News

It is with great shock and sorrow that we announce the passing on of Prof. Francis Nathan Okurut of Kyambogo University in Uganda following a tragic road accident that occurred on Monday, 21 October 2024. Prof. Okurut was a great and dedicated member of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) network. He had served for several years as a visiting Professor in the teaching of the Monetary Economics at the AERC Collaborative Masters Programme (CMAP) and the Collaborative PhD Programme (CPP) Joint Facility for Electives (JFE). He also served as the Chairperson of the team of experts in the review of curriculum and development of online modules for the AERC Monetary Economics CMAP and CPP elective course, as well as in the setting of comprehensive examinations for the PhD programme. To the students he taught at the Joint Facility for Electives, he was always offering fatherly advice and encouragement, over and above teaching and guiding them academically. He can be confidently described as a man of good spirit, who was selfless and always ready to give a helping hand whenever he was called upon to do so. 

Prof. Okurut rose through the ranks to become a Professor of Economics at the University of Botswana, where taught for 15 years before returning to Uganda and joining Kyambogo University. He was an accomplished scholar with numerous publications as well as served as an external reviewer for many international peer reviewed journals. He was also a consultant for several projects funded by international organizations. 

Prof. Okurut has left a great gap in the AERC network, and he his great wisdom and contribution will be greatly missed. Over and above this, his family and friends all around the world, have lost a great man. 

May his soul rest in eternal peace.