MBALE: In an institute where there isn’t drinking, partying or taking babe’s out among other money drawing activities, one would not think 15 million shillings can be splashed in days considering these hard times and tuition clearance pressure around the corner.
But Muhammad Sharif Abdiwahad, had a budget for that amount in his bid to out compete his rivals in the recently concluded IUIU main campus guild elections. One of his campaign managers leaked some info to the buzzing Campus Bee; “He printed posters and flyers in all colours and sizes. The posters were literally more than the votes he garnered. Ten cultural associations at campus received shs500, 000 each. He bought for his supporters lunch and supper in classic restaurants around campus and Mbale town, almost everyday.”
Mbu he even paid for a group of some of his Somali friends meal tickets at a top restaurant in Mbale town till the end of the semester. It is also said that he spent over shs3,000,000 buying off those candidates who failed at the Shura Level (screening/vetting) to rally behind him, on top of promising them cabinet posts.
A one Aisu Ibrahim is said to have taken the lion’s share among those. Transporting students who hail from outside hostels to campus to vote. A lumpsum of over shs1,000,000 is believed to have been spent on him. Taxis and saloon cars were used.
The candidate was making it rain…he had money to blow…cashing every eligible but uninterested voter in and off campus before boarding a taxi to vote. He would shower them with gorilla (50k) notes just to vote for him. Sharif also catered for refreshments during pre-elections meetings and on the election day , amounting to shs2,000,000.
The campaign manager also tells this website that his candidate hired moral boosters at a fee of shs50,000 each. Students had literally turned it into a money minting venture.
And when voting was done, Sharif, was beaten by Nandala Ismail Muzamiru. Nandala is believed to have spent only shs50k during the entire campaigns on mineral water.
Currently, Shariff is off campus nursing post election trauma…..He has been put on suicide watch since the guild president elect isn’t willing to give him a post in his cabinet.
Meanwhile, his friends have started demanding those who received the money and believed to have betrayed them, to refund it. The camp has even resorted to beating those who never voted but chewed the money. Suleiman Kawuzi an LLB student was ambushed Sunday night as he returned from visiting a friend residing out. He couldn’t mark faces but could only here the word “horiya”, meaning this boy in Somali… as they beat him. Some of those who received the money have since fled campus.
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