Mak ordered to prove search for Deputy VC in two weeks

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A High Court Judge in Kampala has given management of Makerere University only two weeks to prove that they are in the process of selecting a substantive Deputy Vice Chancellor Finance and Administration (DVC-F&A).

Justice Musa Sekaana of the Civil Division of High Court made the directive in the presence of Hudson Musoke, the university lawyer and advocate Anthony Wameli appearing with his client Professor Anthony Mugisha yesterday in his Chambers.

Court also differed the hearing of the main application by Professor Mugisha to February 17, 2020 at mid-day.

In December last year, Anthony Mugisha, a Professor of Veterinary Sciences and Socio-Economics at Makerere University dragged the university to court over contempt of court orders.

His application stems from a June 16th 2019 High Court ruling that ordered a fresh search process for the office, after court found the previous process flawed.

In the same ruling, Justice Ssekaana had quashed the appointment of Professor William Bazeyo as the Deputy Vice Chancellor in Charge of Finance and Administration and declared the post vacant.

However, in a twist of events, Professor Bazeyo was again reappointed in Acting capacity by the Chancellor Professor Ezra Suruma.

Mugisha had ran to court seeking a judicial review on the decisions of the University Council, Senate and the Search Committee which says unfairly and unlawfully denied him an opportunity to compete for the job in question.

Professor Mugisha in his application due for hearing this month wants Court to compel the University Council and four others to pay shillings 700 million for contempt of court.

Professors Ezra Suruma, the Chancellor, Barnabas Nawangwe Vice-Chancellor, the University Council Chairperson Lorna Magara, and the Acting University Secretary Yusuf Kiranda are the four others jointly sued for the same.

The decision by court has reportedly sent excitement among staff at Makerere University, at least according to staff Whatsapp reactions to the news.

Staff say that the institution has been caught off guard in flouting its own policies and laws by promoting the culture of “acting”

Last week, URN made a special report in which the law school at Makerere University was stuck with leadership crisis ahead of the visit by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE).

None of the School’s five departments has a substantive head of department, which raises quality assurance queries, at least under the accreditation guidelines.

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