BY BERNARD MUBIRU
The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has condemned the distraction and burning of property by Makerere University students as a way of expressing dissatisfaction with authorities over tuition hike.
Since Tuesday last week, students at Makerere University have been protesting a policy that sanctioned a-five-year 15 % cumulative increment on tuition and functional fees on all courses. The protests attracted military and riots police who had since pitched camp at the university to restore sanity.
While addressing journalists in Kampala on Wednesday, Dr Patricia Achan Okiria, the acting UHRC chairperson said that the students’ leadership should think of another problem-solving mechanism rather than destroying property.
“Students should desist from acts of lawlessness and hooliganism as a way of expressing dissatisfaction but instead use dialogue and always be mindful of the duty to respect the rule of law,” Okiria said.
On the alleged torture meted on students, Okiria said that the security organisations should “identify the errant officers who carried out the brutal acts against students and journalists during the scuffle and hold them personally liable for their actions by bringing sanctions against them.”
Adding that: “Security forces should exercise restraint and apply proportionate force while handling aggrieved students or any other persons.”
As the demonstration escalated, security personnel are being accused of forcing themselves into students’ halls of residence and beating them up severely. A video that surfaced online shows soldiers attached to the military policy forcing students to crawl on the ground as they whipped them.
Okiria advised that the ministry of education should review the policy on tuition for students in public universities and their funding, taking into consideration the duty of the state to progressively enable all persons to access the right to education.
