Makerere University has officially sworn in National Unity Platform (NUP)’s Gracious Kadondi as its 92nd Guild President, marking the formal transition of student leadership after one of the institution’s most closely watched elections in recent years.
Kadondi, who won the April 9 guild race with 6,801 votes, defeating her closest challenger Hannah Karema, used her inauguration speech to lay out an ambitious agenda centered on student unity, inclusion, and welfare reforms.
At the heart of her message was a pledge to heal divisions created during the heated election season, promising to restore a united student voice regardless of political differences.
“We must bring students back together and rebuild a strong collective voice that represents everyone,” she told students shortly after taking oath.
Kadondi said her administration would not be built around the authority of the Guild office alone, but rather on consultation and inclusive leadership. She pledged to work closely with her former competitors and incorporate some of their manifesto ideas into her government.
The new Guild President also placed student welfare at the center of her first-term priorities, particularly the expansion of the student work scheme, a university programme that allows financially constrained students to take up part-time jobs on campus.
She noted that only a limited number of students currently benefit from the arrangement and promised to push university management to widen access so that more students can earn income while pursuing their studies.
Her swearing-in ceremony, held in line with the Guild Constitution, officially ends the tenure of outgoing Guild President Churchill Ssentamu, who used his farewell remarks to thank students for trusting him with leadership.
Ssentamu described leadership as a duty that requires discipline, resilience, and difficult choices, saying the criticism he faced during his term ultimately strengthened him and the institution.
Kadondi now assumes office at a politically significant moment for Makerere, with expectations high among students following a fiercely contested campaign season that attracted national attention.
Her victory also reinforces the growing influence of party-backed student politics on campus, while raising hopes among supporters that her administration will deliver practical reforms on welfare, representation, and student inclusion.
