Eng. Frank Kitumba, the former Director Directorate for ICT
Support (DICTS) at Makerere University has been forcefully evicted from the
university house.
The university estates, works directorate and university security guards
executed an order to evict Kitumba with the support of police officers on Friday.
Stanley Okecho, Eng. Kitumba’s lawyer described the eviction as
unfortunate and a contempt of the law.
He says his client should not have been evicted without paying his arrears.
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According to Okecho, Eng. Kitumba, at a level of director, having stopped
the alteration of marks through IT systems at Makerere should not have been humiliated.
He says the police officers who conducted the eviction say it was authorized by
Philip Acaye, the Chief Security Officer Makerere University.
Okecho says Kitumba is demanding unpaid salary arrears and gratuity from the
University.
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Section 43 (4) of the Employment Act stipulates that where an employee is being
housed by the employer, the employee shall not be required to vacate the
premises until he or she has been paid his or her terminal benefits.
The same act provides for payment of an employee’s wages, and any other
remuneration and accrued benefits to which he or she is entitled in case of
termination of his or her employment.
Eng. Kitumba says that he is demanding his gratuity for four years while serving as the director and between 150 to 200 million shillings.
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Eng. Kitumba accuses the university top management of witch-hunt and conniving
to throw him out especially after clashing with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor
Barnabas Nawangwe.
It is alleged that Kitumba and his colleagues recommended to government
to take over all revenue collections from the university on suspicion of under-declaration
by university managers.
He says that his lawyers opened a case against the University in the KCCA labour
office, but the University is yet to respond.
Davidson Ndyabahika
Freelancer