Hold nonviolent protests, Oulanyah tells Mak students

Mr Oulanyah (C) with some of the student leaders after the meeting at Makerere University.

Kampala- Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah has asked Makerere University students to express their grievances in nonviolent means.
“We are bound to disagree with things once in a while but how we express our disagreements is critically important. Don’t beat anybody, don’t destroy. Just sit and articulate your issues,” Mr Oulanyah said.

Mr Oulanyah advised students to sit down and ask the vice chancellor to talk to them without throwing stones.

Makerere University students have on previous strikes engaged in violent clashes with police and the military during protests. Last month, during the protest of the 15 per cent fees increment, the students caused destruction of property and human injuries.

“When you are violent all you get is tear gas and cannons of water, which is not healthy...when you start throwing stones, the people who should have listened to you run away,” Mr Oulanyah added.

He was speaking last Friday during the fundraising dinner of the female scholarship Foundation of Makerere University, where he represented the First Lady, who is also the Education minister, Ms Janet Museveni.

The Scholarship Foundation initiative is aimed at empowering the girl-child through offering scholarship to bright but disadvantaged female students in the country.

The Deputy Speaker promised to contribute Shs10m towards the “Drop a coin and forever change a life” annual fundraising campaign to raise at least Shs15b envisaged to support 500 disadvantaged female students to study at Makerere University over a period of 10 years. The scholarship started in 2001 as part of the gender mainstreaming and so far 1,056 female students have benefited.

Development
Ms Museveni said for the country to achieve its envisioned dream of a transformed Ugandan society from a peasant to a modern and prosperous country within 30 years, a lot of investment must be undertaken to empower girls and women who are the glue that binds society.

“We must make deliberate efforts to secure their economic and social progress, as well as access to adequate and appropriate incomes. Education, more so higher education,” Ms Museveni said in the speech read for her by Mr Oulanyah.
She also made a cash contribution of Shs20m.

Prof William Bazeyo, the deputy vice chancellor Finance and Administration of Makerere, urged individuals to always help those needy students such that they are able to achieve their dreams.