Umar Kakumba

Umar Kakumba, is a Ugandan management consultant and academic administrator who, since 15 November 2018, serves as the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (DVCAA) at Makerere University, Uganda's oldest and largest public university.

Background and education He was born in Uganda in the 1970s. After attending local primary and secondary schools, he was admitted to Makerere University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences. He followed that with a Diploma in Business Administration and a Masters in Public Administration & Management, all from Makerere University.

His Doctor of Philosophy in Public Affairs degree was awarded by the University of Pretoria in South Africa. In 2014, he completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Wolfson College, Cambridge, in the United Kingdom. On 2nd August 2024, he handed over the office as the DVCAA to Bunyiza Mukadasi, the academic registrar at that time.

Scholarly work As of March 2026, he has been featured in many publications.

Journal articles

Enhancing public–private partnership operating environment for tourism development in Uganda. Optimizing public–private partnerships in Uganda’s tourism sector: critical success factors and best practices for sustainable project outcomes. Gendered Participation in Water Governance: Implications for Successful Communitybased Water Management and Women Empowerment. Perceptions of Youths on Government Venture Capital Fund (The Accrued Empowerment Benefits). Assessing the Institutional Capacity of External Agencies in Holding Local Government Accountable in Uganda. Assessing the Institutional Capacity of External Agencies in Holding Local Government Accountable in Uganda. Local government citizen participation and rural development: Reflections on Uganda's decentralization system