Museveni to meet student maker of teargas

Kampala. President Museveni has offered to meet a third-year Makerere University student of Chemistry and Botany who claims to have made tear gas from local materials.

Mr Samuel Mugarura was thrust in public limelight last month when he blasted what he called a homemade teargas canister only to be disowned by his lecturers. This was after police said they would arrest him over the gadget.
Speaking to Daily Monitor in a telephone interview yesterday, Mr Mugarura confirmed having received a phone call from a person who identified himself as a State House employee, informing him that the President had requested to meet him over his appliance.

“They said the President would like to meet me to offer me support for my project. They promised to take me to State House to meet him individually,’’ said Mr Mugarura.
Daily Monitor could not independently establish whether the people who contacted Mr Mugarura were from State House.
President Museveni’s senior presidential press secretary Don Wanyama could not be reached for a comment on the said meeting with the President as he was reported out of the country.
But Mr Mugarura was upbeat about meeting Mr Museveni and expressed hope to use of the opportunity to request for a scholarship to advance his innovation as well as ask the President for protection.
President Museveni recently ordered the ministry of Finance to provide Shs15b for an ICT innovation fund in a bid to support innovative youth.
Speaking to NRM young enthusiasts at the National Leadership Institute at Kyankwanzi on September 16, Mr Museveni said government is committed to supporting young innovators through both the youth fund and innovation fund.
Gen Jeje Odong, the Internal Affairs minister, also welcomed the innovation by Mr Mugarura, saying: “Science and innovation are very welcome, especially if they are done by Ugandans. I welcome those innovations. What is important is for us to harness them.’’
Mr Odongo said it would be interesting for the government to interact with innovative individuals and find a way of encouraging and supporting them.
The Makerere University Vice Chancellor, Prof Ddumba Ssentamu, recently told Daily Monitor that the institution takes cognisance of Mugarura’s contributions.
“This is an innovation and this is what universities are for. To me, it is a great innovation and we should encourage him’’ Prof Ssentamu said, adding that he is proud of Mr Mugarura and promised to support him.
Dr John Wasswa, the head of the Chemistry department, a unit under the College of Natural Science, recently said Mr Mugarura specialises in plant science and he could not claim to make teargas or smoke bombs.
Metropolitan police spokesperson Emilian Kayima said they had confiscated a teargas canister at Mr Mugarura’s residence, which the government chief chemist is analysing to establish its contents.
He first demonstrated the use of his contraption in an open field in Kajjansi, outside Kampala, claiming each detonation round consumes materials worth Shs400,000.

In Police records
Wanted criminal: On his part, police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi said Mr Mugarura is “a wanted criminal”. “A lot has been said that the police are witch-hunting Samuel Mugarura and his teargas innovations. That is not true. He is a wanted criminal with two cases at Wandegeya Police Station. He is using this innovation as a cover up,” Mr Kaweesi said.
Jealous: However, Mr Mugarura said the police were being envious and attempting to frustrate his innovation. “We spend a lot of money on importing teargas. Why should police be jealous of my innovations instead of supporting me?” Mr Mugarura said, claiming he has spent Shs3.4m over the last two years to buy ingredients for the gizmo.

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