Makerere suspends Dr Stella Nyanzi over nude protest
- Written by OUR REPORTER
Makerere University has "with immediate effect pending investigations" suspended Dr Stella Nyanzi, a research fellow at Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR) for stripping naked in a protest on Monday this week.
In a statement, the Appointments Board referred to Nyanzi's stripping as "an unfortunate incident". Nyanzi stripped bare in protest against what she calls the ‘dictatorship’ of her boss also executive director of MISR, Prof Mahmood Mamdani whom she accused of locking her out of office for three days.
Mamdani later in various interviews with media houses justified the action saying; he had sought and failed over the last two years to get university management's intervention over the issue of Nyanzi allegedly using MISR resources to do her own private work and refusing to teach on grounds that she was hired as a research fellow.
Mamdani said even the research that Nyanzi does, is never submitted for review at MISR as is the norm with other researchers at MISR.
The Board has set up a committee comprising of Hajjati Sharifah Buzeki, Assistant Commissioner, HRM Policies at Procedures at Ministry of Public Service as Chairperson.
Prof Sarah Kiguli, a Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health, Dr Sarah Ssali - a senior lecturer at School of Women and Gender Studies and Jude Mbabali of Uganda Law Society also as 'Members' while Godwin Okiror the Employment Officer at Makerere is the ‘Secretariat’
The committee will among others; review the management of Phd programme at MISR, review how research at MISR is managed, review how research fellows relate to the PhD programme.
It will also review the staff structure, establishment and reporting hierarchy at MISR, investigate the disagreement between Prof Mahmood Mamdan and Dr Stella Nyanzi, review the working condition/environment at MISR and review the management of financial and other resources at MISR.
The Committee is expected to start work on Monday April 25 and submit their findings within 25 days.