Kyambogo guild president, nine others remanded over protests
Kyambogo guild president Benjamin Akiso (in green jumper), together with other students, appear before the Nakawa Chief Magistrate's Court on April 25, 2025. Photo | Busein Samilu
What you need to know:
- The students were arrested on April 23 while demonstrating against what they termed as unfair fees policies implemented by the university management
The Nakawa Chief Magistrate's Court has remanded Kyambogo University's guild president, Benjamin Akiso, and nine other students to Luzira Maximum Prison until April 29, when they will return for a bail hearing.
The students were arrested on April 23 while demonstrating against what they termed as unfair fees policies implemented by the university management.
According to the prosecution, the students led by Akiso engaged in an illegal assembly, which disturbed public peace.
The demonstration turned chaotic, prompting security agencies to intervene with tear gas and live bullets to disperse the students. The students had marched to the Senate building to protest against the university's policies, which they claim are unfair and commercially driven.
Akiso emphasised that the university's policies are affecting students from humble backgrounds.
"The majority of students at this University come from a humble background, but the way the University has put their things is very unfair," he said. The students are specifically protesting against a Shs50,000 surcharge for late registration and the requirement to pay full tuition before being registered.
Furthermore, the students are demanding that the university allows those who have paid at least 70 per cent of their tuition to sit for end-of-semester exams. They also raised concerns about missing marks on the student portal, with Akiso stating, "Another issue is the missing marks, since December, we are not seeing our marks on the students' portal, yet the University seems unbothered."
Akiso reiterated that the students are willing to engage in discussions with the university administration but will not back down until their concerns are addressed.
"We are ready to engage the university administration in discussions. Students deserve to be heard, not silenced with tear gas," he said.
In response to the students' grievances, the university acknowledged that some concerns, such as delayed marks uploading, are genuine. However, the university's senior communication officer, Jennifer Sibbo, explained that the tuition policies are well-established and had been previously agreed upon.
"The previous guild leadership wrote to the University Council to revise the period of deadline for registration from six to eight weeks, and it is well laid in the policy," she said.
Sibbo also attributed the delay in marks uploading to the upgrading of the ACMIS system, assuring that the issue would be resolved soon.
"For marks, some students like those from Finance and Accounting have already had theirs uploaded. The delay in other schools is due to the upgrading of the ACMIS system," she explained.
