Rugumayo Roy Kusemererwa, the vice president of the East African Student’s Union has come out to break the silence against the recent police brutally in Universities like Makerere University; calling it out as “brute and inhumane”
In a press statement released on his social media handles,
“Two years ago on 24.10.2019, security forces including the army, police, intelligence services and other plain clothed militant service people raided Student residences at Makerere University. Lumumba Hall, some hostels in the surrounding Kikoni were the target of this savage attack. Students were woken up by loud thuds of crushing doors and screams of their neighbors!” He stated.
He went on to highlight how there had been an obstruction to the investigation because as soon as they made complaints to the Uganda Human Rights Commission(U.H.R.C) and the human rights Committee of the Parliament, the Makerere University administration went swiftly through the department of estates to conduct repairs so that when the time of investigation started little or no investigation would be found leaving being only witness reports.
“The ‘crime’ committed by these students was asking for a chance to obtain quality education at an affordable price.” He added
“We should never forget what a fired teargas canister is capable of doing when thrown out at Abraham Kansiime, a bachelor of Automotive and Power Engineering student at Kyambogo University.”
And he went on to remind us of Emmanuel Tegu, a third-year Veterinary Medicine student of Makerere University who died after being assaulted by security personnel inside the university.
He also referred to the actions of armed gunmen who stormed Garissa University College in Kenya on 2 April 2015 left 148 people (mostly Students) dead and 79 or more injured as an incentive to condone police brutality on University students.
As he ended his statement the student leader called for the demilitarization of all academic spaces and have them filled with learning incentives rather than guns.
