Makerere University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, has blocked a meeting organized by the Joint Staff Association (JSA) meant to address alleged corruption in university appointments, arguing that the association lacks official recognition by management.
The move follows a letter sent by JSA—a coalition comprising the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MASA), the National Union of Education Institutions (NUEI), and the Makerere University Administrative Staff Association (MUASA)—to University Council chairperson Lorna Magara, raising concerns about bribery in the institution’s hiring and promotion processes.
In their complaint, the staff accused certain members of the University Council and Appointments Board of soliciting bribes from job applicants. They claim to possess an audio recording implicating a staff member in demanding Shs 5 million to influence promotions.
“We have an audio recording in which a member of the University Council, Mr. Jackson Byamukama, audaciously solicits bribes of Shs 5 million from a group of staff, to purportedly ‘seduce’ the chief human resource officer to support the movement of the staff from salary scale M15 to PU62, irrespective of the staff’s qualifications. In the solicitation of the said bribe, Mr. Byamukama emphasizes that incentivizing the chief HR officer by urgently paying the Shs 5 million in full is more important than the staff’s qualifications,” the letter states.
The staff also questioned Prof. Nawangwe’s own promotion to professor in 2013 and his subsequent appointments as vice chancellor in 2017 and 2022, alleging irregularities. They claim he did not meet the required 10 peer-reviewed publications and two books in his area of specialization.
Additionally, they expressed frustration over the university’s failure to enforce its human resource manual, which limits acting appointments to a maximum of 12 months. Some top officials, they noted, have held acting positions for over three years.
In response, Prof. Nawangwe instructed the university’s chief security officer to prevent the scheduled meeting from taking place on campus, citing JSA’s lack of formal recognition and arguing that the matters on its agenda fall outside the scope of staff associations.
Meanwhile, Makerere University’s Principal Public Relations Officer, Ritah Namisango, said that the University Council would review the concerns raised in its upcoming meeting, expected to take place within two weeks.
“I have consulted the appropriate offices regarding the letter…The letter was addressed to the chairperson of Makerere University Council. The University Council is scheduled to hold its meeting within two weeks. The issues contained in the letter will be tabled at the next council meeting. After the meeting, the University Council will issue a statement,” Namisango stated in an email response.
