A fresh battle has erupted between the two leading contenders in the Makerere University Guild Polls Gracious Kadondi, a National Unity Platform (NUP) party backed candidate and former Miss Uganda Hannah Karema Tumukunde over the venue of their upcoming street jam.
The duo are fighting over Nalika lane, a venue they both announced will host their street jams starting 7Pm tomorrow ahead of the April 9 polls.
Officials from the University led by the Chairperson of the 92nd Guild Electoral Commission, Maureen Owomugisha when contacted said the University will not allow this street jam to happen despite it being organised outside its premises.
“In this entire process, we value the lives of students and anything that threatens peace won’t be tolerated. Nalika Lane is outside the University but we shall not allow the functions to take place because in addition to threatening peace it’s against the University policy of ban to open campaign,” she said.
Ms Winfred Kabumbuli, the Dean of Students at Makerere University told the Monitor that the management is confident that the Guild Electoral Commission will do the right thing and prevent this pending catastrophe.
“Students elected this Commission and as the management we have confidence in it if there is anything that requires us to come in, that will be done but for now the Commission is in charge of this election,” she said.
The two rivals invited top Ugandan artistes to perform on their street jams. Kadondi who commands a formidable support has invited various artistes including; Manisul Ssemanda popularly known as King Saha, newly elected Nakawa Division Mayor Ali Bukens aka Nubian Lee, Nina Akankunda alias Nina Rose, Dax Vibes, Dax Katel, Kabako and others, while Karema lined up; Sheebah Karungi, B2C Entertainment, Suuna Ben, among others.
The two separate posters released by the candidates and shared widely on social media platforms indicate that the street jam will take place tomorrow April 7, at 7:00pm at Nalika lane, which is Kikoni which houses various hostels in Kawempe Division.
Mr Yudah Kaye, the Ag Secretary General of NUP Institutions, the party’s youth wing that manages institutions affairs told the Monitor that they were the first to book this venue but to their dismay they saw their rival advertising the same venue yesterday.
“We fulfilled all the requirements and even wanted to put our stage at Dream World Hostel and we released the flyer announcing the street jam but to our dismay our rivals chose to do otherwise,” he said.
He added, “We announced our event and it will go on as planned because the students are waiting for their artists to perform for them.”
But Karema in a statement posted on her official X-platform also reiterated her readiness to host the street jam in that same place.
“It has come to my attention that a malicious campaign is being run by certain individuals, attempting to sow division and confusion among us. For the record, as required by law, my team and I wrote to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) notifying him and seeking permission to host a series of campaign events in Kikoni. These included a Porridge night at MISH hostel, a STREET JAM at Douglas Villa and Nalika Lane,” the statement reads in part
It adds, “All of these events were cleared by the authorities. Due to proper planning, the flyers for these events could not be released simultaneously. Unfortunately, some people took advantage of this delay and circulated a flyer announcing an event on the same day we had already booked one of the venues. I urge my opponent, who is focused on running a smear campaign and spreading hate speech, to respect the law and stop misleading the electorate. Respect for the law is a fundamental tenet of good leadership.”
Emotions are high among the 13 contestants of the University students’ top seat as each candidate flanked with their supporters have been canvassing the campus to solicit for votes, ahead of the race that seeks to replace Churchill Ssentamu whose tenure was dissolved earlier this month.
Although the race has attracted 13 candidates, the tight race is between two candidates, the National Unity Platform (NUP) backed Gracious Kadondi, and the 2023/24 Miss Uganda Hannah Karema Tumukunde.
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