Disqualified guild candidate sues Makerere

By Alfred Byenkya

THE High Court’s Civil Division is set to hear a case in which Bwiruka Bala David, one of the nominees for this year’s Makerere University guild presidency sued the University and its electoral commission over his nullification from the race.

According to the court documents, Bwiruka also sued the institution and the eight candidates who were nominated to contest.

He is represented by Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde of the Centre for Legal Aid, one of the most sought-after education lawyers in the country.

According to Bala’s affidavit, the Academic Registrar of the University together with the Deputy Registrar of ICT “usurped the powers bestowed upon the University’s Senate by purporting to make the erroneous decision” that rendered him ineligible to contest for the guild presidency yet such a decision can only be made by the Senate.

The student further contends that the University in cohorts with its Electoral Commission misinterpreted the law when he was flagged for having a retake hence making him ineligible to contest for guild presidency as per the guidelines.

However, Bala counters that he does not have a retake, but instead a missing paper which he did not do because court had not yet overturned his expulsion from the institution.

He says that the expulsion had been due to him having led a student demonstration together with one Bwowe Ivan against the 60% tuition policy.

According to MUK’s regulations, a student who has not been on normal progress (that is, one having a retake) for two consecutive semesters is ineligible to stand.

The guidelines do not dictate that the aspirant should have been on normal progress for two consecutive semesters immediately preceding the election, so this is another ground for Bala’s petition, which he is relying on to argue in the alternative that nevertheless, he has once been on normal progress for the required two consecutive semesters.

Furthermore, Bala alleges that he is the “hapless and helpless victim of a witch-hunt” by the Dean of School of Social Sciences for being a student activist, something that even earned him a suspension in 2013 although court eventually over-turned it.

He alleges that the Dean disobeyed a court order and refused to make special arrangements for him to do the paper even when he had been requested to do so

The hearing of the case starts Tuesday in Kampala.