I am tired of waiting – Stella Nyanzi writes ‘ultimatum’ to Makerere

By Catherine Apolot

Outspoken scholar and activist Stella Nyanzi has cried out to Makerere University to pay her emoluments, unless they want to ‘see her dead’.

This follows a directive by the Staff Appeals Tribunal early this month that directed Makerere University management to immediately reinstate the former research fellow because her suspension was illegal and unlawful.

Nyanzi was last year indefinitely suspended by vice chancellor Prof John Ddumba-Ssentamu on the orders of the appointments board chairman Bruce Balaba Kabaasa for attacking the First Lady and Education minister Janet Museveni.

In a 530-word post on her facebook wall, Nyanzi questions whether the institution wants her dead before they can, among other refund her monthly salary, and reinstate her as ordered by the Staff Appeals Tribunal.

Below is her full poetic rant.

“Does Makerere University want me to commit suicide? Today makes 12 working days since their staff appeals tribunal ordered the university to pay me all my emoluments within10 working days. Refund of my monthly salary is late. The refund of my frozen research grant from Carnegie Corporation is late. Late, late, late by two whole days! And today I am just too tired to keep on fighting against an inefficient rotten system. I am too tired to politely request the toxic university to implement the orders to reinstate me back on duty with immediate effect from October 2, 2018. I am tired!

Shall I just commit suicide and end it all? Isn’t that what Makerere University wants me to do? Clearly, the university administrators and managers are either absconding from duty or insubordinate to the orders of their very own tribunal. Moreover, it was the multitude of Makerere’s structural failures and systemic ineptness that led me here in the first (and the second) place. Rather than check my bully and the cohort of his complicit enablers, Makerere punished me with two suspensions from my job as a Research Fellow. Shall I kill myself so that Mamdani, Khawekha, Ocita, Ossome, Tallio, Bezabeh, Ebila, Kafureeka, Kirumira, Kiyimba, Ahikiire, Tzikara, Balaba Kabaasa, Okello Ogwang, Nawangwe, Ddumda Ssentamu and whoever else win the war? Will they come to my funeral service, vigil or Requiem Mass?

Shall I drink poison so that Andrew Buyang responds to my email asking him about my late reinstatement back to office, and my overly late promotion to Senior Research Fellow? Shall I first kick a stool so that the noose around my hanging neck tightens to knock out all life from my limp body, in order for Muqqadisi Buyinza to vomit the tens of thousands of US dollars remaining from my frozen postdoctoral research grant? Shall I slit my wrists and slowly bleed to death in my bathroom to free Makerere’s Appointments Board from the guilt of severally failing to honour and protect my employment contract – even failing to respect the orders from the two decisions of the tribunal? Shall I slash off my own head with a machete so that Simon Musoke can forever vacate my office?

Does Makerere University want me to commit suicide so that they can finally have a credible crime to charge me? Shall I first write a suicide note and tuck it under my pillows so that they can finally posthumously diagnose me with another form of psychosis? How much does a quarter kilogram of rat poison cost? Will Makerere University delay to buy my coffin and bring rotten flowers to my funeral? Will Susan Kiguli recite a poem for my dead body? Will Sylvia Tamale give a touching eulogy with anecdotes? Will Sarah Ssali give a speech disciplining my dead body? Will Josephine Ahikiire bring a brown envelope of mabugo contributions from CHUSS? Will Consolata Kabonesa lead the choir of grieving women from Makerere University? Will Janet Museveni return to NTV to publicly ask for my forgiveness? Shall I commit suicide so that I can finally rest in the arms of Wangari Mathai, Audre Lorde, Bessie Head and Harriet Byasiima Nyanzi?”