Makerere ‘anti-tuition increment’ activist finally graduates after 8 years

Musiri began his university journey in 2017 and quickly became a household name on campus for his fierce opposition to what he described as “draconian policies,” particularly the 15% gradual tuition fees increment policy.

Eight years later, young activist and budding politician David Musiri is finally a Makerere University Bachelor of Commerce graduate. But at what cost?

His university life was characterized by relentless activism, multiple arrests, and personal sacrifices, including the tragic loss of his father.

Musiri began his university journey in 2017 and quickly became a household name on campus for his fierce opposition to what he described as “draconian policies,” particularly the 15% gradual tuition fees increment policy.

Within months, his face was already familiar to security operatives, who mistook him for a finalist due to his constant involvement in strikes.

“I had been involved in fighting for students’ human rights even before I joined Makerere. By the end of first-year first semester, I remember Afande Kaweesa asking me what I was still doing at Makerere University, yet I was done with school,” Musiri recalls.

His activism, however, came at a heavy cost. Musiri was arrested numerous times and suspended from the university on more than four occasions.

In one heartbreaking incident, he remarkably states that his father passed away after watching a video of him being brutally arrested during a protest at the university.

“I had been brutally handled, and my father couldn’t stand the sight of it. He died in the middle of watching the video,” he painfully reminisces.

Musiri was later to lose his Chinese Embassy-sponsored tuition scholarship, allegedly due to his role in his on-campus activism and protest activities.

This was the second sponsorship he lost for almost the same reasons: involvement in campus ‘politics.’

Despite the difficulties, Musiri’s dedication bore fruit in 2022 when the controversial tuition increment policy was put on hold, a victory he counts as the culmination of his efforts.

As he graduates, Musiri reflects on the personal toll of his activism but remains optimistic about the future.

His next ambition is to venture into mainstream politics, with plans to contest for the Makindye West parliamentary seat in 2026, aiming to unseat Allan Ssewanyana after an unsuccessful bid in 2021.

At the time of his graduation, Musiri served as the head of the People Power Students wing and was a guild president aspirant at the university in 2019.