By John Taylor Imumet
Kampala University and Ministry of Education are said to be clashing over a decision by the university management to refuse to graduate a sizeable number of students from South Sudan.
It is reported that whereas Kampala University had a branch in South Sudan, the university management led by Prof. Badru Kateregga chose to close it down. However, in a dramatic turn of events, some smart people allegedly went around and kept running the same branch promising students to be graduated from Kampala, the main campus.
We’re told, the two men including a one Faisal and another Doctor from Teso kept collecting dimes from the unsuspecting students but things turned hard for them at the time of graduation.
“Towards the last graduation at Kampala University, the students from Sudan came here to check on their names whether they were on the list of graduands. They didn’t find their names” explained an inspector.
The angry students allegedly stormed the management for answers but management told them that their branch had been closed long ago and therefore, they were not going to graduate.
They were even told to start demanding back for their monies on grounds that they were conned. The students however, couldn’t take any of the explanation and chose to demonstrate at the varsity and around some streets of Kampala.
Not done, inspectors said the students petitioned the ministry for education and prime minister Robinah Nabbanja for intervention.
“Education called Kateregga but he told them that the students couldn’t be graduated because they were never supervised by KU. It’s an illegality to graduate students you’re not sure of their capabilities” an inspector said.
We’re told the ministry asked both parties to settle the matter amicably through a win-win but Kateregga stood his ground.
Inspectors said not even the efforts by the authorities from South Sudan to reign in on Prof. Kateregga have yielded fruits.
“Left with no option, the matter was taken to court but court ruled in Kateregga’s favor. The petitioners are now working on appeal although one of them (Faisal) has since passed on. His death spells doom for the petitioners” says an Inspector.
Meanwhile, Inspectors said security had also picked interest in the matter especially on how this purported scam came up.
Prof. Kateregga runs a network of university branches in Nairobi, Kigali and former S. Sudan although this branch is said to be closed now. He’s a respected educationist with many big people including key Kenyan politicians like former governor of Nairobi Joho having gone through his training under Kampala University. Efforts to get a comment from Prof. Kateregga were futile by press time as it didn’t go through.
Watch this space!
