A student leader at Uganda’s Makerere University has been arrested for attempting to chain himself at the main gate, while protesting the closure of the university.
According to Daily Monitor, the arrested student was identified as Simon Wanyera, a guild representative council of the school of education.
Police confirmed the arrest.
“We have arrested him, because he was planning to chain himself in front of the main gate,” a police spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Uganda’s long-time ruler President Yoweri Museveni ordered the indefinite closure of Makarere after days of student protests culminated in violent clashes with police.
The protests were in response to an ongoing strike action by academic staff demanding better pay and working conditions.
Dr Muhammad Kiggundu, chairperson of the staff association, said lecturers had not been paid a university-agreed “incentive payment” after years without a pay rise.
