Makerere University woes: How tuition strike was planned

By Richard Kintu

Despite relative calm now prevailing at Makerere University, murmurs of discontent are still rife, with students expressing frustration that management is yet to address the core reason as to why they went riotous.

But as the country awaits a final resolution on the strike as well as total cessation of hostilities between the institution’s leaders and the led, today we revisit the skirmishes, their origin and how they were planned.

THE PLOTTING

A deeper investigation by The Second Opinion revealed that the strike that began on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 was slated to take place around August to coincide with the time the 2019/2020 academic year freshers were supposed to report to campus.

According to sources, the plotters of the strike had chosen that time because the new tuition policy directly affects this year’s freshers who (have) paid 15% more in tuition fees, than that of the current continuing students.

The strike, however, did not take place that time because the Guild President Julius Kateregga implored fellow activists to bide their time so as to give chance to dialogue as he had been given assurances by the university management that they would soon summon students to resolve the matter.

One of the people privy to this matter says that when the activists realized that Kateregga’s assurances were ‘taking forever’, they decided to strike well aware that the semester was drawing to a close yet the administration was still adamant on the matter.

“It was going to be very hard for the demonstration to take place after the close of the first semester of people paying the exorbitant fees; there was no way we were going to have students rally behind us yet they had already suffered in silence. That’s why we decided to abandon KJ’s empty assurances,” the source said.

But much as the activists wanted to strike, they were deterred by the fact that a big number of ‘perennial demonstrators’ had been suspended, while many had been issued with warning letters. This was when it was agreed that they get new faces at the forefront and that if conditions necessitate it, the other lot would come in as back up.

Our sources added that they were very sure that the necessity would do for two reasons. First, there reportedly emerged common consensus that the Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe ‘is a dictator ‘ho is so jittery and averse to being challenged’.

“We were sure that once we unleash our Plan A, he would respond with an iron hand and make it easy for every other student to join in the strike in solidarity of the victims of Plan A,” the source said.

Secondly, that the plotters would bait the police into brutally arresting the demonstrators. And indeed, everything went as planned. 

And on Monday October 28, 2019 a meeting was held near the university and it was agreed that unlike past strikes, this time round the strike was to be led by female student leaders.

“This was because by nature females are soft targets yet they have unrivaled power when it comes to drawing sympathy.  It was agreed that they would dress in black and then declare a ‘Black Tuesday’ as the catch phrase of the strike,” the source said.

After the meeting, hundreds of notices were printed and by 8pm they had been pinned and dropped at all vantage points that are used as pathways for students at the university. ‘Black Tuesday’; Tuition must fall’; ‘Ladies in the lead’ read the notices that were printed in black and white on A4 size paper.

Twenty students led by College of Psychology Guild Representative Siperia Mollie Sasiraabo had been lined up to lead the demos but on Tuesday morning only about eight turned up, with the rest reportedly chickening out. 

The strike was, however, successful as the police brutally arrested the female students, giving Sasiraabo widespread media publicity. For the record, Sasiraabo is a seasoned women’s activist having earlier been part of the anti-pollution climate change demos as well as Dr. Stella Nyanzi’s ‘Women Lives Matter’ riots among others.

Lecturers’ take

Following the strike, no lecturer came out to condemn the students, save for the administrators. Instead, some lecturers came out to voice their dissatisfaction with the university and police molestation of students; with many arguing that the young men and women were fighting for a ‘just cause’. 

We have gathered that irked by reports of the military police invasion of students’ halls of residence, one of the lecturers posted on a lecturers’ Whatsapp group thus: “We are here because we always prefer to deal only with the symptoms. The name of the problem we are confronted with is my Egomania-Induced Intolerance. 

A lot of the interruptions we faced and the damage to the immeasurable university’s image over the past one year could all have been easily avoided if we had a management that believed in dialogue and constructive engagement. 

We continue to deny the reality of institutional capture to our ever-deepening peril. 

It’s a high time we begin to deal with the root cause of the problem, not just the symptoms.

The University management got us to this point after our silence emboldening them. We allowed lawlessness and impunity to grow wild, now we are reaping the fruits.

What students are being subjected to is merely an extension of what those of us who were dismissed through unprecedented sham processes have been made to suffer over this last one year — no warning letters, no investigations, no observance of existing labour laws and legal protections, no observance of public service disciplinary procedures.

When we said these were wrong, many of our own colleagues, who may one way or another, be subjected to similar treatment, were eager to remind us that we are addressing our concerns to the wrong forum! 

The lawlessness we are witnessing didn’t just come out of the blue. Our own complicity of silence have emboldened our managers. 

Even as I write, it is not as though we are powerless to do anything about the current situation. At least we can condemn it publicly, and we should have long done that already. But we continue to act (or not act) as if we have no urgency. We are complicit in the mayhem being unleashed on the University community, for it isn’t simply on the students anymore.”

His voice mirrored an earlier one by Law don, Prof. Ben Twinomugisha, who likened the military action on students to the days of Idi Amin.

“I will not step at Makerere today. I must rebel individually in protest against the vulgar, in-despicable, horrendous mistreatment of students.

What happened in Lumumba is reminiscent of Amin soldiers’ brutal treatment of students and lecturers. Anyone pretending that the situation is normal is like the proverbial ostrich hiding his or her head under the sand. Imagine your son or daughter in a room.

Military thugs forcefully open the door, pull him or her out amidst beatings. Your daughter being raped, molested or assaulted! Ladies and gentlemen, this militarization of all institutions, including the Ivory Tower, the citadel of higher learning, must be condemned by all people of good conscience.

Thus, I have decided, as a matter of conscience, to stay away from the ‘torture chambers’ of Makerere University today. My heart, body and soul are bleeding. I have no mental health to teach. Have a blessed day.” Prof. Twinomugisha wrote.

But it wasn’t long before the MPs also voiced concern over the saga, with some like Maracha East legislator James Acidri blaming VC Barnabas Nawangwe. 

“I personally think that the Vice Chancellor is not qualified to lead Makerere. He will do a better job in leading an institution like Kyankwanzi because you cannot intimidate intellectuals and you believe you will succeed. Makerere is a very old institution that will outlive all those individuals who are bent on trying to destroy it. I can assure all of them that they will eventually go away and Makerere will continue to prosper,” said Acidri.

NB: Read our current print version, The Second Opinion Magazine for a detailed and unmatched investigative analysis on what actually causes strike at Makerere University.

Copy can be got at the nearest supermarket, petrol station or vendor at only Shs5, 000.