Govt to support Makerere teargas maker

The minister of science, technology and innovation, Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye has said government will support Samuel Mugarura, a Makerere University student who claims to have made teargas.

"I would love to meet this young man and I am going to look for him. This is a young innovator whom we need to support and help define his innovation if he really invented and then patent the innovation so that nobody steals it from him,"Tumwesigye said on Thursday while addressing journalists at the Media Centre in Kampala.

The minister also said they would help Mugarura with commercialisation.

"Maybe we go and take the guy (Mugarura) to Industrial Research Institute and help to incubate. See how he can perfect it and then we look for funding to produce and export the teargas and earn more money," he said.

The minister said their role was to nurture young innovators.

"We can't stifle scientific effort. We support any ideas that come out and help define and refine those ideas," he emphasised.

Recently, the 3rd year student of Bachelor of Science student, Mugarura held a public demonstration for the media at the university main ground. Mugarura explained that he can produces teargas using local materials such as sugar.