Makerere University vice chancellor, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, has blocked a meeting organized by the Joint Staff Association (JSA) to discuss alleged corruption in university appointments, arguing that the association is not recognized by management.
The decision comes a day after JSA, comprising leaders from the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MASA), the National Union of Education Institutions (NUEI), and the Makerere University Administrative Staff (MUASA), wrote to University Council chairperson Lorna Magara, raising concerns over bribery in the university’s hiring and promotions.
In their letter, the staff accused some council and the appointments board members of soliciting bribes from job applicants. They claim to have an audio recording in which a staff member is heard demanding Shs 5 million to influence promotions.
“We have an audio recording in which a member of the University Council, Mr Jackson Byamukama, audaciously solicits bribes of Shs 5 million from a group of staff, to purportedly ‘seduce’ the chief human resource officer to support the movement of the staff from salary scale M15 to PU62, irrespective of the staff’s qualifications. In the solicitation of the said bribe, Mr Byamukama emphasizes that incentivizing the chief HR officer by urgently paying the Shs 5 million in full is more important than the staff’s qualifications,” the letter states.
The staff also questioned Prof Nawangwe’s own promotion to professor in 2013 and his subsequent appointments as vice chancellor in 2017 and 2022, alleging irregularities. They claim he did not meet the required 10 peer-reviewed publications and two books in his area of specialization.
Additionally, they expressed frustration over the university’s failure to enforce its human resource manual, which limits acting appointments to a maximum of 12 months. Some top officials, they noted, have held acting positions for over three years.
In response, Nawangwe directed the university’s chief security officer to prevent the scheduled meeting from taking place on campus, citing JSA’s lack of formal recognition and arguing that the matters on its agenda fall outside the mandate of staff associations.
Meanwhile, Makerere’s principal public relations officer, Ritah Namisango, said the University Council would review the concerns in its next meeting, expected within two weeks.
“I have consulted the appropriate offices regarding the letter…The letter was addressed to the chairperson of Makerere University Council. The University Council is scheduled to hold its meeting within two weeks. The issues contained in the letter will be tabled at the next council meeting. After the meeting, the University Council will issue a statement,” Namisango said in an email response.
He thinks he is all mighty but his time will come too. Nothing is there forever on this earth
You see it is only fools that speak with a temper nd raise their voice without reason without taking to account what this man has done for our beloved university.
Please do not speak if all you bring is nonsense to the conversation.
And yes my reply was targeted to Marc Mae who thinks he’s done anything beneficiary to our society.