For the fourth consecutive time now, National Unity Platform’s (NUP) candidates have emerged Makerere University guild President since 2008 for a hill that has proved over time to be an opposition ground.
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) had enjoyed the lead as president presenting three triumphant candidates of the four that came before the reemergence of NUP in 2018.
Only Roy Ssemboga who belonged to the Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) a youth section of the Democratic Party had interjected into FDC’s reign as 82nd president of Makerere University with David Bala coming before him as 81st. After Ssemboga, Paul Kato of FDC came in as the 83th and Papa Were 84th.
Yesterday, Lawrence Alionzi alias Dangote (NUP) was announced winner out of the eight candidates that vied for the position in this year’s elections 5839 votes which translates to 54.16 per cent becoming the 88th guild president at the one of the East Africa’s biggest Universities. This makes him the fourth NUP candidate to win in the last four consecutive years.
Mr Hussein Ibra of National Resistance Movement (NRM) came second with 2,079and equivalent of 14.9 per cent, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) candidate Justus Tukamushaba came third with 1758 votes.
Other candidates were, Blessious Namirembe with 359 votes, Carlton Muyinda got 238, Ronald Mugisha 106 votes, Edward Nalwangu got 237 votes while Honest Natumanya came last with 24 polls.
Alionzi Lawrence aka Dangote is a fourth-year student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Science in Electrical Engineering. He is a former speaker of Nsibirwa Hall former Northcote.
“I am so delighted and I thank my party for what they have put in to make sure that we secure this win for the people of Uganda but most importantly for the gallant Makerereans,” Dangote told this reporter in a husky voice as he chanted the NUP slogans and their synonymous Makerere chants.
” Allow to us, to Allow you, to teach a song…eeh Dangote. Allow us to handle,” he said as he jogged away with his entourage which included young men wearing vests and women wearing bras and other revealing attires under the slight morning drizzle.
The election was marred with violence in the hit of the campaigns early July. Batungira Bewatte, 27, succumbed to the injuries that he sustained in an alleged brawl that left him with wounds similar to those that appear on a stubbed body.
The University administration suspended the campaigns until this month when the candidates were allowed to vote online in a way many of the students indicated that they faced difficulties.
Since 2008, NUP has had candidates triumphing including Mr Julius Kateregga, Ivan Ssempijja, Shamim Nambasa who is the immediate out going president before Dangote who was elected yesterday.
Mr David Musiri, the head of Institutions at NUP said, “We have fronted the issues of the people and it is also a national history that students have always stood with the oppressed because their freedoms are cartailed at the university.’
Asked how they lost the grip at the presidency at Makerere University, Mr Walid Lubega, the FDC youth chairman said, “The political terrain has changed and we have not. As a party, we need to be more prepared especially when it come to the chapter that handled universities. Already we are in full gear at Kyambogo University and we hope to do the same with Makerere so that we can again win like we used to.”
Following the indefinite suspension of the election process which was punctuated by violent incidents including the death of one of the students who was campaigning for the FDC candidate, a constitutional review commission was installed with a view the method of voting.
Unlike the previous years this time round the voting process at the Hill was online as directed Makerere University council resolved to conduct Guild following the incident of the death Uganda Christian University student was stabbed to death during the final guild rally in July.
