Makerere University has directed Associate Professor Faisal Buyinza to step aside from all leadership and administrative responsibilities as a six-member committee investigates allegations made against him by his former wife, Hanifah Nakiryowa.
The university said the decision is an administrative measure intended to protect the integrity of the investigation and should not be interpreted as a finding that Buyinza is guilty of any wrongdoing.
Buyinza has been serving as head of the Department of Economic Theory and Analysis at Makerere University’s College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS).
In a communication issued to staff and students on October 7, Acting Vice Chancellor Professor Sarah Ssali ordered Buyinza to immediately relinquish the departmental leadership position and any other leadership or administrative responsibilities he holds at the university until the investigation is concluded.
Ssali said the Dean of the School of Economics will temporarily oversee the Department of Economic Theory and Analysis during the inquiry.
The university has also directed Buyinza not to contact, influence or interfere with any complainant or witness participating in the investigation.
The action comes after renewed public attention surrounding allegations by Nakiryowa, who has linked her former husband to an acid attack that left her seriously injured in 2011. She has also accused him of sexual harassment, abuse of authority and other misconduct allegedly dating back to the period when she was his student at Makerere.
Buyinza has previously denied involvement in the acid attack. He was charged in connection with the incident, but the criminal proceedings were discontinued in 2014 without a conviction or a judicial finding that he was responsible for the attack.
Makerere acknowledged that some of the allegations currently under consideration had previously been investigated by police and were the subject of criminal proceedings between 2011 and 2014.
However, the university said the earlier criminal proceedings do not prevent it from independently examining the allegations under its institutional policies and regulations.
The university cited its Policy and Regulations against Sexual Harassment, Safeguarding Policy and Human Resources Manual as the basis for its responsibility to establish the facts and take appropriate action where necessary.
To conduct the inquiry, Makerere has appointed a six-member committee chaired by Associate Professor Dorothy Okello, Dean of the School of Engineering at the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology.
The committee includes Professor Engineer Bainomugisha, principal of the College of Computing and Information Sciences; Dr Christine Mbaazi Mpyaŋgu of the Department of Religion and Peace Studies; legal adviser Sumaiyah Nanyondo Sebuta; and Dr Joella Nasaka from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Resources.
Chief Human Resource Officer Deus T. Mujuni will serve as secretary to the committee.
The committee has been instructed to hear from all complainants and witnesses while giving Buyinza an opportunity to respond to every allegation raised against him. Makerere said the process would be guided by the principles of natural justice.
The committee is expected to submit its report to the Vice Chancellor by November 6, 2026, after which the university will determine the appropriate course of action.
Makerere has emphasised that Buyinza’s removal from leadership is not a disciplinary sanction. The university said the measure is intended to protect both the investigation and those participating in it.
If the committee determines that Buyinza has a case to answer, the matter will be referred to the university’s Appointments Board, where he will have another opportunity to defend himself under established disciplinary procedures.
The university has also invited anyone with relevant information to come forward and make submissions to the committee. Makerere said complainants and witnesses would be protected from intimidation, victimisation and retaliation, while information submitted would be handled confidentially.
Management has meanwhile cautioned members of the university community against making social media statements that could expose complainants, intimidate witnesses or interfere with the investigation.
Nakiryowa alleges that Buyinza masterminded the December 11, 2011 acid attack, which she says caused severe facial injuries and forced her to undergo several operations abroad.
She has further alleged that Buyinza abused his authority when she was his student, including claims that he withheld her academic results in an attempt to pressure her into a relationship.
Buyinza denied the allegations and was charged with attempted murder in connection with the acid attack. The Director of Public Prosecutions discontinued the case in July 2014 following repeated difficulties in securing prosecution witnesses.
The termination of the criminal proceedings did not result in a conviction against Buyinza, and the latest university investigation is a separate institutional process aimed at examining the allegations under Makerere’s internal policies and regulations.
