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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The fate of 24 students who were arrested during an early morning strike at Makerere University has stifled a dialogue between students and management on calling off the strike.
It has been a culture that students arrested during strike are released, however University management says this culture must end. A University officials told Uganda Radio Network that students who were arrested “will be taken to court, they will face the University disciplinary committee or they will be suspended.”
The students led by Guild President, Papa Were Salim, spent the weekend mobilizing for what they called a bloody Monday over what they call unfavourable policies introduced by the University management. The policies which have angered students include a plan to stop providing meals to government sponsored students in halls of residence, scrap evening programmes and increase tuition fees among others.
The students called for an engagement with the Vice Chancellor, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, on Saturday but he had travelled to Nairobi, Kenya. The failure of the Vice Chancellor to turn up for the meet up irked students prompting them to call for a strike. Nawangwe’s appeal to students that he would meet them on Wednesday, after returning from Nairobi, fell on deaf ears leading to today’s strike disrupted by the early morning rain.
Police heavily deployed within the university, fired teargas and arrested students who were attempting to mobilise for the strike during the rain. It’s during this standoff that 24 students were arrested.
Kampala Metropolitan Police Deputy Commander, Dennis Namuwoza, told Uganda Radio Network (URN) that the students will be taken to court and charged with participating in an illegal demonstration. He said the arrested students are being detained at Makerere and Wandegaya police stations. Namuwoza said a police personnel was injured during the scuffle with students.
Meeting
A meeting was convened between security, university management and security to forge a way out of the strike. The three parties disagreed on the fate of students who were arrested. Students who were in the meeting described Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof William Bazeyo, as an arrogant man who refused to listen to their demands.
Julius Muyambi, a Guild Minister for Production, who attended the meeting, told URN that Prof Bazeyo gave them less time and was unwilling to engage them on how to end the crisis.
The university public relations officer, Rita Namisango, however said that university officials have been engaging students and will continue talking to them. She said the University Vice Chancellor, Prof Nawangwe, will meet students on Wednesday, after returning from Nairobi.
Namisango appealed to students to remain calm and use dialogue rather than strikes when they have matters they want addressed by the university management.
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URN
