Jimmy Spire Ssentongo

Jimmy Spire Ssentongo (born August 14, 1979) is a Ugandan professor, academic, columnist, portraitist, author, human rights defender and editorial cartoonist. He is an Associate professor of Ethics and Identity Studies at Uganda Martyrs University (UMU). He also teaches Ethics and Research methods at Makerere University.

Background and education
Dr. Ssentongo holds a PhD in Humanistic studies from the University of Humanistic Studies in Holland which he defended on 26 October 2015; a Master's in Ethics and Public Management (Makerere University), a Master of Science in Education for Sustainability (London South Bank University – Commonwealth Fellowship), a BA in Philosophy (Urbaniana), and a Diploma in Philosophy and Religious Studies (Apostles of Jesus Philosophicum, Nairobi). He has been on post-doctoral fellowships as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for African Studies (University of Cambridge) and a Research Fellow on the African Humanities Program (AHP). Spire is said to have made his first cartoon publication in 2005 in Cartoon Theater, a paper run by the cartoonist Katz who was working with Daily Monitor at that time.

Career
Ssentongo is the founding Chair of the Center for African Studies at Uganda Martyrs University (UMU). Besides heading Research and Publication at UMU, he works as editor of the UMU monograph series, Mtafiti Mwafrika (African Researcher), and the Uganda Martyrs University Book Series. He is also a columnist and editorial cartoonist with The Observer newspaper. His research interests are in ethics and identity studies, especially on pluralism (living with diversity). He is also into studies on coloniality and decolonization, with a keen interest in Africa.

Awards
In 2021, Spire was honored as the recipient of the Janzi Award for his contributions to the field. He was recognized for his work as a cartoonist, which earned him the title of Outstanding Cartoonist. He also received nominations for his exceptional skills as a nonfiction writer and cartoonist.

In 2016, Spire was shortlisted for the Uganda National Journalism Awards 2016 working with The Observer newspaper in the Editorial Cartooning category in which he was the first runner-up with Chrisogon Atukwasize who was working with the Daily Monitor.

Dr. Spire received the Civil Liberties Award in 2023 for his contributions to defending civil liberties in Uganda. The award was presented by Chapter Four Uganda.

On the 8th of December 2023, Dr. Jimmy Spire was honored as the most exceptional human rights advocate of the year 2023 during the national symposium held in Jinja to commemorate the International Day of Human Rights Defenders.

On 2nd April 2024, Dr. Spire was among the three shortlisted nominees for the EU Human Rights Defenders Award 2024 by the EU Delegation to Uganda and he emerged winner.

Social media campaigns
Dr. Ssentongo has been using his art to comment on Ugandan society and politics for more than two decades. He focuses on issues such as corruption, governance, and human rights. From early 2023, he has spearheaded several social media campaigns on several topics like #KampalaPotholeExhibition, which commenced on Monday, April 17 through which people shared their views in regard to the condition of the roads in Uganda's capital Kampala using especially photos while tagging responsible authorities. #UgandaHealthExhibition, Just like the first exhibition, this campaign also captured the public attention plus the responsible authorities on the different social media platforms, especially Twitter causing responses from various government bodies and officials, including the president, who allocated shs6 billion for the repair of potholes. Next to that was #UgandaSecurityExhibition which was to expose the loopholes in Uganda's security system.

All through these campaigns, Dr. Spire worried for his life after receiving reports of threats against him after exposing government failures on social media.

Books edited

 * Decolonization Pathways.
 * Higher Education for African Challenges of the 21st Century.

Personal life
Dr. Spire is married to Diana who is a Lecturer, in the School of Distance and Lifelong Learning, Department of Adult and Community Education at Makerere University. The couple got married in 2012.