Kadondi Gracious has been elected the 92nd Guild President of Makerere University, defeating former Miss Uganda Hannah Karema Tumukunde in what has been one of the most intensely contested and politically charged guild elections in the university’s 100-year history.
With all votes counted from the digital election conducted via the Makerere AIMS student portal on Wednesday April 9, 2026, Kadondi polled 6,801 votes against Karema’s 5,787 — a margin of 1,014 votes that represents a decisive, if not overwhelming, victory for the NUP-affiliated candidate from Kamwokya.
The Full Results
The official vote count across all colleges and campuses is as follows:
Kadondi Gracious — 6,801 votes (WINNER)
Tumukunde Hannah Karema — 5,787 votes
Kyajja Peter Claveri — 1,493 votes
Nyaika Daniel — 1,147 votes
Nzanga Mark — 595 votes
Mujuzi Mike Flugensio — 408 votes
Tebakor Jimmy Prince — 184 votes
Mbabazi Theresa Tracy — 148 votes
Semanda Ashiraf — 121 votes
Lubango Jackson — 65 votes
Bulumba Timothy — 61 votes
Serunkuma Timothy — 68 votes
Atuha Cohen — 35 votes
How The Colleges Voted
The result was shaped decisively by Kadondi’s dominant performance across the university’s largest colleges. She swept the College of Computing and Information Sciences (COCIS) with 676 votes, the College of Business and Management Sciences (COBAMS) with 855 votes, the College of Health Sciences (CHS) with 1,126 votes, and the College of Engineering Design Art and Technology (CEDAT) with 777 votes.
Karema was competitive in several colleges — polling 1,192 in COBAMS and 778 in CEES — but could not match Kadondi’s consistency across the board. Kadondi also picked up 80 votes at the Jinja Campus compared to Karema’s 65, and dominated the School of Law (SOL) with 191 votes to Karema’s 270 — one of the few colleges where Karema ran closer.
The gender vote went 35 to Kadondi against 33 to Karema, while the School of Public Health gave Kadondi 135 votes to Karema’s 34 — a college that proved particularly significant in shaping the final margin.
Kadondi’s win is more than a student government result. It is a politically loaded outcome that will be read far beyond the Makerere campus.
Her open affiliation with the National Unity Platform, the personal endorsement she received from NUP President Bobi Wine on the eve of the election, King Saha’s public backing after the cancellation of her Street Jam, and the consistent framing of her campaign as a contest between student freedom and administrative control — all of these narratives converge in tonight’s result.
That a candidate openly affiliated with Uganda’s principal opposition party has won the leadership of Makerere University’s student government — at a moment when the university is celebrating its centenary — is a result that carries symbolic weight well beyond the guild office.
What Karema’s Campaign Achieved
In defeat, Hannah Karema Tumukunde ran a campaign that will be remembered. Her “Reboot The Ivory Tower” manifesto was one of the most substantive and detailed in recent guild election memory, addressing government allowances, the red gown scandal, supplementary exams, the 60 percent tuition policy, food costs, and political freedom on campus. She mobilised a massive student following, attracted major musical acts, and pushed the eventual winner to a margin that required Kadondi to perform strongly across virtually every college in the university.
5,787 votes is not a defeat to be embarrassed by. It is a platform from which, if she chooses, she can build.
