Kamumyu says he cannot have disobeyed warnings when he was speaking about staff grievances that included appointments Board, and accountability of the institution.
Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA)
chairperson, Dr Deus Kamunyu Muhwezi has described his suspension as a bad
precedent for staff association leaders.
On Monday, Kamunyu was suspended for six months without pay by the
institution’s Appointments Board after he was found guilty to have been in breach
of university policies and guidelines.
The decision was contained in a ruling by the Jude Mbabali-led
Appointments Committee on Monday, May 13, 2019. Others on the team were Jolly
Uzamukunda Karabaya, Associate Prof. Winston Tumps Ireeta, Kiryowa
Kiwanuka and Chris Ninsiima.
Kamumyu says he cannot have disobeyed warnings when he was
speaking about staff grievances that included appointments Board, and
accountability of the institution.
//Cue in: “The first one was on slander…
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Reacting to the ruling, Kamunyu says that such decision creates a stalemate on
progress of the institution and frustrates the spirit and role the associations
play in keeping the authority in check always.
“It’s up to the staff to redefine this and see where they wish to
go. But I think to me it has some bad precedence that a leader of an
association can speak on behalf of the people and then be bundled up by a group
of other people! It’s disturbing and am not surprised because unfortunately
this the environment in which we find ourselves,” Dr Kamunyu said.
Adding that; “But we hope for the best but I also think that probably
where we came from, we can’t all of a sudden be better. We will take some time
but to me, it’s very unfortunate that we find ourselves in this kind of
situation.”
Following the suspension of Kamunyu, Associate Prof. Edward Nector
Mwavu the MUASA Vice Chairperson who has been in acting capacity as the
chairperson since February says he will comment on the matter once the full
ruling is out.
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Dr Kamunyu has been serving a two-year term of office since his election in
November 2017. His term of office was due to end with the election of a new
executive in November.
Sources from Makerere University say the decision to suspend Dr
Kamunyu for six months could be a ploy by the institution’s management to block
him for re-election.
When asked about the possibility of this ploy, Dr Kamunyu said
this could be a possibility. He, however, said it is the staff that will determine on how they wish to be governed.
//Cue in; “I have also heard of that…
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Although Dr Kamunyu’s lawyer James Agaba, protested the ruling, URN understands that the
term of office of the George Omunyokol-led Staff Appeals Tribunal has expired,
creating a vacuum.
Through the Tribunal, aggrieved members of staff get a right to a fair
hearing and appropriate redress, without hindrances from the University system.
It also serves as a system of checks and balances for the Appointments Board.
When asked about the expiry of tribunal term of office, Makerere Vice
Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe told URN that he has also heard it in ‘rumours’
and that it had not been officially brought to his attention.
Davidson Ndyabahika
Freelancer