UNITED FORCES OF CHANGE! How Makerere Students United Against Administration and Voted a Leader of their Choice

After postponing this year’s Makerere University guild elections multiple times, students from the Wandegeya-based university had started losing interest in voting for a new guild government. The long awaited election also frustrated a number of aspiring leaders who were disqualified by the university Dean of Students who introduced new guidelines few days to the polls.

The Dean communicated that only registered students who had no retakes in the academic year 2019/2020 will be allowed to contest, a guideline that threw out the already nominated candidates like; Judith Nalukwago of National Unity Platform, Muhwezi Macxzzon Dickson of ruling National Resistance Movement, Tumusiime Joseph aka ‘Big Jose’ independent but NRM leaning and Mutabarura Joshua Katabazi of Alliance National Transformation.

Their disqualification from the race made them bitter, leaving them with no option but to resist the administration’s move of imposing a leader they didn’t choose. The bitter disqualified students instantly came up with an operation dubbed “Melting Magma” and fronted Ivan Ssempijja, a fifth year student of Medicine and Surgery as their candidate.

The students embarked on intense campaigns that saw Ssempijja emerge victor in the tightly contested race. According to the university’s Electoral Commission, Ssempijja polled 3112 votes, beating NUP’s offficial flagbearer Aaron Oguttu who gathered 1,833 votes.

Ssempijja, who joined the race after 4 other guild contestants had been disqualified from the race by the university Dean of Students but he somehow fought his way to the ballot and indeed melting magma can only be achieved through intense determination.

Results further indicate that Bbosa Edwin Betuyita from National Resistance Movement also from the School Education gathered 248 to become the third.

The election, which was both physical and virtual registered low turn up of voters which some students attributed to the administration’s decision to disqualify candidates of their choice as well as the multiple postponement of the polls. Some students have come up to complain about the online voting system after they failed to vote for GRCs.