Story by Betty Kyakuwa
It was a show of innovations at the Kololo Independence ground as the country marked its 59th Independence Celebrations. At the same Event, H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni launched the #MakerereAt100 logo, signifying the launch of the year-long celebrations of excellent service to humanity. Among the innovations, was the locally made diesel engine made by researcher of the College of Engineering, Design, Art and technology and Artisans from Kevoton Engineering.
A team of researchers from the African Centre of Excellence for Material science and nanotechnology (MAPRONANO) partnered with artisans from Kevoton Engineering, to design and assemble a diesel engine, the first of its kind in Uganda.
It is a single cylinder 4 stroke engine with 13 horse power and consumes 1 litre of fuel per hour. The engine is a water-cooled and therefore does not heat up.
The engines are able to run a generator and a water pump to facilitate irrigation on farms. The generator, is single phase and can therefore be used to power home appliances and small workshops.
According to Mr Mubiru Rogers of Kevoton Engineering, work on the engines started in 2017, but they were not able to make much progress until 2019 when they partnered with MAPRONANO ACE. The centre of excellence was then able provide training and technical advice, designing and student attachments to the project.