Makerere University Vice Chancellor Professor Barnabas Nawangwe says he is open to dialogue with the Guild leadership at Makerere University over the plight of suspended students.
On Tuesday, Proff Nawangwe wrote and distributed fifteen suspension letters to students who had been arrested for protesting online lectures at campus. Grounds for his suspension included vandalizing property, disrupting teaching and learning at the University, physical violence and inciting violence.
However, the students have protested the suspension and instead threatened to run to court over the matter. On Wednesday afternoon, the students issued a 24 hour ultimatum to the University administration to either retract the suspension or they petition court.
The students through their lawyers Henry Byansi and Derick Tukwasibwe of Kamulegeya and company advocates claim the University authority failed to follow due process while suspending the students.
Henry Byansi, the lawyer of the suspended students, says Professor Barnabas Nawangwe acted in an unconstitutional, biased, and illegal way when he suspended the students.
“They were never accorded a fair hearing by the University , they were suspended arbitrarily, it is the right of a student to actively participate in the affairs of matters that touch their lives at campus.It is not a crime, Therefore we give an ultimatum of 24 hours to the University to ensure that it rescind its decision and ensures that the students are back to class,”Byansi stated
Professor Nawangwe now says he is ready to meet and listen to the Guild President Shamim Nambasa and her team as he has always done.
“I openly declare that I will give audience to the guild President and all her Cabinet like I have always done, I have always met the current Guild President more times than I have met others before,”
