Dr. Aisha Sembatya Nakiwala

Designation:

Senior Lecturer

Qualifications:

PhD

School:

Languages Literature and Communication

Department:

Journalism and Communication

Brief Profile:

Dr. Aisha Sembatya Nakiwala is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Journalism and Communication (DJC) at Makerere University, where she has held the position since 2020. Prior to this role, she served as the Department Coordinator for Graduate Programmes from 2016 to 2020. Dr. Nakiwala is also a valued member of the editorial board at Editor House Facility, a Ugandan media and research publication company.

Under her leadership, the department has launched three innovative graduate programmes: Journalism and Multimedia, Strategic and Corporate Communication, and Health Communication and Promotion. These programmes, launched in 2023, reflect her dedication to making Makerere University a research-led institution. Dr. Nakiwala has been instrumental in transforming the department into the forthcoming School of Journalism, Media, and Communication. Her efforts have also secured international collaborations with universities and agencies, including Oslo Metropolitan University, Linnaeus University, Deutsche Welle Akademie, and the Journalism and Media International Centre.
Dr. Nakiwala has demonstrated strong leadership in organizing key academic events, such as chairing the scientific committee for the inaugural Humanities Conferences at Makerere University in 2021, which drew participants from 22 universities worldwide. She also served as convenor for the East African Communication Association’s annual conference in 2016, one of the best-attended editions of the event.

Publication:

Lukanda, N. I., Walulya, G., Nakiwala, A. S., & Mwiine, A. A. (2025). De-patriarchalising the media coverage of science in Uganda. In A. Chitando, E. Kamaara, & E. Chitando (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Contemporary African Women. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003413820
Nakiwala, A. S. (2024). Towards a health-promoting campus: Institutional complexities in communicating health information in Uganda’s higher education sector. In E. Lubinga, S. C. Knonosoang, & K. Karabo (Eds.), Perspectives on Health Communication from Selected Sub-Saharan African Countries (pp. 129-159). University of Johannesburg Press. https://doi.org/10.36615/9780906785058-05
Nakiwala, A. S. (2024). What do they talk about? Exploring women’s narratives on Facebook. In J. Ahikire, E. Nabutanyi, & I. Tibasiima (Eds.), Jua Kali Discourses: Reflections on the Banal and Profound in Regional Debates (pp. 170-198). Kampala: Fountain.
Nakiwala, A. S., & Tayeebwa, W. (2022). Science journalism and communication in Uganda: Revising a university curriculum to meet the country’s needs. In C. Wendo (Ed.), Science Communication Skills for Journalists: A Resource Book for Universities in Africa (pp. 34-42). Wallingford: CABI.
Tayeebwa, W., Wendo, C., & Nakiwala, A. S. (2022). Theories and models of science communication. In C. Wendo (Ed.), Science Communication Skills for Journalists: A Resource Book for Universities in Africa (pp. 14-19). Wallingford: CABI.
Madoi, R. N., & Nakiwala, A. S. (2021). Is we they? A cross-cultural study of responses to Covid-19 updates in Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda. Journal of African Media Studies, 13(3), 351-366.
Nakiwala, A. S., & Selnes, N. Florence. (2020). Gender in journalism education: Addressing shortfalls in male students’ enrolment at a media department in Uganda. Journalism Education, 9(2), 43-53. http://journalism-education.org/issue-9-2-index/
Nakiwala, A. S., & Kakooza, F. (2020). Social media for communicating health information: Constraints and practical suggestions for developing countries. Health and New Media Research, 4(2), 246-273. http://www.jhnmr.org/HNMR/bbs/board.php?bo table=s52&wr id=47.
Nakiwala, A. S. (2020). Risk perception and negotiation of safety among Ugandan female journalists covering political demonstrations. In A. G. Larsen, I. Fadnes, & R. Krøvel (Eds.), Journalist Safety and Self-Censorship (pp. 130-147). Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Journalist-Safety-and-Self-Censorship/Larsen-F...
Nakiwala, A. S., & Semujju, B. (2019). Feminist power and its implications on Uganda’s malaria communication campaign. Feminist Media Studies, 19(3), 443-457. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2018.1465442
Nakiwala, A. S. (2017). Empowering children as health communicators: Experiences from a malaria control school programme in Uganda. In A. Mushengyezi & P. Litho (Eds.), Media for Young People in Uganda: An Introduction to Theory (pp. 94-118). Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Nakiwala, A. S. (2016). From recipients to partners: Children in malaria education in Uganda. Health Education, 116(2), 202-219. https://doi.org/10.1108/HE-03-2014-0036
Nakiwala, A. S. (2016). Media and information literacy among young people in Uganda: Findings from interviews with selected key informants in Uganda. Deutsche Welle Akademie.
Nakiwala, A. S. (2015). Rethinking health communication to address social-contextual barriers for malaria control. Doctoral Dissertation, Makerere University. http://makir.mak.ac.ug/handle/10570/5565

Grant Information:

2011-2015: Doctoral Research Grant by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).
2022-2026: Co-investigator on the NORPART-funded project to strengthen journalism and media studies between the global north and south.
2024-2026: Principal Investigator on a project engaging communities to combat unsafe labor migration, funded by the Science for Africa Foundation and Carnegie

Corporation.

2018-2020: Early Career Research Grant to investigate women’s voices in social media in Uganda, funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation.
2020-2021: Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) on the development of a Multimedia Hub for the Communication of Research and Innovations at Makerere University, funded by the Government of Uganda Research and Innovations Fund (RIF).
2020: Investigator on the research project on the use of social media in communicating health information in Uganda, funded by the Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research Development (NORHED).
2018-2020: Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) on a project to mainstream Science Journalism and Communication in the Department of Journalism and Communication at Makerere University, funded by the Science for Africa Foundation.

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