The Minister of Higher Education, Hon. Dr. John Chysestom Muyingo, has moved a Motion in Parliament to pay tribute to the late Professor Ali A. Mazrui.
Ali Mazrui was a professor and political writer. He served as Head of the Department of Political Science and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Makerere University until 1973, when he was forced into exile by Idi Amin.
He was critical of African socialism and all strains of Marxism and he was a strong advocate for liberalism.
Hon. James Michael Akena, who seconded the Motion, cited Prof. Mazrui’s great contribution to the Uganda as a country and the entire African continent. “Professor Mazrui, enriched the politics and nationalism of the entire continent through his works,” Hon. Akena said.
Hon. Akena added that through Prof. Mazrui’s writings and lectures, he inculcated knowledge and awareness across the African continent and that most of his works are still instrumental in political and academic circles.
Hon. Ken Lukyamuzi, who also seconded the Motion, attributed his political success to Prof Mazrui. “As a Research Assistant for Prof. Mazrui, I picked a lot from him regarding how to debate, be a good orator and off course the wealth of knowledge in the fields of history and politics,” Hon. Lukyamuzi stressed.
Hon. Lukyamuzi added that Prof. Mazrui was a mentor to him and to many other people. He proposed to the Parliament and Makerere University to set up a monument in his memory.
At the time of death, Ali Mazrui had been serving as an Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities and the Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. He was laid to rest at the family’s Mazrui Graveyard opposite Fort Jesus in Mombasa, Kenya.