Makerere Cancels MP's Degree

By Felix Osike MAKERERE University has cancelled a degree awarded to Ntungamo Woman MP Naome Kabasharira in 1990, after investigations revealed that she used forged papers for her admission. Kabasharira is one of the 12 candidates whose nominations were last week nullified by the Electoral Commission for this month's parliamentary elections. The University's Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Opio Epelu, said yesterday, "Cases of impersonation, falsification of documents or giving false or incomplete information whenever discovered either at registration or afterwards lead to automatic cancellation of admission and results." He said the University senate was handling the matter. Epelu also said Kabasharira's transcript was forged. "We asked Dr. Andrew Chula who purportedly signed the transcript and he told us his signature was forged," Epelu said. He said the computerisation of the University's records office would stop forgeries. Kabasharira was a member of the Constituent Assembly (CA) and has been in Parliament for five years. Epelu said degrees of ten other former Makerere students were cancelled this year after they were found with forged documents. In the directory of the Sixth Parliament published last year, Kabasharira states that she has a university degree but does not give the details of her qualifications. The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has also disputed Kabasharira's secondary school results. Documents available indicate that she used Ordinary Level results of Anne Asiimwe to join Trinity College Nabbingo for Advanced Level. She subsequently joined the university using the same name. Her university admission number 87/556 appears in the forged transcript with a different name. Kabasharira is also to be investigated by the Criminal Investigations Department for forgery. A CID official said they were waiting for a formal complaint from the Electoral Commission which received the documents. The penalty for such forgeries is three year's imprisonment. Kabasharira's nomination papers filed with the returning officer in Ntungamo show that she obtained an upper second class Bachelor of Arts (Social Sciences) degree. However, records at the university show she obtained a second class lower division in the name of Asiimwe Anne. K. The provisional pass lists and the final results for the years she was at Makerere do not bear the name Naome Kabasharira but Asiimwe Anne. Her academic transcript dated November 7, 1990, which was altered to read Kabasharira Naome. A. is not certified, as is the practice. UNEB investigations reveal that a candidate by the name of Anne Asiimwe sat for the 1981 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examination at Bweranyangi Girls' S.S under index number U00009/042 and obtained a grade aggregate of 35, division three. In the same year, at the same school , Kabasharira also sat UCE examination under index number U0009/051 and obtained an aggregate of 44, division four. "The two candidates, Asiimwe Anne (U0009/042) and Kabasharira Naome (U0009/051), are therefore different persons as per records," read a June 1 letter by UNEB official D. N. Odongo. Kabasharira, according to the documents used Anne Asiimwe's 'O' level results to join A' Level at Nabbingo. She sat for UACE in 1986 under index number U0060/639 and using the same name. UNEB, in another letter, said their records did not have corresponding information with what appeared in the documents Kabasharira sent to the Electoral Commission. Ends