Gulu, (UG):- The Management of Gulu University has confirmed the contract termination of Dr Shadat Ssemakula Mutyaba Mohmeded, the Dean of the Faculty of Law over the forgery of academic documents.
Dr Shadat who was serving as dean of the faculty of law at the institution was first interdicted on December 8th 2023 after appearing before the top management of Gulu University to answer queries over inconsistencies detected on his academic documents, changes in names, incoherent and irreconcilable age, and his educational history.
The decision to fire the Varsity don came shortly in response to a story that appeared on GrapeVine, a local news website on February 15th, 2024, titled “Fight for Gulu University Top Leadership Positions Deepens, Faculty of Law Dean Dr Shadat Rushes to Court Over His Dismissal,” an article the University says it “malicious and unprofessional.”
In a press statement dated 15th signed by the University Communication Officer, Ojok James Onono, Gulu University stated that following the interdiction, Dr. Shadat was asked to provide clarifications to the University Management but he failed, and went ahead to make more changes on his document, which warranted his termination.
“The Board agreed that the action of Dr. Shadat presenting to the University unclear records of education, names and date of birth was a professional and ethical misconduct contrary to section 16.8.5 (d) of Gulu University Human Resources Manual 2017, as amended and recommended his dismissal from the service of Gulu University,” the excerpt of dismissal letter dated February 1st, 2024, reads.
DailyExpress understands that the embattled Dr Shadat was earlier tasked by the University Management to provide more details on his transcript for his bachelor of law from Kingston University which he claims to have obtained in 2007.
Other transcripts include a Diploma Supplement for his Master of Law he claims to attained in 2009 from the same University and a supporting letter dated 23rd November 2016 from Brunel University in London, United Kingdom.
According to the letter, the academician was given all the opportunity to defend himself but failed. “After noticing these irregularities, since October 2023, the University Management asked Dr. Shadat to provide clarifications to allow his vetting for Associate Professorship to continue. Unfortunately, Dr Shadat never provided any satisfactory explanation to management; instead, he asked for more time to [prepare his response, which he was granted.
“Instead of responding to Management, Dr. Shadat wrote a letter dated November 28th, 2023, to the chairperson of the Appointment Board. In that letter, Shadat continued to add more changes to his date of birth from July 25th, 1983, to January 25th, 1978, which is different from the date of birth on his National Identity Card and Some Academic Documents as well as his Gulu University Staff Biodata page filled and signed in his own hands-on 8th September 2015 and reaffirmed on the 24th of June 2022 during the internal staff validation exercise.
Accordingly, Dr. Shadat who started working within the University in 2015, was interdicted in a letter dated December 8, 2023, pending investigation before he could be accorded a fair hearing.
The university states that on January 23rd, 2024, he was invited to appear before the Gulu University Appointments Board on January 31st, 2024 but he didn’t appear and neither did he send an apology to the Appointments Board.
Subsequently, the Board later examined the case’s merit and found glaring inconsistency in the names in his academic papers, a mismatch in the dates of his birth and years of attaining his academic documents and established that the embattled staff also lied under oath.
Gulu University Board findings
“Dr Shadat’s record shows that he was born on July 25th, 1983. According to that date of birth, 1991, when Shadat sat for his Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), he was only eight (8) years old. In 1995, when Shadat sat for his Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), he was only 12 years old. In 1998, when Shadat sat for his Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE), he was only 15 years old. If you work backwards, it means Dr. Shadat started Primary One when he was one year old!
“Additionally, there were frequent changes of names, some of which were under oath. Several names are on record, all purported to belong to Dr Shadat. These name variations made it difficult to ascertain who Dr Shadat is or if the names and the documents belong to Dr Shadat.”
To the contrary, Dr Shadat appeared in a local online publication alleging that he facing ‘persecution’ at the Gulu University because of his tribe and religion, rallying the Minister of Education and Sport First Lady to come to his rescue, a statement that the University Communication Officer, Mr Ojok ruled out as “falsehoods” peddle with malicious intention.
“Suppose Dr Shadat is not contented with the appointment board’s decision, he is advised to appeal to the Staff Tribunal rather than go to social media and peddle falsehoods to tarnish the image of Gulu University and its leadership,” Mr Ojok warned.
However, when DailyExpress contacted Dr. Shadat to confirm his status of termination from his job, he declined to comment on the matter.
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