turner, Principal, Makerere College from 1939 to 1946. The Administration block is an iconic building at Uganda’s oldest university.
This was after the Duke of Gloucester, representing King George VI had cut the first sod for the construction of the building on 3rd November 1938.
“The Main Building with its unique 20th century British architecture is easily Makerere’s most recognisable symbol and was constructed with funds from the Colonial Development bourse, ” according to the Makerere website.
“The building’s construction was greatly delayed by a scarcity of resources to purchase materials as Britain and her allies grappled with the expenses of World War II. As a result, some of the carpentry work had to be done on-site at the Technical College.”
The Principal then focused on turning Makerere into a University College and establishing buildings.
As a result both the St. Francis and St. Augustine Chapels were completed in the same year 1941 and by 1944, plans for the establishment of a School of Civil Engineering at Makerere were already being discussed by the British House of Commons.
