Legal minds of Islamic University Students’ Union (IUSU) Government plan to amend the IUSU Constitution for the benefit of the students of Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU).
The plan transpired on Saturday, 24th April, 2021 during a meeting attended by IUSU Government Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs – Main Campus Honorable Tulyazalwa Mark Mugisha (LLB 3) , IUSU Government Legal Advisor – Main Campus Honorable Bahati Nasur (LLB 4), IUSU Government Attorney General- Kampala Campus Honorable Okello Derrick Wamboga (LLB 4) and IUSU Parliament Legal Advisor Main Campus Honorable Kibanda Faizol (LLB 4) at IUIU – Main Campus.
Honorable Tulyazalwa who was chairing the meeting said the Constitution needs to be amended because among others it brings confusions through some provisions. Honorable Tulyazalwa said for instance , the Constitution stipulates that the Speaker of IUSU Parliament must attend the IUSU Executive Meetings which is legally wrong because the Speaker is the Head of One Arm of IUSU Government.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs also said some unapproved copies of the IUSU Constitution bring conflicts in legality of other positions. He gave an example of some copies of the Constitution that legalise the existence of the office of Prime Minister.
Honorable Tulyazalwa also noted that the Constitution is bias as it has provisions that stipulate that some positions are only for Muslim students in IUSU Government yet IUIU also enrolls many Christian students. He gave an example of the posts such as Guild Speaker, Minister of Finance, Minister of Information and Guild President.
Addressing the participants, Honorable Okello Derrick Wamboga who is Attorney General for IUIU Kampala Campus noted that IUSU Constitution needs to be amended because it has some provisions that are inconsistent. Honorable Okello noted that IUSU Constitution has never been gazetted because it is not in compliance with Article 2 of the Constitution of Uganda.
Honorable Bahati Nasur vowed that IUSU Constitution needs to be amended because it lacks some positions that are critical in the politics of students. He gave an example of the position of the Attorney General that is not stipulated in the IUSU Constitution.
The IUSU legal minds agreed to work hand in hand to see the amendment process done before leaving their offices.
Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) was established by Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in collaboration with Government of Uganda (GoU) in 1988. In 1990, the Parliament of Uganda enacted a law, The Islamic University in Uganda Act (cap 131, Laws of Uganda), formally establishing the University in Uganda. The university operates within the law.
