The next strike could be your last.
A credible source has revealed to Campus Bee about an imminent purchase of spy drones by Makerere University. It is believed that the drones are meant to particularly capture footage during strikes to aid Makerere University officials in gathering evidence to pin student ring leaders.
The source tells us that Makerere University has been facing a number of challenges during disciplinary proceedings against students whom it struggles to pin down for purportedly “breaching” its students’ code of conduct in the absence of incriminating evidence.
Campus Bee understands that approval from all the relevant offices within the University has been secured, with the procurement process now at the stage of the rather bureaucratic procurement process.
We could not readily establish the particular number of model of drones that the University intends to acquire, but a Phantom 4 Advanced drone, one of the most sought-after at the moment, goes for a cool $1400 (Ugshs 5M).
Makerere’s use of these drones during student strikes is most likely to have a chilling effect on its students’ right to demonstrate as protected by Article 29(d) of Uganda’s Constitution. This, because the University has hardly taken any steps to educate its student-population on what amounts to unlawful demonstrations and thus out of fear for the unknown in case their images are taken by the drones during strikes, the students may decide to altogether refrain from participating.
Our efforts to get clarification on the drone purchases from various MAK authorities have proven futile. Makerere’s PRO referred Campus Bee to Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe who has in turn ignored our communication to him.
It is understood that the drones project has hitherto been kept as a top secret only known by a few people within the University.
This is a developing story.
