General
Justice Tabaro assumes office as new Chairperson Mak Staff Appeals Tribunal
On 9th August 2019, the Chairperson of Makerere University Council Mrs. Lorna Magara officially welcomed Justice John Patrick Mashongo Tabaro to the new position of Chairperson of Makerere University Staff Appeals Tribunal. The colorful ceremony was attended by representatives from; Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA), Makerere University Administrative Staff Association (MASA), National Union of Educational Institutions (NUEI) and members of Makerere University Public Relations office.
Retired High Court Judge, Justice Tabaro was appointed Chairperson of the Makerere University Staff Appeals Tribunal by the Chancellor Prof. Ezra Suruma for a four-year term (May 15th 2019-15th May 2023). Justice Tabaro’s appointment is in line with section 56(1) (a) of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act (UOTIA), 2001 as amended. He takes over office from Mr. George Omunyokol whose term ended on 20th March 2019.
He served in the Judiciary for over 36 years, when he started as Magistrate in 1976; rising through the ranks to become a Constitutional Court Judge, Acting Principal Judge among other roles.
In his acceptance speech on 9th August 2019, Justice Tabaro paid tribute to the outgoing Chairperson Mr. George Omunyokol and to Mr. Didas Nkurunziza who chaired the pioneer tribunal.
“It is difficult enough to judge the general public, but it is also problematic when the top intellectuals are the litigants and the onerous task to resolve the disputes falls upon unfortunate mortals like me or to my two predecessors. Today, we are talking of about 36000 students hence we should assume that issues that arise here on campus concerning students, academic staff, administration and support staff are enormous. However, that is not to say that we should fold our arms in despair or lamentation,” he said.
According to Justice Tabaro, a community without justice digs its way to anarchy and decline. He therefore, promised dedication, justice, and impartiality when executing his tasks. On behalf of his team, he also promised to constitute a forum for impartial and transparent resolution disputes as mandated under the University and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, 2001 as amended.
“It is only axiomatic that if the tribunal acts impartially transparently without fear or favor, the whole university community will be the beneficiary as this will create a peaceful atmosphere, conducive to the generation of knowledge for the good of Uganda and the benefit of the whole university community and future alumni,” he said.
At the same function, Justice Tabaro witnessed three members of the new Tribunal swearing in. These included; Prof. Ben Kiromba Twinomugisha -Representative of University Senate, Dr. Phiona Muhwezi Mpanga- Representative of MUASA, and Dr. Ronald Kakungulu-Mayambala-Representative MUASA.
The Chairperson of Makerere University Council congratulated Justice Tabaro and his team upon the new positions and pledged Makerere University Council’s readiness to cooperate in processes that facilitate the work of the Tribunal. In the same spirit, he thanked the Outgoing Chairperson and Members of the Tribunal for taking a bold stand to uphold justice, fairness, accountability, transparency and integrity for the good of Makerere University and Uganda in general.
In her welcome address, Mrs. Magara emphasized the importance of a tribunal when she said, “the world over, tribunals play a crucially important role of resolving disputes that would otherwise end up in courts of law. As a tribunal, you have the mandate to hear and decide disputes and bind disputants. It goes without contestation that tribunals are very important part of the legal system where the rule of law and human rights are upheld.”
She stated that the University Council holds the Appointments Board to the highest standards of justice and fairness. Nevertheless, the Council also recognizes that those who may not be satisfied with the decisions of the Board have the right to appeal to another body which is the Staff Tribunal.
She called upon the Chairperson and Members of the Tribunal to uphold the highest standards of fairness in deciding matters that are brought be for them.
“This will be critical if Makerere University realizes a credible grievance management system which has the confidence of all stakeholder’s and which can reduce of the several litigations against the University in the Court of Law,” she said.
Article by Nabatte Proscovia, Mak Public Relations Office
By Agnes Namaganda
On July 22nd 2022, Makerere University–Child Health and Development Centre (Mak–CHDC) launched a draft manual for the National Parenting Standards. The Centre has been working together with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) with funding from UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund), to develop standards that are agreeable to all organisations in the country that are involved in parenting work. The draft manual was being presented to members of a consortium that brings together all these organisations together, called the Parenting Agenda Consortium.
“We produce many documents and they are shelved,” Irene Ayot Chono, who was speaking on behalf of UNICEF said. “We hope that this document will not be one of them,” she emphasized.
Dr. Godfrey Siu, the Principal Investigator from Mak-CHDC who presented the draft manual to participants, emphasized that if any organization is doing parenting work, there should be a minimum package that they should offer.
Draft Manual Content
The manual which will have several modules. These modules will be delivered face-to-face in 1.5 hour sessions. Some of these include; Module 6 which will focus on “understanding responsible masculinity and fatherhood” and on “understanding the concept of head of family.”The draft manual also proposed that Module 11 focuses on Parenting in the 21st Century. Some of the sessions in this module will include Children and Technology, Contemporary Influence on Children and Modernity, Culture and Morality.Module 9 will focus on Parenting for Adolescents and some of the suggested sessions within this module are Needs for Adolescents and The Art of Communicating with Adolescents. Module 5 will focus on Preventing Violent Parenting and Promoting Alternative Discipline Strategies while Module 10 will be about Parenting to Address the Mental Health for Children and Adults.
Participants’ suggestions
After the presentation, participants raised several suggestions for discussion and consideration. These included whether there should be a module on spirituality since Uganda is a strongly religious nation. There was also the concern of how children in remand homes should be parented. Another concern raised by a participant was as to whether teachers who make an undeniable contribution to parenting, should be taken through the parenting manual.
In her closing remarks, Ms. Juliana Naumo Akoryo, the Director of Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) said that the manual is for the parenting organisations to utilize and not for MGLSD.
Ms. Chono also adjured the team behind the manual to use picture illustrations in the manual that can be relatable by the Ugandan parents.
Contact: Agnes Namaganda – agnesvioletnamaganda@gmail.com
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