KAMPALA was yesterday engulfed in riots, one by Makerere students protesting increased fees and another by Baganda elders challenging the government's proposal to have an elected Katikkiro for Buganda.

A first year student of Makerere University was killed and many others sustained injuries during student riots in and around the university yesterday.

Ibrahim Ssengendo died in the fracas along Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road as police tried to quell the strike.

The students were protesting the new functional fees announced by the university administration.

The students also set ablaze some vehicles. Police confirmed that at least three vehicles were burnt. The students also looted goods and cash from shops near the university.

Makerere University recently announced new functional fees structure for all privately sponsored students reflecting over 50% increase in fees in a bid to cater for the rising costs of maintaining the students at campus.

"We cannot allow this kind of broad day robbery imposed on us by Makerere officials. Let the university administration sell off some of its property if it has run short of finance instead of mistreating us," shouted students taking part in the strike.

The strike that started at 6.00am saw students closing all entrances to the university, burning and damaging property in the nearby trading centres.

However, police said that the person who died was not a student but was just passing by when a student mob attacked him.

Three admitted

According to sources at Mulago Hospital, three students had been admitted with bullet wounds.

"Let us set the vehicles owned by the university on fire if Luboobi has refused to understand our problem," students, found near the swimming pool, shouted. Prof. Livingstone Luboobi is the Vice-Chancellor.

An eyewitness who lives in a bungalow near the Arts Faculty building said about 20 young men stormed the gate and entered her compound.

She was at home with two of her housemates, one of them an American medical student.

She said the rioters broke several windows but failed to enter the house. They banged at the front door, which was locked, but didn't discover the unlocked back door.

"I went into my room and hid under my bed. I was sure they were going to come in and start looting," she reporter said.

"This policy must be reviewed immediately without further delay because it threatens the academic freedom of students. Students have an inherent and inalienable right to retake or improve their results without fear or punitive and prohibitive fees," Isaac Ssemakadde, the president of the Makerere University Law Society said.

The rioting students vandalised kiosks along Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road and in Wandegeya before riot police came in at 8.20am. Sir Apollo Kaggwa, Bombo and Makerere Hill roads were partly closed by students after lighting fires in the middle of the three roads.

Hoes and pangas

A shop attendant at Makerere Senior Staff Canteen told Daily Monitor that students broke into the canteen using hoes and pangas.

"They feasted on beers and sodas found in the canteen. Other girls disappeared with a T.V giant screen from the club bar as male students were distributing the general merchandise amongst themselves," she said. "A crowd of over 50 students attacked a coca cola depot afterwards and disappeared with over shs 780,000 in cash after drinking all sodas found inside," she said.

The Guild President Henry Morris Kibalya blamed the strike on the failure of the university administration to temporarily put on hold the new fees.

"We have met the University administration for the last four days to look for ways of halting this strike since students had indicated at the beginning of the semester that they were against the new fees," he said.

"Even last night the Guild Executive met with the administration led by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Livingstone Luboobi but he just said that he can handle whatever the students can do," Kibalya said.

The meeting was also attended by Academic Registrar, Amos Olar Odur, Dean of Students, John Ekudu, Deputy Academic registrar (Academic) Dr Lilian Tibatemwa

"I personally pleaded with Prof. Luboobi to allow us meet the Chancellor and Prime Minister, Prof. Apolo Nsimbabi, but he responded by saying that the situation is firmly under control," Kibalya said. "How can you make a person pay retake fees from Shs 50,000 to over Shs 150,000 for only one paper?"

"But anyway the striking moods have been on for long because the Guild Executive spent the whole of Thursday night removing placards from all the university passages calling on students to shun classes," Kibalya went on.

Prof. Nsibambi while presiding over the recent 49th graduation of Makerere University challenged the administration to always address students' grievances in time before students resort to strikes.

By 11.30am, over 10 people had been arrested and detained at Wandegeya Police Station.

Makerere announced functional fees that are various dues paid to the university in addition to the tuition fees. The hiked fees included application fees, examination fees, transcript fees, graduation fees, identity cards, among others.

New fees

According to the new rates, the application fees for Ugandan undergraduates were increased to Shs 20,000 from Shs 8,000, while the examination fee has gone up to Shs100, 000 from Shs60, 000. Registration fees now stand at Shs100, 000 from Shs50, 000. Students will pay Shs15, 000 instead of Shs11, 200 for their Identity Cards and Shs30, 000 instead of Shs10, 000 for their graduation. Additionally, they will pay Shs20, 000 for transcripts for which they have been paying Shs10, 000. The Research fee of Shs10, 000 has been doubled.

Post graduate students would feel the pinch most as the examination fees for PhD students have gone up to Shs300, 000 from Shs180,000, while Diploma and Masters examination fees have gone up from Shs120,000 to Shs 200,000 per annum. They will also pay ten times more in registration fees (Shs120, 000), up from Shs12, 000. Similar fees hitherto paid by international students have been multiplied twice or thrice.

The developments came as a result of a December 2004 University Council meeting, which recommended an increase in tuition fees for privately sponsored students to between 50 and 80 percent with effect from the 2005/2006 academic year and reach full implementation in the 2008/2009.

In a petition to the Minister of Education dated November 10, 2005, Makerere University students urged government to involve parents and other stakeholders in reviewing the new policy.

	Copyright © 2005 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).