Makerere Deans’ Forum calls on Nawangwe to justify suspension

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The deans of Makerere University have asked Vice-Chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe to receive complaints he has allegedly received about the illegality of the dean’s forum.

The Makerere University Deans’ Forum (MUDF) was an umbrella organisation for deans of schools and directors of teaching institutions and was established with the aim of promoting academic excellence through collective action, capacity building and the sharing of best practices.

But on May 29, Prof. Nawangwe asked the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Prof. Umar Kakumba, to disband the forum, which he described as an illegal entity. He said he had received several complaints about the legality of the forum.

“Until the legal issues are resolved, all activities of the Forum are hereby suspended,” Nawangwe said in the letter to Prof. Kakumba.

Prof. Kakumba subsequently informed the Chairman and members of the Forum, the Deans, the Rector and the Deputy Rector of the Faculty of Law of the Vice-Chancellor’s decision on 30 May.

The suspension, however, sparked a heated debate, with critics describing the decision as yet another authoritarian move by Prof. Nawangwe, who is accused of suppressing free speech at Uganda’s oldest academic institution.

A letter to Prof. Nawangwe signed by Deans of various faculties argued that the Dean’s Forum is not, nor does it purport to be, a body of the University, but is an internal, formal network of academic leaders, just like numerous other forums and networks, such as the Professors’ Forum, the Principal Investigators’ Forum and the Academic Leaders’ Forum.

The deans who signed the letter include Prof. Arthur Tugume of the College of Natural Sciences, Prof. Saudah Namyaalo of the School of Languages, Literature and Communication, Prof. Amanda Tumusiime of the Margret Trowel School of Industrial and Fine Art and Prof. Godfrey Achileng of the School of Business.

The letter dated June 5 was also signed by Dr Claire Mugasa, Dean of the Faculty of Biosafety, Bioengineering and Laboratory Sciences, Dr Justice Twesigye, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and Dr Martin Bakulu, Dean of the Faculty of Psychology.

“The strategic leverage of the Deans’ Forum enables us to bridge the gaps in the orientation of new members by sharing experiences and supporting each other, breaking down silos between faculties through peer learning engagement, supporting multidisciplinary research and teaching, and ultimately improving the effective and efficient exercise of the dean’s functions.

Therefore, the overall aim of the Deans’ Forum is to promote academic excellence through collective action, capacity building and leveraging each other’s skills, experiences and best practices,” they said in their response.

The Deans also informed Nawangwe that the legal basis for the Deanery Forum was Article 29(1)(e) of the Constitution of Uganda, which guarantees freedom of association, including the formation and joining of associations.

Against this background, the Deans asked the Vice-Chancellor to forward the complaints received about the legality of the Forum and to expedite the investigation and resolution of these issues.

“Should the Deans’ Forum be found to be illegal, we request you to inform us of the reasons for doing so and in particular the provisions of any laws of Uganda or Makerere University policies/regulations that the Forum’s activities may contravene; and should your complaints regarding the legality of the Forum be found to be unfounded, we request you to lift the suspension,” the letter said.

Since his appointment seven years ago, Nawangwe has been criticized for his overbearing behavior, which led to the suspension of staff and students who disagreed with the institution’s policies.

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