By Kemiso Wessie
Whether in a lecture hall, a research fellowship abroad, at conferences, and beyond, Dr. William Tayeebwa is committed to using media to tip the scales towards peace.
As Senior Lecturer in journalism and communication at Makerere University in Uganda, where he led the department for six years until 2020, Tayeebwa says: “I love teaching because of the interactions with dynamic students whom you see transforming into amazing professionals.” He is also chair of the African Institute for Investigative Journalism and managing editor of MakPress, a subsidiary of Makerere publishing.
Colleagues describe him as passionate, hardworking and focused. However, he adds with self-awareness: “Though colleagues do not agree, I am not a good multitasker, and I procrastinate a lot.”
Tayeebwa was born and raised in Mbarara, western Uganda, near the Rwandan and Congolese border. After schooling locally, he studied philosophy at St. Mbaaga Major Seminary in Tanzania and undertook spiritual formation with the Missionaries of Africa in Switzerland. A period of pastoral work in what was then Zaire (now the DRC) preceded his return to Uganda, where he earned a Bachelor of Mass Communication from Makerere in 2000.
He then completed an MPhil at the University of Oslo in 2003 and earned a PhD in Communication Studies at Concordia University in Montreal in 2012. His doctoral research, funded by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, examined radio as a reconciliation tool during Uganda’s conflict with the Lord’s Resistance Army.
It was during a Peace Journalism course taught by scholars such as Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick that his perspective crystallised. “It brought the realities to bear on my journalism work in Uganda, covering the conflicts in Northern Uganda and the Eastern DRC,” he says.
Tayeebwa’s work focuses on peace-oriented radio initiatives, such as Dwog Cen Paco (“come back home” in Luo) and Ter Yat (“conversation under a tree”), both broadcast in Gulu. Using framing theory, he analysed how journalists constructed narratives of peace and transformed them into broadcast discourse. That research laid the foundation for subsequent postdoctoral work in Burundi and the DRC, where he continues to grapple with the structural constraints that journalists face, from political interference to newsroom cultures steeped in sensationalism.
To shift the paradigm, he advocates conflict-sensitive journalism education and alternative storytelling frames that emphasise reconciliation, cooperation and human dignity. “I have argued in my research that such peace frames ought to constitute a monitoring and evaluation structure for Peace Journalism practices and products,” adds Tayeebwa.
Currently, he is part of the European Commission-funded COMMPASS project, which supports journalism students and professionals in crafting more sensitive and humanising stories about migration. A related initiative, backed by the German Foreign Office, investigates how African and European media jointly shape migration discourses.
For Tayeebwa, the renewal of journalism education in Africa is urgent and overdue. Beyond perennial infrastructure and staffing constraints, he sees a need to update curricula to meet the demands of an ever-changing mediascape. “That too comes with the requirement to empower educators with skills and aptitudes to train the multimedia and highly digital journalist able to work across all platforms,” he adds.
He is a strong advocate of bridging the gap between academia and industry, convening symposia, guest lectures and editor roundtables to ensure African journalism remains relevant and credible. “A good journalist is not only one [who investigates],” he adds, “but also one who tells simple stories of triumph by ordinary people.”
If given the chance to host a dinner party, Tayeebwa’s guest list would include Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame; Professor Johan Galtung, a pioneer of Peace Journalism; and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa, whose calls for peace in the DRC and globally have deeply inspired him.
Despite his academic and editorial commitments, Tayeebwa makes time for his wife, Consolata and five children, swimming with them at least three times a week. He also enjoys watching the news and leans toward National Geographic and the History Channels, reflecting his ongoing curiosity about life.
And if he could pick a superpower? It would be the ability to banish procrastination, a gentle reminder that even the most accomplished among us are still, in small ways, works in progress.
Dr. William Tayeebwa, senior lecturer in journalism and communication at Makerere University, is an academic committed to using media to tip the scales towards peace.
This article, Meet Your Colleague: William Tayeebwa was originally published by Ajenda Newsletter on May 15, 2025