Makerere University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe (pictured) has come under fire after MPs accused him of turning the University into a military academy, leading to the suppression of freedoms of students and staff.
Joseph Ssewungu, the Kalungu West MP, tasked Nawangwe to explain why the University tribunal was suspended, arguing that this would be critical at resolving the disputes between staff and administration as well as lecturers and students, adding that the move was authoritarian and stifling freedom of expression within the University.
This was during a meeting held between the University and MPs on Parliament’s Education Committee, where Makerere University officials had appeared to present their 2023/2024 ministerial policy statement.
“Could you explain to this Committee why you have suspended the Tribunal at Makerere University? You are running Makerere University like a barracks, a military institution, but you are in trouble. Why do you behave like [you are running] a barracks? You don’t want mutual discussion, kindly don’t suffocate students. Don’t suffocate lecturers, it isn’t fair. The environment at Makerere is toxic, people aren’t enjoying and you are going to lose good lecturers,” Ssewungu said.
The same concern was raised by Phiona Nyamutoro (National Youth) who scoffed at assertions made in the University’s presentation that guild affairs were streamlined and pointed out that the constitutional amendments were undertaken without the consultation of the students.
“It is unbecoming and it is giving Makerere a very bad outlook. The students guild no longer has an input in the affairs of the University. Makerere is supposed to be a breeding ground, not just for academics. Why are these students being suffocated? Why are their rights being stamped on? We aren’t being happy with the way the guild affairs are being handled, these students aren’t just participants in that University, they are stakeholders and should be treated as such,” argued Nyamutoro.
Michael Kakembo (Entebbe Municipality) also castigated Nawangwe for suffocating both staff and students at the University, saying that such actions will impact on the quality of future leaders in Uganda.
“You are going to make some of our leaders to skip some stages of development and you see them behave like children because you haven’t given them a chance to debate and to grow politically. So Makerere University is where you expect everyone to grow politically. So when you suffocate these people, they are missing a stage and you are going to see people who are very funny when they are grown up. All of us are equally scared with the way you are managing students’ affairs at Makerere University,” said Kakembo.
However, the Vice Chancellor denied all allegations labeled against him arguing that all decisions at Makerere University aren’t made by Nawangwe, but the University has a council, an appoints board, a chancellor and other organs, saying the new guild statute came about because of the growing violence among students during elections, which left one student dead.
“The Guild Statute came about because of the growing violence among the students, you know that last year, we lost a student. The situation that MPs are talking about when they were there, it isn’t the same situation, where people would debate and then peacefully go back to their halls. The debates in the guild elections had become just fighting and that is why every time we had elections, we had so many students injured,” said Nawangwe.
He also rubbished accusations that he is suffocating debate at the University.
“I don’t know where that is coming from, people should go back to debating intellectually. And we held three dialogues and for the first time the leaders of the opposition were there debating, although they came there to harass me. There has been no suffocation, actually you can say we have opened up the space,” he said.
