By Kabuye Ronald
Makerere University students’ select committee on the 88th guild election has demanded the University council, management and administration to hold the students guild elections not later than 15th of August this year adding that failure to comply with their request, they will resort to the Makerere University way of demanding for answers which involves no peaceful ways of negotiations like demonstrations.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, the select committee led by its spokesperson Muhwezi Lawel Joshua, secretary Luyombya Kelvin Joshua, the former guild president Nambasa Shamim and National Unity Platform (NUP) and National Resistance Movement (NRM) guild presidents Alionzi Lawrence and Hussein Ibrah said they will not relent on their decision since they can’t afford to be in a university without student leadership.
Muhwezi Lawel Joshua said in their online meeting held Friday last week resolved on a number of issues including having physical elections before the examinations begin and without which the examination exercise will not go on.
“The university council should lift the suspension on the students’ guild and the electoral process to enable proper representation of students as mandated by the law. We want an immediate reinstatement of leadership structures at schools, colleges and SCR in addition to their electoral commissions appointing student friendly voting date.
The guild elections should be purely physical in nature since the university council’s ability and readiness to hold elections online (Virtual) was discredited by both the aspirants and students after punching a lot of holes in it including failing to hold guild election on 12th, November, 2021 leading to its postponement and failure by the same system to host academic results for many students in over five years.” Said Muhwezi, the spokesperson of the Select committee.
Luyombya Kevin Joshua says that the students also resolved that the university council select committee continues with investigations amidst elections since the existence of a functioning guild does not interfere with their mandate. He added that the Vice chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwa and his person assistant should ceases intimidation of students reasoning and intellectual engagements with the administration.
They asserted that on Tuesday this week they met the select committee of the council and they submitted their resolutions. He added that the council select committee committed to work on it but didn’t give definite dates to which they will hold elections.
The immediate former Guild President Shamim Nambasa said “We think that while things had gone wrong then but whatever is happening now could lead to worse. What is a university without students’ leadership? We must also understand that dictators have mastered the art of diversionary and so when students came out to make their intellectual submissions and demands the vice chancellor instead just suspended the student alleged to have called for the meeting that’s Namwoza Sulaiman. And in this they are trying to divert us from demanding for students leaders to demanding for the reinstatement of the students. However, we shall not lose focus since we still insist on our demands to have both, the elections and reinstating the suspended students. ”
Both NUP and NRM Guild Candidates Alionzi Lawrence and NRM Hussein Ibrah re-empathized the demands made by the student’s select committee. However, Justus Tukamushaba of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party didn’t attend the press conference. It should be recalled that University council suspended the elections of the Makerere Guild president on the July 14, 2022 following the death of a Uganda Christian University student Michael Betungura who was stabbed in a scuffle between supporters of warring political parties. Michael had come to canvass for support for his FDC flag bearer colleague
