Monitor Team

Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has called for the unconditional release of all those arrested during a joint operation between police and military to foil Makerere university students’ protest against tuition increment.

Over 40 students have been arrested and detained while about 11 others beaten and hospitalised since Tuesday when students started a protest against 15 percent cumulative tuition increment approved by the top governing body, the university council, last year.

In a letter addressed to the university vice chancellor, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe and copied to the minister for Kampala, among other authorities, Mr Lukwago state that Makerere University councilor, Ms Doreen Nyanjura petitioned Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) over the impasse at the university.

According to her, the university campus has been turned into a garrison after a heavy deployment of officers and men of different security agencies including military.

Mr Lukwago further state that Ms Nyanjura told the council sitting on Friday morning that there egregious violation of student's rights who have been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, torture, brutality, destruction of property and sexual molestation as well as to arrest of students who have been denied access to their lawyers, personal physician and loved ones.

"In the course of our deliberation, members registered their concerns over the deplorable state of affairs that has regrettably turned our revered University into a centre of savagery as opposed to academic excellence," Mr Lukwago state in a letter dated October 25, 2019.

According to him, the council sitting resolved that his office formerly registers KCCA's concerns.

"I hereby do, with suggestions that a university council meeting be urgently convened to address the matters I controversy. The hiked tuition structure which triggered the chaos be retabled before an emergency council meeting with a view of rescinding or revising it," Mr Lukwago further states before adding that the university council should work on modalities of engaging all relevant stakeholders including the Students' guild on all the controversial policy matters.

Earlier, the university management said the policy only applied to new students who would be required to pay the 15 percent cumulative increment in five years’ time.

However, the student leadership led by their guild contended that they would not stand by and watch as their siblings are subjected to unfair fees structure.