Third year Law student Isaac Kwagala narrowly edged his closest oponent in the guild speakership race at Makerere University on the evening of Thursday 29th March as their fate was determined by just one vote.
In the electoral college vote where Guild Representative Councillors (GRCs) from the various schools and halls of residence determine who takes the day, Kwagala managed 28 votes that made him victorious.
On the other hand, his closest rival Gurlverz Mao Lule will forever curse that day as his fate was equally sealed by that one vote after attaining an in-range 27 votes. The race had also attracted Samantha Naluyima who scooped 20, Ignetius Biira who afforded 13, Daniel Kituno who got one vote and Andrew Katabarwa that got a miserable zero votes.
Katabarwa is a second year student of Psychology at the university.
Kwagala, a former GRC of Nsibirwa Hall and Justice Minister in the guild takes over the mantle from veteran campus politician and now powerful Uganda National Students’ Association (UNSA) President Jothan Yamureebire Burobuto.
He will preside over the guild council sessions in a period of one year as has been the norm, perform as an acting guild president in the period preceding the election of the next guild president in 2019 and by default hand over the position in a similar ceremony around this time next year.
In the same process, Mary Stuart hall GRC Esther Nankya was voted deputy speaker, Danson Twesigomwe and Bridget Atuhaire as guild clerk and deputy respectively.
The speaker of the guild is very essential in the budgeting of guild activities and in as much as he is never a signatory of the guild fund, his power to avail checks and balances in the process is enormous since he heads the political wing of the government.
Administratively, he can make or break the budget, hold every minister accountable for the guild fund or let them go scot-free incase of a major scandal.
From the team here at Campus Bee, we wish Kwagala a very successful term of office.
