By Our Reporters
Makerere Associate Professor Robert Wamala has been forced out of his COBAMS (Business College) Office where he has been serving as Dean School of Statistics & Planning and his firer VC Prof Barnabas Nawangwe has directed Director Human Resource Andrew Abunyanga to appoint Agnes Sekibobo to indefinitely serve as the Ag Dean. Sekibobo, who previously contested for the position of Dean but lost to Wamala, was number 38 on the list of 46 lecturers whose 20th November 2017 seven page petition Nawangwe relied on to force Wamala out as indicated in his 23rd April 2018 letter. The official reasons why Statistics School academic staff want Wamala out are well elaborated in their petition that was submitted to Nawangwe and a copy was duly received by his office 22nd November 2017. That is self-explanatory as contained in the petition which we reproduce as part of this story. Whereas Nawangwe cites reasons in his letter (which too is reproduced hereunder as part of this story), there are some of unofficially stated reasons he has since been giving to protesting Council members to justify his action against Wamala whose sanctioning has since created unprecedented sharp cracks in the Barnabas Nawangwe camp.
OLD ALLIES NOT CONSULTED;
The truth is that because he didn’t consult many of them as expected, many of the power brokers including influential MUASA voices who brought the VC to office are bitter that Nawangwe never had the courteousy to seek their views before cracking the whip on Wamala. “It’s even more angering he never bothered to seek the concurrence of Chairman Council Eng Wana Etyem yet his deputy William Bazeyo was recently graceful enough to consult before signing off Edward Kisule’s suspension after being photographed sexually molesting Njoroge [the Kenyan student] in the transcripts office,” said a dismayed Council member who has always been a Nawangwe diehard supporter. The Council member quoted Nawangwe as verbally explaining that “I had to act that way to create peace and stability in that School during the examination period.” The Council member, whose narrative was corroborated by two other Council members, said that “we aren’t satisfied with his reasons at all because if the VC was acting genuinely beyond just appeasing his friend Prof Elisha Isare [the COBAMS Principal] he should have followed the investigations committee report that the problems at COBAM are bigger than just Wamala.” The council member suggested that the best thing “if Nawangwe had sought my view would have been creating a unique time program for that School because there is even nothing to examine those students about because guys haven’t been teaching as they focused on fighting Wamala.” The Council member suggested the best thing would be to extend the semester for the school of statistics to enable students be taught first and exams are set later on after the syllabus has been sufficiently covered. “There is a lady called Dr. Allen Kabagenyi; she too hasn’t been teaching because she fears that her colleague Dr. John Mushomi wants to strike and assault her. These are things that have clearly been reported to Nawangwe as VC but he hasn’t acted,” added the Council member repeatedly saying “we are beginning to become betrayed by Prof Nawangwe.” Kabagenyi, who even reported a case at Makerere police accusing Mushomi of threatening violence, stands accused by the rest of the Statistics School staff of betrayal because “she hasn’t been cooperative each time there is something to be signed.” Sources say this is why both physical and sexual violence has previously been directed at her even when the harassing colleagues know she is a married woman. On the anti-Wamala petition, Dr. Kabagenyi didn’t sign because she doesn’t agree with things for which Associate Professor Wamala is being accused of. The petitioning process has been on since last year and her refusal to sign up made her a legitimate target for the likes of Mushomi who have been spearheading the process to see Wamala out of office. She reported to Nawangwe seeking protection and the colleagues she was accusing were asked to put in their defense justifying violence against her. One of the perpetrators was compelled to apologize in writing over her harassment and past child neglect allegations on the Makerere intranet which has all staffers. Prior to the anti-Wamala petition, there was another document staffers had to sign indicating they wished to see 46 year experience Prof Manyenye Ntozi appointed to stay on as Professor Emeritus after clocking the mandatory retirement age and Dr. Allen Kabagenyi is among those who refused to sign up. Instead she cited her own experience at the hands of Ntonzi and wrote back saying the man wasn’t suitable for retention at the School of Statistics as Professor Emeritus. The Council member says that Dr. Kabagenyi reported all the harassment she suffered as a result of these two petition-signing experiences but Prof Nawangwe the VC didn’t act with the same enthusiasm he acted when sealing Wamala’s fate.
THE UNTOLD STORY;
Since the anomalies for which Dr. Wamala has officially been accused are well elaborated in the petition, the remaining part of this special report will reflect on the unofficial version of the story comprising the actual reasons motivating such a large number of staff to petition against him. Firstly he annoyed many with the position he took regarding the status of short certificate courses many of the Statistics School academic staffers were depending to earn lots of money per semester. This program of short courses was mostly being spearheaded by Betty Kwagala, Margaret Banga and others. Wamala wasn’t supportive enough when the promoters wished to have these courses properly accredited to become a Makerere program. The trainees undertaking these tailor-made courses were always groups of people from countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan and other places. Trainees would be sponsored to travel to Makerere to undertake these courses and the sponsoring organizations and governments would be paying in dollars and this would be money for the academic staff members involved in implementing the program. One time one of the sponsoring organizations required the trainees to get certification that these are Makerere Senate-accredited programs. The official communication was written to Academic Registrar Alfred Namoah who technically also heads Senate. Namoah would pass on such queries to the School Dean Prof Robert Wamala who would duly write back to the inquisitive sponsors indicating these aren’t Makerere Senate accredited programs. The program continued but Wamala’s hesitation to push Senate to own them up as Makerere accredited programs caused him to have many enemies because without that accreditation the certificates’ clout, prestige and weight diminished in the countries where the trainees came from. This reduced the appeal and marketability of the short courses and thereby alienating Prof Wamala from many would-be allies in his own School which he serves as Dean.
COUNCIL VIEW;
When the petition first came up, there was consideration at three levels namely the Governing Council and Appointments Board which probed the matter and satisfied itself that Wamala had falsely been accused. The Appointments Board, many of whose members have since had their trust and pride in Nawangwe diminish, wrote its report for consideration by Council. Indeed during its 142nd sitting on 1st & 14th March 2018, the governing council exhaustively discussed the crisis at the School of Statistics and agreed to let Prof Wamala be. They found there was no much merit in the petition and decreed that the situation at COBAMs be administratively handled with a view of finding a more comprehensive resolution of the conflict between Wamala and his accusers. The two organs (Appointments Board & Council whose views Nawangwe now stands accused of disregarding) found the petition to have been defectively raised because even staffers like Brian Musaga, who was suspended and put on criminal trial for sex harassments, signed up to the petition as if they are still active members of staff at the School. It was like an opportunity for the likes of Misaga to revenge against their Dean Wamala who was very pronounced in his support for the victims of sex harassment. Others who continue to be away on study leave too temporarily travelled to Uganda just to sign the petition. “As council we sat and ratified the findings of the Appointments Board on that Wamala issue and VC should have widely consulted before acting in the way he did in his 23rd April letter,” said a council member who also sits on the appointments board. Some council members believe that Prof Elisha Isare has, as Principal, failed to properly manage his College (COBAMS) and they are cautious Nawangwe should be careful lest he is seen as micromanaging things at COBAMS which is home to his predecessor Ddumba Sentamu. Beyond Council and the Appointments Board, there was a management committee which Nawangwe put in place to look into the Wamala petition. It had members like Prof JWT Mugisha, AR Namoah, Principal CEDAT, Principal CONaS, Mr. Ayikire and Ms Betty Ezati. This committee agreed with the petitioners but called for a more comprehensive intervention by the VC on grounds that the anomalous situation at COBAMS/Statistics School was bigger than just Wamala as an individual.
WAMALA CONSIDERS SUING;
Feeling witch-hunted as a person, sources say, Wamala has considered suing Nawangwe as a person for the sanctions contained in his 23rd April letter. Wamala, who had earlier on written asking to go on leave, is understood to be arguing that the VC has no power to grant or deny him leave. His supporters say that this is a matter of his immediate supervisor the Principal and the HR Directorate. Also being challenged is the decision to appoint Ms Agnes Sekibobo to serve as Ag Dean indefinitely yet the relevant laws prescribe a maximum of 6 months. Sekibobo also stands accused by students, who are sex harassment victims, of not being enthusiastic to have Brian Musaga and other perpetrators reprimanded. That students would deposit with her recorded evidence of sex harassment but all this was curiously missing when police came knocking seeking that recorded evidence to corroborate the victims’ case against sex harrassers. Ironically, the petitioners accuse Prof Wamala of working hard to expose these sex predators at Statistics.
Sekibobo was Ag COBAMS Principal before and it was in that capacity that victims reported to her. Regarding the missing recorded evidence of sex harassment, the CIID operatives in Kibuli, who are involved in the sex investigations, have never fully discharged her in as far as the need to corroborate the victim students’ claims is concerned. These very girls/victims had shared with ex-IGP Gen Kayihura similar recordings confessing being victims of sex harassment and indeed senior COBAMS staffers like Yovani Lubaale and David Opiro couldn’t get their contracts renewed during Ddumba’s days simply because of the outrageous sexist claims the student victims had made against them before the Sex Harassment Committee of Senate and at Police. There was also a matter involving a top COBAMS/Statistics School PhD-holding don recklessly impregnating a young girl from nearby MBI and refusing to take responsibility including providing for the resultant child. Prof Wamala’s supporters are wondering why no action has been taken against that perpetrator and that their man Wamala is being punished for insisting on cracking the whip against that very randy Professor. The Makerere top management got this matter directly reported to them by the MBI student’s mother and nothing was done beyond asking the perpetrator to own up and post his apology on the Makerere intranet after the mighty Red Pepper reported about this in a front page story in 2016.
The School of Statistics & Planning academic staff wrote demanding Prof Robert Wamala’s ouster from the office of School Dean
WHY WAMALA IS SUING;
We were unable to speak to him directly but sources close to him disclosed that Prof Robert Wamala was more than ready to sue Prof Nawangwe in his personal capacity for wrongful dismissal from work. These are the very reasons why staffers like Dr. Allen Kabagenyi refused to endorse the petition. We shall look at a few cases of departing staffers whose exit created an impression of high staff turnover for which Nawangwe had to crack the whip on Wamala because colleagues blamed such staff departures on him. Firstly is the case of Ruth Mpirirwe who was expelled by the Makerere Appointments Board after KCCA, her other employer, raised a red flag questioning why the lady was benefiting from double employment; working for both Makerere and KCCA and earning salary from both (Consolidated Fund). The appointments board came to a decision that she had to leave and this ended her 6 years of her inappropriate employment at the Ivory Tower. The Board was actually lenient, sources say, because ordinarily she should have refunded the cash earned for 6 years at Makerere. The other issue was that she didn’t have the proper work load to merit the remuneration she was enjoying. She had 5 course units and the Board’s inquiry revealed she was suitably qualified to teach only two of the 5 course units for which she was being remunerated. Wamala’s lawyers will argue that the departure of such an employee had nothing to do with their client and can’t be counted on the high staff turnover for which Nawangwe swung the axe.
THE WESONGA SAGA;
Dr. Ronald Wesonga’s departure is another case Wamala’s lawyers are studying closely. He was gotten rid of after students petitioned then VC Ddumba-Sentamu saying they had missed being taught as the man was doing another teaching job in UAE. On getting his travel history from the PS Internal Affairs clearly showing the man only travelled to Uganda in February 2017 to be covered under the Dr. Abel Rwandeire Visitation Committee head count, Ddumba assigned then Ag Head HR Dorothy Senoga Zzake to find out more. Zzake’s inquest established that the man had for three years been earning Makerere salary without conducting adequate lessons. His would-be supervisors as Heads of Department Dr. JB Asiimwe and Dr. James Wakadala were found to have slept on the job as seen in their failure to have Wesonga sanctioned for this absenteeism. On hearing he was being investigated by VC Ddumba for this prolonged absenteeism, Dr. Wesonga wrote a letter resigning from the University to at least escape being dismissed with disgrace. Zzake advised him to re-do the whole thing because his resignation wasn’t channeled through his head of department and in the end a backdated resignation letter was turned in through Dr. JB Asiimwe his HoD and Zzake wondered why the HoD didn’t realize this dating anomaly. Later on Wesonga, who personally delivered his resignation letter to Zzake, sought to cancel and withdraw his resignation but the appointments board, under Bruce Kabasa’s prudent leadership, refused the cancelation and insisted on dismissing him. This too, clearly can’t be attributed to Prof Wamala’s leadership style or lack of it. The appointments board considered that Wesonga wasn’t suitable for retention anymore given the anomalies recorded on his file.
THE WAKADALA SAGA;
The circumstances surrounding the resignation of Dr. James Wakadala as HoD is another loophole exciting Wamala’s lawyers. The petitioners blamed Wakadala’s resignation on Prof Wamala yet available well documented facts clearly show he had nothing to do with it. When he was head of department, Brian Misaga (months after the appointments board suspended him) got hold of students’ exam scripts for marking, an irregularity that was blamed on the HoD’s ineptness. Misaga refused to surrender the scripts after marking because he was demanding Shs2.8m as marking allowance. There was chaos at the School of Statistics as students protested delayed return of their results and this is how the Appointments Board got to know that Misaga, who was officially on very disgraceful suspension, had been hired to mark students. As HoD, James Wakadala had a lot of explaining to do regarding this matter. This naturally created pressure and anxiety around him hence pushing him to opt to resign as HoD. The lawyers are excited to realize this too is something which had nothing to do with Wamala’s leadership as Dean. Wakadala also faced the issue of David Opiro who, just like Misaga, was hired to mark students exam scripts long after he had ceased to be a University employee. At the time he ceased to be a Makerere lecturer, Opiro had outstanding salary arrears of over Shs12m. After marking the scripts he refused to return them insisting on being paid first. Still the HoD had to explain why someone who is no longer a University employee came to be hired to mark students’ exam scripts. This of course meant more frustrations, further justifying the decision to resign and all this clearly had nothing to do with Prof Wamala who the VC has since fired for being complicated and resulting into high staff turnover! After getting the Shs12m, the man still refused to surrender the scripts forcing the DVC Academic Affairs Prof Okello Ogwang to secure an arrest warrant for him. This scared him and the following day his lawyers sneaked into the main building and submitted the results to University lawyers. The appointments board cracked the whip and suspended the HoD who immediately resigned upon being re-instated.
THE ANNET KIRABO SAGA;
There is also the case of Annet Kirabo (a statistics lecturer) who was earning salary without teaching anywhere for three semesters and was scrapped off payroll for that but the petitioners consider all this to be Wamala-caused turnover of staff at the School. And basing on it, Nawangwe has swung the axe, to the anger and disappointment of many Council and Appointments Board members. Another case concerned Ms Oliva Buhure against whom the Appointments Board cracked the whip after Mr. Godfrey Nkangi Bazanye was assigned to investigate and reported back saying the PhD, which the lady was using as an excuse for her continued absence from duty, had been completed 1 and half years ago. After the Appointments Board had suspended her, Margaret Banga who was HoD wrote a letter to management saying as a department they still needed Oliva Buhure re-instated on the job.
AND PROF ISARE?
And as for COBAMS Principal Prof Elisha Isare he fell out with Prof Wamala after the whistle blowing information he volunteered to Senate resulted into some of the students that had been cleared for graduation being scrapped off the list because their graduation hadn’t been cleared as per the minuted proceedings of the College meeting. This is something that had escaped the Principals’ eye and the big man wasn’t happy with Prof Wamala’s whistle blowing because it portrayed him as not diligent enough when clearing lists for students to graduate. It appears some fraudsters had gone behind everybody’s back and added hundreds of ineligible students onto the graduation list. To be continued. For comments, call/text/whatsapp us on 0703164755!
