Acid attack survivor and activist Hanifa Nakiryowa has dismissed Makerere University’s response to her allegations against Dr Faisal Buyinza as empty, and is pressing the university to say what it is actually doing about the senior lecturer.
“Thanks for issuing this but it’s a blanketed hollow statement,” Nakiryowa wrote on X, replying to the university’s statement. “We want to see more concrete steps you’re taking on Dr. Buyinza Faisal to address this in the interim.”
Her reply came hours after Makerere management released a statement on Thursday, October 1, following a series of TikTok videos in which Nakiryowa alleges that Dr Buyinza, her former husband and once her lecturer, withheld her examination marks until she agreed to marry him. Dr Buyinza has previously denied wrongdoing in connection with Nakiryowa.
What Makerere said
In the one-page statement, titled “Statement on Concerns Circulating Regarding a Member of Academic Staff,” the university acknowledged the “serious concerns raised publicly through social media video posts” and said it takes the safety, dignity and welfare of its community with “the utmost seriousness.”
It also recognised that “it takes courage to speak about experiences of harm.”
The statement does not name Dr Buyinza or Nakiryowa. It does not say whether the university has opened an inquiry, whether the lecturer will step aside from his role as head of the Department of Economic Theory and Analysis at CoBAMS, or what will happen while the matter is considered.
Instead, management restated its “zero-tolerance policy toward sexual harassment, gender-based violence, and any form of misconduct.” It pointed to its Safeguarding Policy, its Policy and Regulations Against Sexual Harassment and its staff disciplinary processes, which it said ensure formal complaints are investigated “thoroughly, fairly, and confidentially” with due process for all parties.
The university urged anyone with concerns to file a formal report through the Gender Mainstreaming Directorate, the Office of the Dean of Students or MakSafeSpace, its anonymous online reporting platform. It added that counselling is available at the University Counselling and Guidance Centre.
The gap between policy and action
Nakiryowa’s criticism goes to the heart of the matter: the statement describes how complaints are handled in general, but says nothing about this case.
Her story first became public in December 2011, when she was attacked with acid outside Dr Buyinza’s residence at Makerere. He was charged with attempted murder, but the case was discontinued in 2014 after prosecution witnesses repeatedly failed to appear, and he was discharged without a conviction.
Her new videos focus on a different period, her years as his student in the early 2000s, and raise questions about how a lecturer’s power over marks can be abused. Nakiryowa has said more videos are coming.
Dr Buyinza has not publicly responded to the latest allegations, and Makerere has not said whether it will act beyond its statement. CampusBee has contacted both for comment and will update this story.
Need to report or talk to someone?
Makerere students and staff can report through MakSafeSpace, the Gender Mainstreaming Directorate or the Office of the Dean of Students. Confidential support is available at the University Counselling and Guidance Centre.
Is Makerere’s statement enough? Tell us what you think. @campusbee.ug
