Kenyan Female Student Narrates How a Senior Makerere University Staff Sexually Assaulted Her

A Kenyan student, Rachel Njeri has narrated how she was sexually harassed by a Makerere University staff member.

In a letter, she says the staff took advantage of her when she went to pick her transcript from the office of Senior Administrative Assistant, Edward Kisuze last week.

Upon arriving at the office at about 10am, she says she was asked to wait until 2.30pm so she could be attended to.

"I was referred to room 507 from where I was first chased and told to wait. I went out and waited patiently on the bench but when [the clock struck] 4.30 pm, I could not wait any longer," she said.

It is at that point that she decided to return to the administration block in an attempt to obtain the crucial document.

"When I got into the room, the staff told me to wait five minutes so they could see if my transcript had been worked on. Fortunately, my transcripts were certified and handed to me."

"As I was looking through them, the man who had given them to me turned out to be so inhumane."

She says that the man grabbed her breasts, sucked them, while telling her that he had fallen in love with her.

"I tried to resist his actions but he was stronger than I was. He grabbed me and threw me on the cabinet files at the corner."

Njeri said she was badly hit on the head in the process, but the man continued to exploit her sexually. She managed to took a photo of the action, which later went viral on social media.

The Ugandan University's acting VC William Bazeyo has since suspended Kisuze.

"[We] found your response to the allegation unsatisfactory and decided to set up an investigation committee to establish what exactly happened," Bazeyo said in a letter to Kisuze.

In a statement recorded with the Police, Njeri says that Kisuze "kissed her private parts" forcefully during the incident.

A selfie taken by Njeri and which has since gone viral online shows the man kneeling down with his head between her legs. She had her skirt pulled up. She hails from Limuru area in Kenya.

Reached for a comment on the incident, the university spokesperson, Ms Ritah Namisango said: “We as Makerere, we have zero tolerance to sexual harassment. We have always been asked about which action we are taking and now the action we have taken is to suspend the lecturer. We also want him arrested. We are encouraging students to report such cases as soon as possible to the office of Academic registrar, Dean of students, Vice Chancellor and the communications. We shall handle it with effectiveness.”