It was on Tuesday, 1st February 2022 when the sound of vuvuzelas filled the air of Kyambogo University.
A crowd of students wearing red overalls and some others wearing red ‘People Power’ bandanas matched to the students center holding red and white striped umbrellas marked with a picture of a one ‘People Power’ guild president contender, Mandwa Elijah, as it was the time when the ‘People Power’ guild presidential debate was to take place.
Being the very first one of its kind with eight ‘People Power’ guild presidential contenders three of whom are ladies, the entire university was excited, hot and eager to witness what was to take place.
Masawi Ivan, Lamara Gloria, Ssekanjako Masuudi, Nalubanga Hanifa ( girl in the red jumper), Suubi Isaac, Tusiime Sarah, Mandwa Elijah and two others.
The event attracted a huge crowd at the students center as many people lacked seats and remained standing and also caused noise pollution in the entire campus as people screamed and blew vuvuzelas endlessly.
All the candidates promised to solve the various problems of Kyambogo University some of which include poor sanitation and misuse of functional fees that are paid to make the University a better place.
They all seemed to want to find an answer as to why tuition is paid to Uganda Revenue Authority, a body mainly responsible to collect taxes across the country and yet students who are unable to complete their tuition payments are never allowed to sit examinations, on top of the tuition going to URA and not the university itself.
Other issues emphasized at the debate were the delayed release of results and amendment of some university policies.
This event was held in order to help the students decide who better can be the flag bearer of the ‘People Power’ movement.
It was rather ironic that students were instead left undecided who will be better or more powerful than the other as each of the eight contenders showed equal strength.
The show came to an end with a match from the student center across the university and Banda, with a crowd much larger and two people waving the Uganda flag everywhere they passed.
The noise, the traffic jam, the distraction and the confusion all this caused is something that cannot be forgotten easily.
While everyone seemed to be affected by the political tension, one handsome gentleman who didn’t forget that the month of love began was seen holding a huge bouquet of beautiful roses, perhaps on his way to go see his girlfriend.
This was followed by soft whispers and comments all across the air all coming down to the fact that 14th February is still two weeks off.
Meanwhile, ‘People Power’ is not the only party with guild presidential candidates. There is Tumwine Serge of FDC and Wycliffe Amwesiga Morgan of NRM.
