What would you do if your University expelled you without justification, and even went a notch higher to request all other universities not to admit you. Well, two students freshly dealt a humiliating expulsion by the Uganda CHRISTIAN University (UCU) under unclear circumstances have decided to take the bull by its horns.
With the services of much sought-after education lawyer Isaac Ssemakadde of Centre for Legal Aid, Simon Semuwemba, the president of UCU’s law school, and Yasin Sentumbwe, a 2nd year law student, have filed a lawsuit at the High Court in Jinja challenging their expulsion over an alleged role in the 20th April demonstration Campusbee reported about earlier.
The duo are faulting the university for having arbitrarily, unjustly, unlawfully and irrationally dismissed them for allegedly engaging in the demonstration which violated its students’ code of conduct whose existence they say they knew nothing about in the first place.
The students also argue that the impugned code of conduct is not only unenforceable since it was not gazetted as required by the law but that it also violates their human rights.
In their affidavits in support of the case, Yasin and Simon narrate events leading to their expulsion. They allege that sometime in April, they were called by a one David Tusuubira to attend a disciplinary committee meeting but it was not elaborated to them in what capacity they would be appearing before the committee: whether as witnesses or as accused persons, and if accused persons, what the charges were against them.
The students say that the decision to expel them was in fact reached before the very demonstration on which their expulsion is premised happened. Whereas the letter communicating their expulsion was signed by the Vice Chancellor on 19 April 2016, the demonstration was staged on 20 April.
On his part, Simon recounts what unfolded during the committee hearing that he had been called to. “On 16 May at about ten O’clock and without any preparation, I appeared alone before a disciplinary committee whose composition I was not previously aware of.
I was not aware of the particulars of any charges. The proceedings were very strange because not a single accuser or piece of damning evidence was presented to me. Instead, I heard accusatory questions and orders from the committee members to say ‘yes or no’.
I was sternly precluded from keeping any recording of what transpired during the hearing. The whole thing was over in about fifteen minutes.” he says.
Simon adds that some of the disciplinary committee members had a conflict of interest and bias against him which must have affected their judgment of his fate. “Olive Ayo had previously warned me that ‘stop your activism, you will exit this university prematurely’. And this was shortly after I had accused her niece and a fellow student of spying on students for the university administration during an impromptu students’ grievance hearing on 20 April.”
Yasin did not have it any better. “Whereas I was initially informed by the committee chairperson that I had been called to help the committee with its investigations in an ongoing inquiry about an allegedly unlawful students’ assembly and demonstration on 20 April, I was flabbergasted by the barrage of questions subsequently posed by the committee members which tended to accuse me of participation in the alleged demonstration and other offences without foundation.
For instance, they not only interrogated me about whether I had participated in the alleged demonstration, but also about events that occurred months prior to the alleged demonstration such as whether I had ever written a letter to the University Council inquiring about the legality of an increment in the Student Activity Fee and whether I had ever been sent out of the Student’s Parliament during the Vice Chancellors’ visit to discuss the increment of Student Activity Fee as if these were offences per se.
In “The Observer” newspaper of April 25-26, 2016 at page 20, the respondent’s Vice Chancellor Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi was quoted as having said, “Once I find out that you are guilty [of organizing and participating in an illegal demonstration], I will ask you to go elsewhere”. Furthermore the Vice Chancellor is said to have emphasized that he would also notify the Uganda Vice Chancellor’s Forum so that all universities get to know about the issue and thus reject anyone expelled by UCU for at least three years.” Yasin narrates.
The students further complain that besides not being accorded an opportunity to appeal against their expulsion, the Vice Chancellor’s comments in the media reflect “an institutional bias” against them which is in fact reflected in the decision made against them.
They affirm that the university’s actions have violated their fundamental rights, caused them stress and embarrassment and left them at a risk of losing their sponsorship, besides causing them loss of dignity and reputation since the expulsion has been given massive publicity in print and electronic media where they have been portrayed as unruly students, unfit to be admitted in another university.
As a result, the presently expelled students not only want their purported expulsion quashed together with the Students’ Code of Conduct by Court, but also seek special, general and punitive damages against UCU.
The university’s PRO could not be immediately reached for a comment.
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