A section students, who were recently expelled from Makerere University, allegedly participated in the recently chaotic Makerere University Convocation polls, Tanga Odoi thee Convocation Chairperson has revealed.
Odoi told reporters at the convocation office on Tuesday, that they have already started Investigating these allegations, in collaboration with the University management.
“We shall be giving you the details in future once we conclude these investigations,” he said.
Odoi said these frustrated former students were hired by the opposition convocation members led by UBC journalist Charles Odongtho, former Ntungamo Municipality MP Gerald Karuhanga and Robert Lutalo, who did not want the election to take place.
“Much as majority of the members agreed with idea of the election to go on, this group were opposed to it and wanted to force their opinion on us, when we refused they tried to use chaos, I directed security to escort them out,” he said
The convocation held it’s 29th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on December 30, where they even conducted polls to choose Tanga’s successor, whose term will end on April 23.
There is a video showing some of the convocation members being escorted out of the AGM by the security in a “disgusting manner,”
The chaos resulted from a standoff between former leaders who were organizing the election and some of the candidates led by Karuhanga and Odongotho among others asked the current chairman Dr. Tanga Odoi and the returning officer Prof. Mukadasi Buyinza to postpone the exercise so as to rectify the anomalies they had identified which was not allowed then chaos started and military plus police entered to calm the situation.
“You can’t use chaos to have your ways. It was unfortunate for members to try and disrupt the meeting by singing opposition political songs and turning our meeting political,” Odoi said.
In the contested polls, George Turyamureba Mugabi, emerged as the winner then Ruto Cherotich vice Chairman
Ofoi further said that his son’s involvement in the elections is not a crime because is an alumni of Makerere University and those accusing him they are just jealousy!
“In fact, Odoi’s son Collins Tanga was on the same team as Turyamureba seeking to be the association’s publicity secretary” says Tanga
Odongtho Speaks Out
Speaking to DaParrot, Odongtho said Tanga is trading lies, because whatever he said are nothing but lies.
He for example said that Tanga’s allegations that the expelled Makerere University participated is a lie because “these were former students of Makerere who accessed the AGM are members Tanga himself allowed in,”
“He can’t turn around and say we hired them,”
He adds that how could he (Odongtho) alone, a candidate too, could force about 30 candidates, 7 of them vying for chairmanship, to get out of the race!
“The Council Chair has demanded that Tanga accounts for the mess he created at that AGM. The best thing for him to do Is to do just that,” he said .
Tanga, he said is running away from accountability for his actions, “including his impunity and abuse of office, where he a civilian commanded and forced the military and armed police to break into an AGM of Makerere Convocation and beat up members of the Convocation, and injured several of them,”
Investigation Directive
DaParrot has learnt that Dr. Lonah Magara, the Chancellor of Makerere University has directed Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe the Vice Chancellor to fully investige what happened on that day and the convocation accountability issues
In the January 2 letter, Dr. Magara told Prof. Nawangwe to come up with a detailed report by January 9, on why some members especially the opposition ones, were brutally treated.
Nawangwe was also directed to submit the full accountability of the funds that the current convocation leadership led by Tanga, has been receiving from the University.
“The Council will leave no stone unturned in inquiring into the alleged transgressions that the alumni association members have raised in their numerous anti-Tanga petitions addressed to her office as Chairperson of the Governing Council,” reads part of the letter.
