An aura of uncertainity has engulfed Makerere University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Bio-security (COVAB) after the Church of Uganda (C.O.U) reportedly leased the land on which it sits to a company.
According to media reports,The Government of Uganda through Uganda Land Commission (ULC) inked a deal with the Church to lease the land for a period of 199years starting from 1966. A few years later, ULC gave the land to the university for development purposes. It is on this 15-acre piece of land that COVAB is now situated.
Despite its passing on the land to Makerere, ULC was still legally obliged to honour the terms of the lease agreement by continuing to pay the ground rent for the entire duration of the lease.
Unfortunately, ULC would later fail to meet its side of the bargain as it failed to pay the rent. In a fix, the C.O.U decided to repossess its land after constant reminders to ULC to pay the rent went unheeded to.
Shortly thereafter, the C.O.U allegedly granted a lease over this land to Colege Housing and Development Ltd hence putting COVAB under the threat of imminent eviction off the land.
A former student leader tols Campusbee that evicting COVAB would greatly disrupt the studies of the students who study from their.
When contacted for a comment, Ms Rita Namisango the Public Relations Officer if Makerere University informed this website that the University’s Vice Chancellor informed them that the matters are being handled by the Government in order to resolve the issue amicably.
In recent times, there has been eviction and demolition of education structures such as Shimoni Demonstration School in 2007, Nabagereka Primary School early this year and a host of other institutions of learning. Will COVAB follow the same fate? Time will tell.
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