Makerere University students residing in Mitchell Hall have staged a strike to protest the poor state of toilets in their hall.
This morning, Mitchell Hall residents chased away students who use the dinning hall as a lecture room saying they won't allow any more lectures there unless the university provides toilets for the group.
Led by hall leaders, the students stormed Makerere University main building demanding an explanation from management why it has taken long to repair the toilets. They accused the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe for lying to them that the toilets would be fixed this semester.
Aggrey Kizito Katulege, the Chairman Mitchell Hall, says they have used all avenues to plead with the university to address their concerns in vain.
//Cue in: "Nawangwe is a liar…
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Brian Katana, a former Guild representative and resident Mitchell Hall, says there is increased pressure on the toilet facilities from the residents and other students who come for lectures.
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Hasifa Kabejja, the Communications Officer College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS), said students attend lectures in the dinning because of space constraints.
"We have about 700 students who use that dining hall because we don't have space here in the college. The issue is with the management and we have been pursuing it," she said.
Efforts to reach the Deputy Vice Chancellor were future as he was reportedly locked up in a meeting by the time of filing this story.
In January 2015, Makerere University covered the dining halls in Livingstone, Mitchell, Lumumba and the Bamboo house into lecture rooms to accommodate the huge number of students.
Mitchell is one of the oldest halls of residence, tracing its origins from the very first hostels that were built in the 1920s to house students of the initial Makerere Technical School that gave birth to Makerere University. In early 1930s, the hostels were merged and renamed Mitchell, after the then Governor of the Uganda Protectorate, Sir Philip Mitchell.
The current buildings were constructed in the 1960s with a residential capacity of 500 students.
Davidson Ndyabahika
Freelancer