Muteesa I Royal University closed over students' strike

Muteesa I Royal University students carry posters during the strike. PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER KISEKKA

What you need to know:

  • Muteesa I Royal University is privately owned and was founded by the Kingdom of Buganda in 2007 in the former premises of Masaka Technical Institute and Buganda Royal Institute of Business and technical education.
  • Leadership: Its first vice chancellor was Prof Nsereko Munakukaama who retired in 2011. He was replaced by Prof Isaac Kigongo Bukenya who took over as acting vice chancellor until Prof Sserwanga came in 2014.

MASAKA. Muteesa I Royal University was on Monday closed after students went on rampage and vandalized the administration block , accusing the university top leadership of not attending to their aggrieves.

The angry students led by their guild president, Mr Trust Kirya hurled stones at the administration block, leaving most of the glass windows and doors shattered, forcing staff to run away for their lives. It was riot police‘s swift intervention that saved the situation.

The students particularly accused the Vice Chancellor, Prof Arthur Sserwanga of spending more time at the university’s city campus in Kakeeka, Kampala, thus neglecting the main campus.

“Mr Arthur, leave MRU in peace, we are tired of the absence of administration at the main campus,” read one of placards carried by the students.

Among other reasons the students raised was missing of lectures for several weeks due to absence of lectures.
Masaka Resident District Commissioner, Mr Joe Walusimbi who rushed to the campus to calm down the situation, said he fed up of the unending strikes at the university.

“The administrator of this university should get ways of attending to the students’ concerns. We are tired of being here every time as if this is the only university in this area,” he noted before he telephoned Prof. Sserwanga asking him to come and attend to the students’ concerns.
Mr Walusimbi later told the striking students that the VC had promised to come to the university and look into their issues.

However, Prof. Sserwanja accused students of over reacting, saying his administration is committed to addressing their concerns. The Students have since last year been complaining about poor feeding , bad learning environment, unpaid teaching staff and unreasonable suspension and expulsion of some staff.

“I am still attending some security meeting, but I am going to brief the students on what measures we are putting in place to address their concerns,” he said

This is the third violent strike at the university in less than a year. Last year, students forced the administration to close the ten –year- old university for two weeks.

During the university’s 6th graduation ceremony, the university chancellor, Justice Julia Ssebutinde, threatened to resign if students continue to participate in strikes at the university, saying she will not accept to have her reputation be tainted by irresponsible conduct, characterized by unjustified students’ strikes

“…I jealously protect my reputation and love it more than money ,” Ms Sebutinde said, adding “ If students continue to present such barbaric ways of resolving issues and Muteesa I Royal University becomes another rogue university in Uganda, I will go back to the Kabaka and tell him that I have failed the duty he assigned to me,” Justice Ssebutinde said.

Founded: Muteesa I Royal University is privately owned and was founded by the Kingdom of Buganda in 2007 in the former premises of Masaka Technical Institute and Buganda Royal Institute of Business and technical education. It has three campuses in Kakeeka-Mengo, Mubende and Masaka.

Accredited: The University was accredited in July 2007 and in October it admitted its first students and held its first graduation on April 15, 2011.
Leadership: Its first vice chancellor was Prof Nsereko Munakukaama who retired in 2011. He was replaced by Prof Isaac Kigongo Bukenya who took over as acting vice chancellor until Prof Sserwanga came in 2014.