Makerere University has suspended student leader Mr. Aliat Oyet (and two others) for his role in mobilizing a protest against the delayed disbursement of student allowances. The suspension letter, issued by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe on November 8, 2024, accuses Oyet of participating in activities described as “violent” and disruptive to university order. The protest highlighted severe delays in the provision of food and living out allowances that are crucial for students’ daily survival.
The official letter read, “The acts allegedly committed include participating in a violent demonstration against delayed disbursement of food and living out allowance for semester 2024/2025, well knowing that arrangements were being made to pay the allowances.” It further noted that this behavior violated the “Makerere University Rules and Regulations, 2015, Section 8 (9)(a).”
To ensure immediate compliance, the university instructed that Oyet vacate the campus by 5:00 PM on the day the letter was issued. “The Chief Security Officer is required to ensure that you vacate the University premises before 5:00 PM today and to commence investigations into this matter,” the letter stated, underlining the urgency of the measure. Additionally, Oyet was warned not to set foot on campus until further notice and was informed that a disciplinary committee would eventually hear his case.
Reacting strongly to the university’s action, Pastor Martin Ssempa, a vocal advocate for students’ welfare, condemned the suspension as a gross misuse of administrative power. “His brutal response to a student humanitarian crisis of starvation is a pathetic abuse of administrative power. If Makerere was a private high school, then it would be okay. But it’s an international university training global leaders. What Nawangwe has done is a failure of leadership to deal with the heart of the matters,” Ssempa wrote.
He elaborated on the impracticality of addressing humanitarian crises through punitive measures, emphasizing that solutions require dialogue and collaboration. “You don’t solve hunger and starvation crises by arrests and dismissals. You solve it by calling stakeholders to sit down and plan a way out. Yesterday while in Brussels, I outlined 7 solutions to the crisis Nawangwe could do immediately,” Ssempa continued.
Ssempa’s critique did not stop at the suspension; he highlighted the broader implications of Makerere’s handling of the situation. “This suspension and torture of students is a violation of their fundamental rights to 1. Food, 2. Shelter, and 3. Education. I am going to reach out to parents, alumni, faith leaders, and legal practitioners to make sure the suspended students get a place to stay, food, and sit for their exams,” he asserted.
Ssempa pointed out the dire situations some students face as a result of economic policies imposed on the university. “No young person should sell their bodies for food or housing because of Nawangwe’s brutal imposition of the totally failed World Bank policy of turning university education into a profit-making business empire. Education is a right for all, not just the children of the rich,” he concluded.
