NUR to honour Sharma, Mwapachu

The National University of Rwanda (NUR) will this month confer Honorary Doctorate Degrees on Kamalesh Sharma, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and Amb. Juma Mwapachu, the former Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC). According to a statement from the Commonwealth Secretariat, the degrees would be awarded ‘honoris causa’ in recognition of their individual contribution to international and regional integration. In a telephone interview, NUR Rector, Prof Silas Lwakabamba, confirmed the development, noting that it was a university’s mandate to honour individuals who have greatly contributed towards the world’s development. “These two individuals have been involved in international and regional development. It’s our obligation not only to award students, but also other international individuals whom we think have contributed much towards the development of the world,” Lwakabamba noted. He observed that Rwanda has benefited from its Commonwealth membership as well as that of EAC, where Mwapachu served as Secretary General for five years until last year. Rwanda became the 54th member to join the Commonwealth Group in 2009 and assented to the EAC in 2007. The graduation ceremony is set for January 27 where 3,344 students are expected to be awarded with degrees and diplomas in various disciplines. Other foreign dignitaries previously awarded honorary degrees by NUR have included former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata.