The President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is set to direct the Inspector General of Police to develop a security plan for Makerere University. The President mentioned this in a meeting he has had with the administration of the Makerere University and the Ministry of Education at State Lodge in Nakasero.

In the meeting, President Museveni expressed concern over the Military Police’s involvement in the 2019 Makerere University Strike that started on the 22nd October 2019.

“ My worry about the military police deployment at Makerere University is that they are not trained for that. The military are supposed to deal with crimes like terrorist attacks,” the President said.

On the night of 24th October 2019, the Military Police got involved in the strike when, together with the Police, they raided Lumumba hall on the University campus, beat up students and destroyed some of their property.

Various stakeholders including students and Members of Uganda’s Parliament condemned the action of involving the military in crowd control and civilian issues.

The 2019 Makerere Strike started on 22nd October 2019 after students , led by a Siperia Molli Saasiraabo, started a demonstration claiming that they were walking to the President’s office to deliver a letter. These students said that the letter contained their opposition to the cumulative 15% tuition increment policy that the University had adopted.

It was because of this strike that the President had this meeting with the University’s administration.

On top of resolutions in the Security matter of the University, the President also made it clear that it is not a good idea for Makerere University to pay its lecturers using students’ tuition fees.

"These are government workers. They should not be paid using students’ tuition fees. They should be paid by Government," he said

According to reports, Makerere University receives from the Central Government a total grant of UGX 221 billion per year out of which UGX 164 billion goes to the wage bill, UGX 20 billion constitutes local contribution for 6,000 government sponsored students while UGX 26 billion is committed to the remuneration of part time staff.

The President hopes that with the government paying lecturers’ salaries, the tuition burden on students would be lessened.