Mr. Isaac Newton Kyagaba has been sworn-in as the new Chairperson of Makerere University Students Disciplinary Committee. 

Accepting the appointment, Mr. Kyagaba thanked Members of Management and the Student Guild for sparing time out of their respective schedules to attend the ceremony. He expressed readiness to abide by the oath he had taken and maintain to confidentiality of all information that he will receive by virtue of his office.

“I personally believe in three guiding principles that I use in the different capacities or boards where I sit” shared Mr. Kyagaba “and these are communication, systems and transparency,” he added.

Mr. Kyagaba noted that in order for these three to be achieved, there must be discipline. “If you can effectively communicate, you can stop a war or dispute from actually happening.” He further explained that systems indicate a known manner in which things are done and procedures are followed. Observance of these by the committee on one hand and students on the other, he noted, would greatly reduce incidences that necessitate hearings.

The Commissioner of Oaths, Hajji Farouk Kamulegeya presided over the swearing-in-ceremony held on Friday 18^th March 2022 in the Makerere University Council Room.

Section 5 (a) of the University Students Disciplinary Committee stipulates that the Committee shall be composed of members appointed by the University Council.

Following the swearing-in of the Chairperson, the Committee is now fully constituted. It consists of the following personalities:

Mr. Isaac Newton Kyagaba – Chairperson

Dr. Godfrey Akileng – Member

Dr. Sylvia A. Nannyonga-Tamusuza – Member

Rev. Onesimus Asiimwe – Member

Hon. Beatrice Kiraso – Member

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe congratulated Mr. Kyagaba on his appointment and thanked him for accepting to take on the responsibility of chairing the Committee and thanked Hajji Kamulegeya for administering the oath.

Prof. Nawangwe reiterated the importance of discipline and its correlation to development. “There is no way we can progress when there is indiscipline all around us. The countries that are advanced have had to instill discipline in different ways; the communists did it differently and the capitalists did it differently but they had to instill discipline in their societies.”

He therefore congratulated the members of the Committee upon their appointment and acceptance to serve Makerere University in this capacity and encouraged them to dispense justice without fear or favour.

“Makerere should become a university where people are thinking about how to move this country and this continent forward” concluded the Vice Chancellor.

The University Secretary, Mr. Yusuf Kiranda, who is also the Secretary to the University Council noted that the top governing body had executed its mandate by appointing the Committee as stipulated in Section 5 of the Makerere University Students Regulations.

“All societies that have been able to transform and develop are those where citizens have followed the rule of law. Rules apply everywhere, whether in how we interact with each other, how we conduct business, or how we manage public resources and facilities bestowed in our care. And when we break the rules without sanction, we create a perverse incentive which motivates other people to also act in their self-interest” remarked Mr. Kiranda.

He therefore hoped that with the Student Disciplinary Committee in place, meetings would be convened more for the purposes of counseling, guiding and advising the students than handling cases of indiscipline.

The Vice Guild President H.E. Nelson Ssewanyana and Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mr. Bbosa Henry Price represented the student’s leadership at the ceremony.  The following University officials also witnessed the Swearing-in-Ceremony:  Ag. Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance and Administration) Prof. Henry Alinaitwe, Dean of Students Mrs. Winifred Kabumbuli and Legal Officers namely Ms. Phiona Natukunda, Mr. Gonzaga Mbalangu and Ms. Naome Kiconco.

According to Section 5 (c), the terms of reference of the University Students Disciplinary Committee include:

1. To handle disciplinary cases directly brought to it;
2. To handle cases referred to it by Hall Disciplinary Committee;
3. To handle appeals from parties dissatisfied with the ruling by the Hall Disciplinary Committee; and
4. Any other functions assigned by Council.

Written by:  Ritah Namisango, Mak Public Relations Office