By Henry H. Ssali
Nov 18, 2003
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Soldiers open fire as Makerere students riot MAKERERE � A 21-gun salute is a sign of honour welcoming a dignitary. Gunshots rocked Makerere University main campus for more than 15 minutes after students rioting over living-out allowances trapped Vice President Gilbert Bukenya and Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi inside the university campus. It was a rude welcome call for Nsibambi, who had just been installed as Makerere�s sixth chancellor � and the first non-head of state to hold the position. Calm before the storm The riot followed a peaceful demonstration in the morning by non-resident, government-sponsored students over non-payment of their living-out allowances for this semester. The students, who at this point were about 200, said they were entitled to Shs 350,000 each. As they made their peaceful protests in the Freedom Square, workers put up a tent for Friday�s graduation ceremony, while in the Main Hall above them, university officials were getting set for Nsibambi�s installation. True to his reputation for keeping time, the PM, a former professor of political science at the same university, arrived 30 minutes early and attracted the attention of the demonstrators. �Students waved at me and said �we have not been paid our living out allowances�; the vice chancellor tells me it shall be cured by tomorrow,� a jolly Nsibambi later told a gathering of dignitaries in his maiden speech as chancellor. The dignitaries included Bukenya (a former dean of Makerere Medical Schoo), the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Ssekandi, several ministers, ambassadors, MPs and academics. �Students are out there heckling because here the chancellor is regarded as the headmaster and is expected to solve all their problems,� Vice Chancellor John Ssebuwufu chipped in to the assembled dignitaries. Hell breaks loose When the installation ended at 5:15 p.m., the guests walked straight into a huge crowd of students outside the Main Hall demanding their money. The students had barricaded the roads leading away from the Main Hall, leaving the dignitaries stranded. After a few exchanges with police, the students started throwing stones, leaving some car windscreens shattered. �Why don�t you give them their money?� Bukenya was heard asking the university�s Academic Registrar Sebastian Ngobi � but there was no time for a reply as the delegation was whisked off back into the Main Hall. A few minutes later, gunfire rocked the leafy and hilly campus as more than a dozen Presidential Guard Brigade soldiers, who were guarding the vice president, took over and fired live ammunition into the air. Shocked by the strong reaction from the soldiers, the students fled in all directions for dear life. The Campus Affairs minister, Mr Elijah Olar, told The Monitor that one student, Ms Elma Achayo from the School of Education, was shot in the arm by a stray bullet, which smashed through a glass door of the Faculty of Social Sciences. She was, by press time, admitted at Mulago hospital. Police also arrested a student whose identity was not immediately available. With the way cleared, the VIPs re-emerged from the Main Hall. VP Bukenya declined to comment about the incident. �It is very bad,� said former President and chancellor, Godfrey Binaisa, who was one of the dignitaries. Nsibambi said: �It�s very unfortunate to use such means to get what you want but I think they should be paid their money,� he told The Monitor. A reception had been slated in honour of the new chancellor, but not surprisingly, the VIPs had lost their appetites. �I think we should go to avoid further misunderstanding,� Nsibambi said, before seeking out his wife, Esther. �Darling where are you,� he asked before they were whisked into a waiting Mercedes Benz. The officials were escorted by several gunshots fired by the soldiers, from the Main Hall to the main gate, a distance of about 500 metres. The students then took out their frustrations and burnt four tents that had been put up for Friday�s graduation ceremony. Who is to blame? Guild president Yusuf Kiranda said the students were rioting for their financial rights. The Dean of Students, Mr John Ekudu, had earlier told the students that a mix-up in the university�s accounts department had caused the delay and that the bursar was going to solve it. �Their money is already on their accounts; it has been posted,� he said last evening. Mr Kiranda later told The Monitor by phone that the officials in the bursar�s office had been recalled and were working in the night to rectify the issue. Additional reporting by Elias Biryabarema, Evelyn Lirri & Emmanuel Mugarura |
� 2003 The Monitor Publications
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