President Yoweri Museveni has ordered for the immediate withdrawal of the military from Makerere University. Makerere students have been protesting against the 15 per cent tuition increment since Tuesday last week.
Security officers mostly military police responded with highhandedness by raiding student halls of residence arresting and brutalizing several students. Senior press secretary to President Museveni, Don Wanyama tweeted today that; "@KagutaMuseveni has urged stakeholders in Makerere to talk & resolve all issues around fees. He's spoken to council chair & the guild president today, urging them to meet. He's ordered the withdrawal of the military police from the university. The @PoliceUg will maintain order."
In a statement earlier today, Education and Sports minister also First Lady Janet Museveni said the students were being paid by the opposition to demonstrate against government by using the excuse of cumulative tuition increment.
Ms Museveni defended the military highhandedness, saying everyone at all times must submit to authority. The military brutality against students has received nationwide condemnation from lecturers, student leaders, clergy, American Embassy, media among others. The brutality left at least 7 students hospitalised including Siperia Mollie Saasiraabo who led a peaceful protest against fees increment on Tuesday last week.
Last night, the military once again raided Lumumba and Mitchell hall to brutalise more students. As we reported earlier in April this year, military police set up various camps at the university. The military settled in at the invitation of the university administration in November 2018 after a students’ strike over tuition increment loomed.
Prof Eria Hisali, the deputy vice-chancellor, authored the invitation to the forces with the claim that one of the prominent political forces in Uganda was plotting an insurgency through Makerere. His view drew on Makerere’s contribution to political activism dating back to the 1980s when the NRA recruited the majority of students to actively take part in the bush war which brought Yoweri Museveni to power.
On that basis, Hisali warned that history would possibly repeat itself and that the emerging ‘People Power’ movement would take advantage of the masses at this hill to champion a revolution to overthrow the incumbent regime. So, about 50 military police soldiers were dispatched to Makerere University with their first mission being strict restriction of both students and members of staff from accessing university premises.
The military deployment at Makerere almost went unnoticed until December 2018 when the soldiers’ stay at the university started to bite. They started by limiting access to St Augustine and St Francis chapels. Whoever didn’t abide by the orders faced the soldiers’ wrath.
“I was forced to roll over the stretch of Livingstone Drive. My friends were frog-jumped, slapped and asked to vacate the university with immediate effect till we all complied in fear,” says a brutality victim who preferred not to be mentioned.
Consequently, the clergy of the two churches penned complaints to the university administration. However, no formal response to the matter has ever been produced to-date. In the same month, former deputy vice chancellor in charge of administration, Prof Ernest Okello Ogwang, also fell victim to the brutality.
He was beaten after failing to identify himself to the inquisitive troops. The brute force of the military police extended to the students’ social events. On the night of February 15, 2019 as students had gathered for merrymaking at the annual Mitchelex carnival, about 50 baton-wielding military policemen raided at 11:50 pm and ordered the students to disperse. The students protested. What followed was a violent confrontation that culminated in beatings as students pelted the soldiers with empty bottles.
Ironically, it was regular police which came in to calm the military and tried to save the students from sustaining further injuries. On the evening of March 18, Dr Ronald Luwangula, a senior lecturer at the School of Social Sciences, nursed wounds after he was beaten by military police. Luwangula was a victim of military police’s high-handedness as they were disbanding students from a guild rally held at Freedom Square. Luwangula had just finished conducting a lecture.
As he moved towards his office, he was ambushed by three soldiers who beat him senselessly before security guards attached to Senaca Security group rescued him. Neither Prof Okello nor Dr Luwangula has opened cases against the perpetrators of violence which they suffered.
FAILED TALKS
Talks between the student leaders and the university management yesterday stalled after the students threatened to assault some university staff and police threatened to arrest the student leaders. In the evening, the strike continued deep into the wee hours of today morning with police engaged in running battles with students as late as 2 am.