Kampala, Uganda | By Michael Wandati | Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA), has called for an investigation into reported threats against Dr. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, attributed to his anti-corruption activism on X platform, formerly Twitter.
These alleged threats, disclosed by Dr. Spire himself on Tuesday 19, March 2024, are deemed by MUASA as violations of the academic freedoms safeguarded by the 1995 constitution.
“MUASA demands that the Inspector General of Police, Chairperson of the Joint Forces Command of Uganda, and other relevant local, regional and international bodies take immediate steps to afford Dr. Ssentongo the protection he requires from any threats to his life and work,” the Makerere dons said in a statement signed by Dr. Robert Kakuru, chairperson.
Under the handle “@SpireJim” on X platform, Dr. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo has recently been active in exposing purported corruption within the Parliament of Uganda. Over the past two weeks, he has utilized the hashtag #UgandaParliamentExhibition to share insights into these alleged instances of corruption.
MUASA statement in full
Threats to Dr. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo’s life
Our attention has been drawn to renewed threats to the life of our member, Dr. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, circulating on X (formerly Twitter) among other media. We take these threats very seriously, cognizant of recent reports of detention of people incommunicado; the murder of Lwomwa Daniel Bbosa; the attempted assassination ofGeneral Katumba Wamala and murder of his daughter; and Dr. Ssentongo’s advocacy against corruption in the course of his work as a Senior Lecturer at Makerere University and as a public intellectual.
We take strong exception to these threats and reiterate Dr, Ssentongo’s academic freedom and other freedoms enshrined, inter alia, in Chapter four of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda: The Kampala Declaration on Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility 1990, and the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, 2001 (as amended).
Article 29 (1) (b) of the Constitution states that “Every person shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and belief which shall include academic freedom in institutions of learning” and Article 3 of the Kampala Declaration states that “No African intellectual shall in any way be persecuted, harassed or intimidated for reasons only of his intellectual work or opinions.”
Also Read: Jim Spire ‘fears for life’ after exposing corruption in Uganda’s Parliament
Accordingly, Dr. Ssentongo, like all members of the Makerere University Academie Staff Association (MUASA), other academic staff in Uganda and beyond must be afforded every opportunity to do his work without threat of harm. Any attack on Dr. Ssentongo’s academic freedom is an attack on the academic freedom of all the members of MUASA and other academies in the world.
Article 13 of the Kampala Declaration states that “The State is obliged to take prompt and appropriate measures in respect of any infringement by state officials of the rights and freedoms of the intellectual community brought to its attention.”
Therefore, MUASA demands that the Inspector General of Police, Chairperson of the Joint Forces Command of Uganda, and other relevant local, regional and international bodies take immediate steps to afford Dr. Ssentongo the protection he requires from any threats to his life and work.
