Probe team pleads with President to re-open Makerere

Plea. The chairperson of the Makerere University Visitation Committee, Dr Abel Rwendeire (right), addresses journalists at Uganda Media Centre yesterday. PHOTO BY ALEX ESAGALA

What you need to know:

  • Reason. The head of the probe team says their work will be made difficult if the people they are investigating, including students, academic and non-academic staff, are not at their workstation.
  • Mr Museveni indefinitely closed Makerere on November 1 following a strike by students who were demanding that their lecturers return to work. The lecturers have been on strike since October 26 over university management failure to pay their incentive arrears which have since accumulated to Shs37 billion.

KAMPALA. The Makerere University Visitation Committee has pleaded with President Museveni to re-open the institution he closed almost three weeks ago to allow them conduct a more effective probe.
Mr Abel Rwendeire, the committee chairperson, told journalists yesterday that when they met President Museveni last week, they appealed to him to re-open the university to enable them do their work well.
Mr Rwendeire reasoned that their work will be made difficult if the people they are investigating, including students, academic and non-academic staff, are not at their workstation.
In a separate but related press briefing, Opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye gave government only 10 days to re-open the university or risk a countrywide protest.
Dr Besigye also warned that the appointment of a new committee without government acting on previous reports would be a waste of the taxpayers’ money.
“At any rate, the University should be re-opened not later than 10 days. If it is not re-opened within 10 days, then we are going to call a national protest,” Dr Besigye said.
He added: “We still have the (Francis) Omaswa report on our tables. Mr Rwendeire should not waste public money again. He can pick up that report and present it to government because the issues are still the same. We don’t think that our students should wait for three months while this unnecessary committee consumes more of our money while nothing is going on.”
But Mr Don Wanyama, the senior presidential press secretary, said the President is yet to look into the committee’s request.
“The President is going to look at that (wish to see university re-opened) and consider other factors before responding. Give him time,” Mr Wanyama said.
Prof John Ssentamu Ddumba, the Makerere University Vice Chancellor, yesterday told Daily Monitor that they have not been able to act on previous reports because government hadn’t sanctioned which areas they should address.
“You can’t blame us for not acting on the recommendations from some of the reports. These were government reports which were presented to them. We can’t implement anything unless government has directed us. We have been waiting for government to instruct us on what to do,” Prof Ddumba said yesterday.
However, he added that although the Kabaasa committee was instituted by his employers, the University Council, it is not possible to dismiss services of contract and part-time lecturers since their staff establishment is at only 45 per cent.
On Monday, the Rwendeire committee picked three separate reports of committees chaired Prof Gordon McGregor, Prof Francis Omaswa and Mr Bruce Kabaasa to consult in order to establish why some of their recommendations have not been implemented before giving a lasting solution to the assigning authority that is hoped to end the recurrent strikes at the country’s largest and oldest university.
“We are going to find medicine for lack of implementation of recommendations of previous reports and I think that is going to be a major difference from previous reports,” he said.
Mr Museveni indefinitely closed Makerere on November 1 following a strike by students who were demanding that their lecturers return to work. The lecturers have been on strike since October 26 over university management failure to pay their incentive arrears which have since accumulated to Shs37 billion.
Meanwhile, the Uganda National Students Association (UNSA), an umbrella students’ body, on Monday said the closure of the university is depriving students of their fundamental right of studying.
Ms Ronah Kemirembe, the president of UNSA, while addressing journalists at their offices in Kampala, said students have paid tuition to study but are right now home; something government must address soon.
“Makerere University gets funding from both government and other national and international donors, how comes it cannot afford to pay its staff something which has led to the suffering of innocent students?” she asked.
Mr Ismael Muramiru, the vice president of UNSA, condemned police for arresting and putting behind bars student leaders yet they are fighting for their right to education.