Makerere University students petition Parliament over suspension of students' Guild

Their petition calls into question the decisions of the University Council which, it states, contravene the provisions of Section 69(1)(a) of the Universities and Other Institutions Act.

“The chairperson of the University Council, Lorna Magara acted outside the provisions of the law governing the creation and governance of the student’s guild by constituting members of the University Council to review the students’ guild constitution without students’ representatives,” said Joshua Lawel Muhwezi, the spokesperson of the Makerere University Students’ Select Committee.

Suspension of student politics at MAK

The University Council suspended the Students’ Guild and indefinitely deferred elections for the university’s 88th guild president after Betungura Bewatte, a student at Uganda Christian University (UCU), was killed consequent upon clashes between supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP) and the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) on July 14, 2022.

The students requested Parliament mediate their talks with the University Council with a view to reinstating the guild and all students’ leadership structures operating within the law.

In response, Mpuuga noted, with concern, the university administration’s conversion of Makerere University into “a big primary school.”

“All of us must reject those overtures because Makerere is a hill of intellectual exchange. Students should not be treated like kids; these are adults,” Mpuuga said.

He asked the university administration not to use the regrettable July 14 incident to stifle students’ rights.

“We all regretted the incident in which a young man lost his life. Nobody should lose life because they people are seeking leadership. Of course, this comes from a background of people who are used to blood. In the last national elections, we lost over 100 people [but] the country did not stop,” Mpuuga said.

He also urged the Makerere University administration to work with security agencies to find Bewatte’s killers and bring them to justice.