Three weeks into the second semester of the academic year 2014/15, time is running out, two days to the bad dream late registration deadline which attracts a fee of 30,000shs. A majority of the students at the Law Faculty of Islamic University in Uganda main campus haven’t registered with it despite paying the prerequisite 30% tuition to do so. Not because they are ignorant of the fine but another mandatory 30,000shs for the annual students law dinner has become a conundrum.
The words were firm and their meaning clear on the circular dated 12th December 2014. “2014/15 MANDATORY LAW DINNER CONTRIBUTION.” Each student was provided with a copy last sem. Students are protesting an increase from previous 25,000shs to 30,000shs without calling the Law Students Society (LSS) General Assembly to approve of this. They are suspicious. Could the increase be to pay off a 4million shillings debt the executive claim borrowed from DFCU bank, yet a majority of them paid fully for the previous year, or, there are some blurred Geoffrey Kazindas among the executive?? The latter view is dominant among them considering the fact that the organizers, executive and Dean are accused of fudging the facts. A faculty bus question also remains unsolved.
Also, to counsel surprise, the Secretary Law Faculty, who once disclaimed loyalty to the LSS and pronounced she is only employee to the faculty and issues concerning the society needn’t be brought to her, is now the enforcer of the mandatory 30k before registration issue yet the late registration deadline is closing in on them. Where could she have gotten this valor? The reason for such spurious feeling among Counsel. Moreover it’s rumored the LSS President, whose reign is filled with division among his executive and an arch rival with the current Law dinner Chairman, a one Ekima whom students say they didn’t vote for and the fact that he didn’t officially receive instruments of power from the previous government increases the resistance by encouraging Counsel not to pay. He says the amount wasn’t approved by the executive.
Counsel now feels the faculty lies divided, vulnerable to suspicion and mistrust. They claim the attitude of the faculty administration and LSS Executive is eroding rather than enriching their glory. They ain’t ready to consolidate all this. To recover their honour, of the baddest faculty and parties as well, they dream on gathering themselves and take to the Academic Registrar’s office for an unprecedented protest in the Islamic institution. Watch the space @campusbee.ug
