The controversial Makerere University research fellow, Dr Stella Nyanzi was first placed on a no-fly list usually reserved for terrorists & hardcore criminals and has now been sacked by Makerere University for insulting Uganda’s First Lady, Ms Janet Museveni who also doubles as the Education minister.
Makerere University Appointments board on Friday said that the researcher has been using social media to ‘dehumanise’ and ‘castigate’ the Minister of Education, who is the immediate boss of the institution.
The appointments board chairperson, Mr Bruce Kabasa said Dr Nyanzi had been let go at a time when they are still “making consultations” on whether to have her posted in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS).
“This communication is, therefore, to require you to implement the decision of the Appointments Board referred to above by suspending Dr Stella Nyanzi from the university service with immediate effect,” the letter reads. “ By copy of this letter, the Director Of Human Resources and Ag. Legal Affairs are required to prepare for disciplinary proceeding of the above case.”The suspension letter issued yesterday said Dr Nyanzi had ignored earlier warnings.
“In total disregard of the aforementioned warning, Dr Nyanzi has continued to use social media to violate Section 5.7.7 of the Makerere University Human Resource Manual 2009. It’s particularly regrettable that Dr Nyanzi has made it a habit to insult, dehumanise and castigate the line Minister of Education and Sports under whose docket Makerere University’s supervision falls,” Mr Baraba said.
How Nyanzi went overboard
Dr Nyanzi has for weeks been criticizing the First Lady, Ms Janet Museveni who also doubles as the Education minister for telling MPs recently that government had no money to buy sanitary wears for school girls.
“I have talked about very many issues and very many people but I have never been summoned. Who is Janet? She is not a mother. A mother should provide pads for our girls. There are billions of shillings that have been embezzled by this regime. How dare could she say [that] government has no money to buy sanitary towels for our girls in their menses,” Dr Nyanzi fumed after appearing at the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CIID) headquarters in Kibuli for interrogation on Tuesday, March 7, 2017.
She added: “Neither Museveni nor Janet will stop me from criticizing this government. They should do things in the right way if they don’t want to be criticized.”
ALSO READ: ‘You are not a mother to Ugandans’ Nyanzi attacks Mrs Museveni over sanitary pads
While campaigning for his fifth elective term in Alebtong District, President Museveni promised that his government would provide free sanitary pads for all girls in school.
However, Ms Museveni while appearing before the Parliament’s Education Committee on February 13, said it would not be possible for the government to provide menstruation tissues to school girls because of financial constraint.
This week, Nyanzi took to her social media page using sexual imagery and descriptive language to criticise Mrs Museveni when she asked parents to guard against exposing their children to danger by cramming more than two children on motorcycles commonly known as Boda Bodas while going to school.
The First Lady came out and said she had forgiven her but Dr Nyanzi shoot harder, claiming that Mrs Museveni has a brain smaller than her private part.
Police reportedly arrested and released Nyanzi on Friday before denying the claims hours before Dr Nyanzi was sacked by Makerere.
Dr Nyanzi’s latest sacking comes less than a month after she was recalled to Makerere University following her suspension last year after she was found guilty of gross misconduct.
It all started after Dr Nyanzi clashed with Professor Mahmood Mamdani, the Director of Makerere Institute of Social Research-MISR. She has been posted to the law school.
Then, Dr Nyanzi and Prof Mamdani’s disagreement stemmed from the former’s refusal to teach the institute’s PhD students and participating in research projects. After her suspension, the university appointment’s board instituted a committee chaired by Ms Sharifah Bukenzi, assistant commissioner, human resource management at the Ministry of Public Service to probe among others the disagreement between the two dons.
The committee observed that Dr Nyanzi’s refusal to take up the teaching role assigned to her by the director MISR was in breach of the terms of her appointment which “she accepted in writing and therefore an act of insubordination.” It recommended that Dr Nyanzi be subjected to a disciplinary action.
Dr Nyanzi was confirmed in university service by the Appointments Board at its meeting of October 28, 2013 on a five-year permanent contract.
