Seven Kyambogo students arrested

Mar 06, 2008

FIVE more Kyambogo university students were arrested yesterday during a violent strike that has rocked the institution for eight days.

By Conan Businge

FIVE more Kyambogo university students were arrested yesterday during a violent strike that has rocked the institution for eight days.

Two were arrested on Wednesday, bringing the total number to seven.

The students were protesting the continued strike by their lecturers, contrary to the management’s promise to end the standoff a day before.

The arrested were Steven Mayanja, Jonan Basiime, Alex Tumusiime, Andrew Mwine and Andrew Okot. The Police declined to name the other suspects.

The Jinja Road Police Station chief, Joel Aguma, said the students would be charged with “inciting violence and malicious damage to property.”

Apart from burning the university furniture, the students damaged a media company vehicle and two police trucks in yesterday’s riots.
The lecturers laid down their tools on Thursday last week, demanding the restoration of their salaries that were reduced from January this year.

They also demanded their salary enhancement arrears from July last year.

Furious students followed their teachers this week. They blocked university roads and demonstrated around the campus, shouting and chanting against the university management.

“Management assured us that we were to begin classes today (Thursday) as negotiations continued. But they were not sincere. We were deceived, and that is what aggravated the strike,” the students’ guild president said.
Non-uniformed policemen who had remained at campus were re-enforced by the Anti-riot police.

The students stoned the constables, who fought back with tear-gas, forcing the attackers to retreat to their halls of residence.

On Wednesday, the striking lecturers could not hold a general assembly for lack of quorum as only 53 out of the 439 members turned up.

By press time yesterday, the university council was still in an emergency meeting.

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