Chaos as Great Lakes Regional University fails to reopen for the new academic year 2023.

Difficulty today rocked the Great Lakes Regional University in Kanungu district as a section of students flocked the university demanding to know the status of affairs there. This happened amidst a heightened ownership battle of the University between the founder Bishop Hamlet Kabushenga and other directors led by Honest Wilkins Natukwasa. The ongoing battle has so far affected Great Lakes Regional University under the Child to Family Community Development Organization (CHIFCOD) and other learning institutions under the same management. These are Kirima, Nyamirama, Nyakabungo, Rutenga parents’ primary schools, and Great Lakes High school. Civil Division High Court in Kampala had in December 2021 issued an injunction barring Kabushenga and his wife Esther Kellen Mbabazi from accessing the premises of CHIFCOD learning institutions until the main suit where he (Kabushenga) is accused of alleged financial mismanagement is heard. CHIFCOD funders in June 2020 forced Kabushenga who founded Great Lakes University in 2004 to resign citing financial impropriety. Funders replaced Kabushenga with Natukwasa. However, on this month 2, Kabushenga with an escort of Gad Rugaaju Ahimbisibwe, Kanungu Deputy Resident District Commissioner, and police stormed all learning institutions and evicted Natukwasa’s faction. Students in the morning hours walked into the University premises in Kirima sub county to resume studies as per the Ministry of Education and Sports calendar year which guarantees the national opening of schools across the country. However, on reaching the university premises, the students found a group of muscle men donning black civilian clothes while armed with clubs, iron bars, machetes, and axes patrolling. Later another group led by Kabushenga appeared and described the group as his private security. He also ordered the students to undergo validation. On trying to inquire about the reasons behind the validation, Kabushenga described them as hooligans and drove away. After driving away, students and the group described by Kabushenga as his security started exchanging words with attempts to exchange feasts. This led police at around Midday to intervene and started chasing away students out of the University premises to allow officers and the group to remain there alone. Students turned down the police order amidst insults from both parties. Bruce Christmas Katuusi, the students’ guild speaker, told our reporter that he reported to the university well-prepared to study. Katuusi however said that he was shocked to find unidentified people armed with fighting tools and claiming to be the ones in charge. Katuusi said that when he tried to inquire who the group was, they attempted to beat him.