Embrace dialogue over violence, Balaam tells Makerere students

____________________

Makerere University students have been urged to embrace dialogue over violence in order to foster a peaceful learning environment.

The call was made by youth and children affairs state minister, Balaam Barugahara, while addressing a high-level town hall workshop on navigating complex geopolitics. The event took place on April 6, 2025, at the university’s Yusuf Lule Auditorium.

“Even when you talk peacefully, your ideas can be understood and considered. Violence is backward, and should not find space in this 21st century,” Balaam said.

He urged students to respect and engage in constructive dialogue with university authorities in the event of disagreements, rather than resorting to strikes, which he said disrupt academic activities.

The minister was responding to a student’s comment during the interaction, suggesting that delayed responses from the university leadership often leave students with no option but to protest.

In response, Balaam pledged to organise a separate forum where he would engage Makerere students directly to gather their views and help inform policy.

Over the years, Makerere University has witnessed several student demonstrations, a practice that contravenes the institution’s Students’ Regulations 2015—specifically clauses 8 (9) (b) (iii) and (iv), as well as 9 (a) and (b), which prohibit the destruction of property.

For example, in 2022, 12 students were suspended for participating in a strike that involved vandalism and disrupted learning. The protest was staged against the university’s decision to continue online classes even after the full reopening of the economy following the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

According to Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the students involved were accused of vandalising university property, inciting violence, physically assaulting others, and disrupting academic programmes.

He also revealed that management had received reports of bullying, particularly targeting first-year students. The bullying reportedly included forced jogging, physical assault, and the use of offensive or profane language. Some of the individuals responsible also damaged university property in attempts to evict freshers from their dormitories.

However, speaking at the same geopolitics workshop, Prof. Edward Bbaale—who represented the Vice-Chancellor—said the university had undergone significant reform, with students now focusing more on research and academic excellence.