After the High court yesterday ruled against, with costs, Bazil Mwotta’s application in which he was challenging the ruling of the guild election petition tribunal. The guild president elect took it upon himself this morning to give a reaction to his fellow students.
Here is Mwotta’s reaction which he posted this morning on his Facebook page;
RE: REACTION TOWARDS THE COURT RULING MADE ON THE 2ND OF JUNE 2016.
Gallant Makerereans,
I stood on the right side of the struggle since the day I joined Makerere. I decided to join leadership not to be at the receiving end, rather at the giving side because I felt it was the best way to serve. When I made a decision to run for Guild Presidency, many believed in this great cause though a few didn’t. For me, it has never been a war rather an aspiration to serve my fellow students and offer non compromisable representation to them.
Having been declared winner by the democratically elected Makerere University Electoral Commission after a highly contested free and fair election, comrade, Mr. Ssembogga Roy was unsatisfied and proceeded to the Makerere Elections Tribunal which even the blind and the most ignorant person about the law could see was biased. You all know the ruling that it gave which almost declared “Students from School of Education” illegal voters, non-Makerere Students and almost stripped them of their right to vote for a leader of their choice. We couldn’t sit back and watch the victory of our fellow students being played around with. We decided to take a new step in which we sought for court redress. In the High court, proceedings went on and every application we sought for was granted implying that there was content (merit) in our case and if it never held water, the judge from the word go would have dismissed it since this was the argument of the defendants.
WHAT TRANSPIRED BEHIND THE CURTAINS.
When we had just filed our application in the High Court, I was approached by more than two state operatives (names withheld) on the following grounds:
1. That I consent to their offer and give in to be an agent of the state in terms of information sharing.
2. Cooperation in all aspects of security, even when it involves taking action on a fellow student.
3. Be a power broker i.e. take fellow student activists to be compromised.
4. Accept to share power with my brother; Mr. Roy Ssembogga and make him my Finance minister but with almost equal powers and no powers to dismiss him.
5. Support a crime preventer or one of their students from the system in the next Guild election since my victory meant a loss on the side of the state and the Crime preventers Forum.
6. Abandon any form of striking, activism and opposition.
On consent to the above; be refunded all the money I spent during the campaigns, find a way to rush the case and twist it in my favor (techniques which they promised to use withheld) and make my swearing in ceremony one of the most colorful events on which they had promised to bring one of the most prominent Generals to grace the function.
Truth is, I turned them down. They pestered me to meet them outside Makerere University, but I insisted that these meetings be held within Makerere, in my hall of residence which serves as my office for now and have one or two of my confidants in attendance. Having tasted the rock in me and found that I was more committed to the struggle and wasn’t ready to give in, threats somehow ensued but I couldn’t be intimidated. They made it clear that they will delay the court process and the ruling would never come out in our favor. I still believed in Court and I could not reveal all this since the case was still ongoing.
On reading the verdict, entry to the court was restricted, many of our students who had gone to witness the proceedings were denied access except Mr. Ssembogga Roy, a few learned friends and I. For this long, Justice Musota ruled that we were arguing before him to be dismissed. He put it that THERE MUST BE A RE-ELECTION AT THE MIGHTY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION.
TO YOU MAKEREREANS; The jaws of the leopard are wide open but we needn’t fear. We will face it, take out it’s teeth, one after the other, skin it alive, fasten a rope around its neck and tie it on a pole. It will put to shame.
I do not look at the benefits in the Guild office but for the future we’re building and nurturing. I believed in your will and never sold you off on silver pennies. I can never choose to remain silent on Draconian policies nor give up on rescuing fellow student activists and leaders who are being hunted and arrested.
Mine has become an everyday revolution, the more I have been fought, pushed and ruled on unfairly, the stronger I have become. In the rescue and liberation of our great generation from intrigue, malice, manipulation, corruption and nepotism of the old guard, I will be at the fore front. We will reign over our oppressors, tormentors and for as long as our Country remains in this state; Opposition will remain our position.
THE MWOTTA REVOLUTION WILL CONTINUE
Teachers of the World, men and women of great intelligentsia and academia, think tanks of our mother Africa,
We have been treated so unfairly since time immemorial. But today, we’ve been presented with an opportunity to decide for the Ivory Tower, on who deservedly should lead the Makerereans to the promised land.
BECAUSE WE ARE, THE NATION IS. Now is the time to show the world that TEACHERS RULE as we Build for the Future, for God and Our Country.
So help Us God.
Biddemu Bazil Mwotta.
Guild President Elect (2016-2017)
Makerere University.
