Part 2: Lecturers steal Kiira EV project from student while away on further studies, sack him and colleagues

Professors Musasizi and Tickodri following the launch of the project by Museveni (24th November 2011), started walking in every nook and cranny taking credits for the project.

Part 1: KIIRA EV project was grabbed from me when funding came- Ugandan Engineer

And their names would soon be splashed on different publications in Makerere University as the main developers of the project together with a one Dominic Ssemukuttu.

Indeed, during an interview with Simon Kasyate on Capital FM’s Desert Island Discs show
(which is on record), professor Tickodri took all credit for the project.

In the interview, Tickodri refers to Ntambi and colleagues as orphans of a deserted project which was critical to their graduation and he came to the rescue with his expertise.

“So that’s when I acquire these orphans. In fact, they were three groups I-labs, management information systems, and the vehicle group. And fortunately, at that point, I didn’t have much administration work. I spent a lot of time in the trenches. And the question was how I reformulate this in such a way that these students are able to graduate. And then at the same time begin something I had wanted to do all along, which was the reason I had gone to Gulu (University),” Tickodri set himself up for glory.

On his part, Musasizi went claiming in several media that he was the head of research that birthed the Kiira EV car. In one of the interviews with local media (the interview is also on record), Musasizi claimed thus;

“The research was fuelled by the desire to apply the latest technology in solving the current transport and energy constraints face.”

In the same interview, Musasizi claimed he was together with a one Richard Madanda, a first-year student in Torino, Italy in 2008 when a hybrid car was produced.

Musasizi said that on return, he and Madanda used the inspiration from Italy to start their own car in Makerere.

Nile Post contacted people who were present in Italy including Ntambi and they confirmed Musasizi was never in Italy and had no capacity to be there.

“He knows nothing about electric cars, he had no capacity to be there and he was never,” a source that was in Italy told Nile Post.

Ntambi sacked

On the other hand, while Ntambi was pursuing further studies (on private sponsorship), Musasizi and clique started mooting a plan to kick him out, starting with hoodwinking President Museveni with presentations and posturing.

The Dons according to Ntambi started asking for presentation material from Ntambi and group, and they owned each piece of the presentations, and only helped to edit grammatical errors.

“The most interesting part is, they both knew nothing about what we were doing technically, we had to prepare all the presentations, even while we had traveled. The only edits they made were about grammar,” Ntambi claims.

Meanwhile during Ntambi’s absence, the professors one with opportunity told President Museveni that Ntambi and team were working from abroad.

“This was not true, I now realize that they were setting the stage to claim the project,” Ntambi claims.

On return from France, and Italy where he had gone for further studies, Ntambi met animosity and he was expelled from the project without ceremony.

“Innocently I came back and thought that since we had support it was now time to move this forward, I was only met with an immediate instruction never to come back to the project by both Professor Tickodri and Paul Isaac Musasizi, people I invited to supervise the project,” he claimed.

Ntambi was told that no matter the noise he would make, no one would believe his story, much less President Museveni because the professors had already ‘cooked’ him.

“I remember being told that I would be I was a nobody and no one would ever listen to my story,” he said.

Truthfully, he would never get an ear from the President whom he wrote several letters without reply.

“I have over the time written letters to Kaguta Museveni to no response,” Ntambi claims.

Ntambi’s colleagues also set aside
Ntambi was not alone to fall, Musasizi and clique frustrated the rest of the team and had then sent off.

“There are a number of people who gave and believed in this work’s foundation and what’s even worse, Paul Isaac Musasizi and Prof. Tickodri choose to keep these out but again the entire existence and claim is a fraud and unfortunate,” Ntambi told Nile Post.

“This team dared to be ambitious against all odds (Including snares from Paul who profusely said it was impossible). Their effort was a triumph of the possible over the probable and if they had never done so, there would never have existed Kiira Motors Corporation today,” he maintained.

“Most of this team was dishonorably dismantled when funding came in by those who had power (Professor Tickodri and Paul). This team needs to be recognized and not discarded. This team sacrificed with everything they had to ensure that the next generation could reach the stars,” added.

Regarding his sacking, a statement from Kiira Motors claims that Ntambi Ntambi had no basis for his retention as he had no formal engagement either as a student or staff of Makerere University.”

It should be noted that Kiira Motors has only two members on its board: Tickodri and Musasizi.

The next series will be published on Monday.

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