While speaking to a group of journalists yesterday, the Kyambogo University Vice Chancellor, Professor Eli Katunguka accused students from Makerere University and Makerere University Business School (MUBS) of inciting violence at Kyambogo.
There has been unrest at Kyambogo for the past two weeks leading to running battles between police, Local Defense Unit (LDU) and students pushing for the reinstatement of their guild president, Jonathan Tundulu. It all started when the guild representative council (GRC) impeached Tundulu who was elected in March this year citing lack of leadership skills and disrespectful character.
However, the students’ fraternity accuses management of conniving with external forces to remove Tundulu who is allied to the ‘People Power’, a political pressure group led by the Kyadondo East MP, Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine. On Friday evening, police picked Tundulu and locked him up at Jinja Road police station on charges of inciting violence.
However, Katunguka explained that the students’ guild cabinet decided to impeach Tundulu for allegedly concentrating on national politics and abandoning his responsibility towards students. Apparently, on September 25th, Tundulu called a meeting with his cabinet but he didn’t show up.
Katunguka added that those who want to cause trouble will not be allowed, adding that the police will be on the look out to arrest anyone disrupting the peace of others.
Tundulu has appealed against his impeachment, but Katunguka assured that the university management and council will now have to decide the fate of the students’ leadership.
“The impeachment process is not yet completed because the president has appealed and he is allowed to appeal. And a provision in their constitution says that once the president is impeached, then fresh elections must be held. That’s the matter we shall discuss later because a fresh election requires about 180 million Shillings which has not been budgeted for,” Katunguka said.
“The challenge we have had with the current guild administration is that they have been unwilling to listen. I called them for a meeting to discuss their issues and they refused to come! If you can’t have a meeting with your vice chancellor to discuss your issues, how will they end?” he asked.
