Makerere University researcher Stella Nyanzi, who in April this year stripped naked, defaced walls of her office and hurled profanities at a director, has been found guilty of “gross misconduct”.

An eight-person committee that was set up by the university's vice chancellor Prof John Ddumba Ssentamu, found that contrary to Dr Nyanzi’s claim that she was protesting unfair eviction from her Makerere Institute for Social Research (MISR) office by the director Prof Mahmood Mamdani, she still had access.

The committee in a report notes that her actions were premeditated, carefully planned and executed with the help of students she was supposed to be teaching.

“Stripping and staging a premeditated nude demonstration contravened section 5.1(a) of the institution’s human resource manual, which calls upon all staff to at all-time act in a reasonable and responsible manner,” the report reads in part adding that Dr Nyanzi be subjected to disciplinary action regarding the “omissions she committed as great misconduct.”

The punishment will be read out to her on Friday.

The committee was also investigating the disagreement between Dr Nyanzi and Prof Mamdani, the working conditions and environment at MISR, and the management of financial resources.

Dr Nyanzi had accused Prof Mamdani of causing high staff turnover, favouring some students, exercising nepotism and patriarchy, and making unilateral decisions. On his part Prof Mamdani said Dr Nyanzi had refused to teach on the MPhil/PhD programme or to carry out any institutional research like any other academic staff at MISR. He said she was using the space for her own private research.

The two had submitted their complaints to the human resources directorate and the vice chancellor’s office.

The investigation has, however, revealed that Dr Nyanzi’s refusal to teach was in breach of “the terms of her appointment, which she accepted in writing and therefore an act of insubordination.”

“Wilful insubordination or disobedience and refusal to take lawful orders constitute grounds for disciplinary action,” Ms Sharifah Buzeki, the chairperson of the investigation committee, said.

However, the committee also preferred disciplinary action against the Makerere University director for human resources, saying she helped to grow the disagreements between Prof Mamdani and Dr Nyanzi when she failed to respond to a series of letters and inquiries about the issue of Dr Nyanzi having to teach in the PhD programme.