A Makerere University lecturer, Dr. Jude Ssempebwa, has been awarded general damages amounting to Shs120 million after the university’s Appointments Board frustrated his promotion to full professor.
In a ruling dated August 2, 2024, the Makerere University Staff Tribunal determined that Dr. Ssempebwa met all the necessary requirements for promotion from Associate Professor to full Professor. Despite this, the university declined to promote him, citing insufficient teaching experience at the associate professor level. However, the tribunal found that Dr. Ssempebwa had actually accumulated seven years of teaching experience, surpassing the six-year requirement.
The tribunal, chaired by Dr. Henry Onoria and comprising members Dr. Fred Maniraga, Sarah Wegosasa, and Joseph Kalema, ruled in favor of Dr. Ssempebwa, stating that he met the criteria for promotion under the university’s Fast-Track Scheme.
Dr. Ssempebwa had been appointed as a lecturer at Makerere University in 2012 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2015. In 2017, he applied for promotion to full professor, but the university’s Appointments and Promotions Committee declined to recommend him. Dr. Ssempebwa challenged this decision, asserting that his teaching experience, including his time as an Assistant Lecturer at Kampala International University, qualified him for the promotion.
The tribunal criticized the university’s Appointments Board for failing to properly evaluate Dr. Ssempebwa’s teaching experience and publications in line with the institution’s policies. As a result, the tribunal ordered the university to promote Dr. Ssempebwa to full professor, backdating the promotion to July 26, 2017. The university was also directed to pay Dr. Ssempebwa the salary difference between the ranks of associate professor and full professor from the date of his promotion.
