Govt probes IUIU over Islamist threat BY SADAB KITATTA IUIU staff and students in procession to mark the universitys 25 anniversary It has emerged that the police is investigating the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) over alleged links to some Islamist groups that pose a threat to Uganda. According to a cabinet source, the university was placed under investigation after government got reports that some “extremists were getting a foothold in the university.” This information forced government last year to block a $13.7m (Shs 35.8bn) loan to the university from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) meant for the establishment of the faculty of Engineering and Technology, construction of a modern library and interlinking three of the university’s four campuses with the installation of a modern ICT facility. “There were some extremists [such as the ADF] who we heard were using the university as a base for their recruitment,” a minister told The Observer on September 8. IDB is the financing arm of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the chief funder of the university. The bank’s executive directors approved the loan on February 10, 2013 awaiting a government of Uganda guarantee. The loan blockade formed part of last week’s discussions between government and Iyad Ameen Madani, the secretary general of the OIC, during his visit to the country. This interest-free loan carries a seven-year grace period, and Uganda, being one of the 57 OIC member states, is required to guarantee the loan and also pay the accruing taxes. Madani held talks with President Museveni, officials from Finance and the Education and Sports ministry. “We raised that issue [loan] in the meeting and [the state minister for] Finance Fred Omach said it is going to be cleared within the next few weeks,” Madani told journalists last week. “We were concerned but since they [government] have promised, we shall wait and see,” Madani added. The Observer has learnt that during the talks, the government investigation of IUIU was not mentioned to Madani. Omach instead explained that government delayed to approve the grant because it was unsure IUIU would repay the loan. At Madani’s insistence, IUIU’s file was perused and it was found that the university had never defaulted on any loans. Genesis IUIU’s run-ins with government started in 2012 when Asuman Kiyingi spearheaded a push to oust the university’s rector Dr Ahmed Ssengendo leading to his interrogation by police for allegedly being in possession of four diplomatic passports. Kiyingi’s docket as minister of state for Foreign Affairs (Regional Affairs) gives him an automatic seat on the University Council but sections of the university community view him as a saboteur. Contacted on Tuesday, Kiyingi told The Observer: “We have our issues that we are handling in a different way because we decided that we should not fail the university’s development because of these issues.” He said cabinet had cleared the loan. “It is now a question of Omach signing the guarantee instruments after the Prime Minister [Amama Mbabazi] gave him clearance. That clearance was given in May,” Kiyingi said. More funds Madani, nonetheless, promised more funding to the institution, which is part of OIC’s robust plan to improve its institutions world-wide. “We are now going at full speed, increasing funding for all our education institutions to turn into centres of excellence especially in science and technology,” Madani said last week. “Education is the major thrust of OIC because besides IUIU, we have four other universities [in Niger, Indonesia, Malaysia and Chicago-USA],” he said. Greed Interviewed for this story on Thursday, the university’s public relations officer (PRO), Shaban Lukooya, roundly dismissed claims tying them to extremist groups. He blamed the allegations on “some enemies of the university.” “The allegations are baseless, false and malicious, they are being spread by some individuals who want to derail the university’s development in a bid to settle some personal scores,” Lukooya said on Thursday. “Some of them are only greedy and are looking at the opportunity of pushing out the current university administration so that they get in people they can use as conduits to steal the university’s resources for their selfish gain,” Lukooya added
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 13:37:57 +0000
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