Makerere University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, has confirmed that the institution will continue its investigation into the controversial ‘Speaker Among exam paper,’ which is under scrutiny for allegedly failing to meet academic standards.
Despite Speaker of Parliament Anita Among’s objections regarding the investigation of the exam paper, which depicted real parliamentary proceedings and included real names such as her own, Prof. Nawangwe emphasized that the inquiry focuses on quality assurance.
“The Speaker is free to comment on the matter, but Makerere is investigating the quality of the examination paper. It is Makerere’s quality assurance action,” Prof. Nawangwe stated.
In a letter dated May 15, Prof. Nawangwe instructed Dr. Ronald Naluwairo, the acting principal of the School of Law, to convene an emergency meeting of the School Academic Board to investigate the ‘Principles of Constitutional Law II’ exam paper.
Speaker Among, in a May 22 post on X, affirmed that Parliament welcomes public scrutiny, viewing it as essential for a strong representative institution. She highlighted the importance of academic freedom under Article 29 (1) (b) of the Constitution, which protects this freedom.
“I hold the view that this is a free society in which freedom of expression is guaranteed and sacrosanct, including academic freedom,” Ms. Among stated. However, she emphasized that examiners must provide proper context for the events depicted in the exam.
“I find no fault in the exam set for the students and believe our duty will be to give the students unbiased context on what exactly happened during the sitting in question, so they can form their own opinions on public affairs,” she added.
The controversial exam, co-authored by Dr. Kabumba Busingye and Prof. Joe Oloka-Onyango, both constitutional law professors at Makerere, featured a case study involving Speaker Among. The scenario depicted her reacting to sanctions imposed by the UK and proposing a “Speaker’s Bill” in the House, which included provisions to criminalize adverse comments about her.
The case study further described Leader of the Opposition Joel Besekezi Ssenyonyi protesting the Bill, resulting in his expulsion from the House by the Speaker. Despite the lack of quorum, the Bill was passed and subsequently assented to by President Museveni.
Students were tasked with identifying the constitutional law issues raised by the case study.
