Makerere VC Nawangwe trying to silence us — MUASA

EDUCATION

KAMPALA - The Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA) has accused the vice-chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe (pictured), of threatening them for speaking out against the irregularities in the university management.

They are also accusing Nawangwe of intimidating and blackmailing them into silence for speaking out on the need to implement the recommendations made in the Dr Abel Rwendeire report.

President Yoweri Museveni in 2016 appointed a team headed by Abel Rwendeire to make a situation analysis of the root causes of strikes and financial woes at the institution.

The team made several recommendations, including streamlining of procedures for the Results Management Systems, clearly articulating each one's roles and responsibilities and the need for a minimum requirement for every academic staff in terms of research output.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday at the university's guesthouse, Deus Muhwezi, the MUASA chairperson, said Nawangwe is harassing and intimidating members of the academic staff who raise issues affecting the university.

He said those who speak out are threatened and referred to the appointments committee, which sacks them.

Dialogue Muhwezi said when he wrote to Nawangwe about the issues MUASA had raised and wanted addressed, that Nawangwe warned him against discussing the issues further, or risk being dragged to the appointments board.

Some of the issues the association purportedly raised in its letter included irregular appointments, irregular behaviour of the appointments board, threatening academic staff and failure to protect university land.

In a letter dated June 12, Nawangwe asked Muhwezi to desist from making unsubstantiated public allegations against officers and organs of the university.

Nawangwe noted that allegations are damaging not only to the individual officers of the university, but also to the institution's image. Muhwezi alleged that Nawangwe had rejected dialogue.