Political scientist Prof Moses Khisa has intensified scrutiny on Victoria University Vice Chancellor Dr Lawrence Muganga, offering a sharply critical assessment that adds new pressure to the ongoing controversy surrounding his failed ministerial nomination.
Prof Khisa argues that, from a scholarly standpoint, Muganga’s academic and professional record does not meet the threshold expected of a vice chancellor at a serious university.
He claims the trajectory of Muganga’s public profile raises questions about credibility in higher education leadership.
“From a scholarly standpoint, there’s very little to his CV that qualifies him as VC of any serious university,” Khisa states, adding that Muganga’s recent prominence has been built more on public projection than academic substance.
In his assessment, Khisa suggests that Muganga has cultivated an image of an education innovator in recent years, particularly through his alignment with emerging trends such as artificial intelligence in education.
However, he argues that this positioning appears opportunistic rather than grounded in academic ethics or institutional depth.
“A careful look appears to show an opportunistic character not grounded in ethos and ethics of university education,” Khisa observes, linking this to what he describes as a broader pattern of image-building in public intellectual spaces.
The comments come in the wake of Muganga’s rejected nomination for State Minister for Internal Affairs, where Parliament’s Appointments Committee reportedly raised concerns over his citizenship status and eligibility.
The committee’s decision has triggered wider debate over legal requirements for public office and the scrutiny applied to high-level nominees.
Khisa further suggests that Muganga’s push for a ministerial appointment has now become politically damaging, describing the effort as “utterly embarrassing.” He argues that if Muganga had a strong case, independent intellectuals would naturally defend it.
“As an independent Op-Ed writer, I’d happily write in his defense; but he has no case,” Khisa concludes.