A storm is brewing at Uganda’s oldest Makerere University following the abrupt dismissal of Hon. Aggrey Baziirake from his position as Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in the 91st Guild Cabinet.
In a letter dated May 16, 2025, Guild President Ssentamu Churchill James formally notified the Guild Representative Council (GRC) of Baziirake’s dismissal, citing failure to fulfill key responsibilities assigned to him under the university’s Students’ Guild Constitution.
According to Churchill, the decision, backed by Article 22(12) of the 2022 Guild Constitution, empowers the guild president to remove any cabinet member after issuing a notice of justification to the GRC.
“Pursuant to the powers prescribed to me under Article 22(12) of the Makerere University Students’ Guild Constitution 2022, to wit; the guild president shall have the powers to remove a member of the Executive having served a notice of justification to the GRC. I hereby notify you of the dismissal of Hon. Aggrey Baziirake from the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. This decision is based on his failure to execute core responsibilities assigned to him as per Articles 22(16) and 38(3) of the guild constitution,” the letter reads in part.
As a result, the former minister has been instructed to immediately hand over all official correspondence, assets, and funds associated with his office to the Guild Prime Minister.
“He is therefore expected to hand over Guild correspondence, including assets and funds accrued during his time in office, to the office of the Guild Prime Minister with immediate effect,” the letter adds in part.
President Ssentamu assured students of his administration’s commitment to a competence-based leadership.
“I am thus far grateful for the cooperation of Guild members towards serving the general students’ fraternity and remain committed to ensuring that ours is a competence-based government,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the move has triggered sharp reactions among student leaders and observers, some of whom described the dismissal as abrupt and lacking sufficient engagement with the GRC.
Others, however, applauded the president for enforcing accountability within the student leadership.
