The Makerere University Joint Staff Associations have called on Vice Chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe to revoke his suspension of a major academic forum and to reconsider his ‘suspension attitude’.
Last week, Prof. Nawangwe unilaterally suspended the Deans’ Forum, citing concerns about its legality. In a strongly-worded letter, the joint staff insisted that the Vice Chancellor should have first investigated these claims.
“We demand that you rescind your impugned suspension of the Deans’ Forum,” the joint staff stated in their stern June 4 letter. “And that you refrain from attitudes and actions that are prejudicial to the fundamental human rights and academic freedoms of members of the Makerere University community.”
The associations of academic staff (Muasa) and administrative staff (Masa), along with the National Union of Education Institutions (NUEI), have warned that should Prof. Nawangwe ignore their counsel, they will be forced to seek intervention from human rights protectors.
“We’ll demand sanctions against him for abusing human rights,” said Dr. Jude Ssempebwa, the Muasa general secretary.
This threat comes amidst recent actions by the US and UK against Ugandan politicians over corruption. The Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) party has claimed it lobbied for sanctions imposed on the Speaker of Parliament and two former ministers.
In their letter addressed to Prof. Nawangwe, Dr. Robert Kakuru of Muasa, Bennet Magara of Masa, and Isaac Okello of NUEI cited the Vice Chancellor’s alleged high-handedness in various suspensions, some of which were found inappropriate and annulled by the Appointments Board, Staff Tribunal, and the High Court.
They also mentioned a recent move to investigate the School of Law over its conduct of semester examinations using a satirical essay on Parliament and its business. These actions, they argue, instill fear within the university community that the Vice Chancellor and others in the university’s management will “illegally constrain and violate their inherent human rights and academic freedom.”
“Although academic staff invariably expect and accept scrutiny of their work and are accountable as is by law required, they are synchronously entitled to due process, including presumption of innocence,” the joint staff asserted. “Suspension of the Deans’ Forum, if at all, should have followed investigations and not the other way round.”
The joint staff argue that the Vice Chancellor had taken the decision to suspend a forum he himself inaugurated in 2019 over “mere complaints by people that you did not specify.”
University deans and principals were due to attend a training retreat from June 6-7 under their academic umbrella, aimed at promoting academic excellence through collective action, capacity building, and harnessing each other’s capabilities, experiences, and best practices.
The joint staff emphasized that these associations significantly contribute to the university’s vision and are protected by Article 29 of the Constitution of Uganda.
“The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995) as amended does not cloth you with any powers to deny Article 29, and you must not treat the Deans’ Forum differently from similar associations like Makerere Academic Leaders’ Forum and Professors’ Forum, of which you are a member,” the letter stated.
To contribute to the university’s work and realize their full potential, staff and students depend on assurance that exercising their freedom of association and conscience will not lead them into conflict with management.
However, the suspension of the Deans’ Forum and the recent stance on the end-of-semester examination from the School of Law “inevitably deprive the staff and students of this assurance,” they said.
“Such actions, even if eventually vacated, leave indelible scars of self-censorship, to the detriment of staffs’ and students’ productivity,” they added.
Prof. Nawangwe suspended the Deans’ Forum just when he was scheduled to officiate at its opening on June 6, according to Dr. Arthur Tugume, dean of the School of Biosciences.
“Pending resolution of the legality of this forum, all activities of the Forum are hereby suspended,” he wrote on Wednesday, May 29.
Prof. Nawangwe stated that the Forum had outlived its usefulness. “The Dean’s Forum is an internal matter,” he told Nile Post. “It is not in the law. It was launched by me, and its usefulness has expired.”
Dr. Tugume expressed surprise at these developments given the objectives and purpose of the Deans’ Forum. The Forum, which brings together Deans from 29 schools of Makerere, originated from a series of training and sensitization workshops organized for academic leaders by former Deputy VC for Academic Affairs, Dr. Umar Kakumba, and the Directorate of Research and Graduate Training, starting in mid-2019.
