The race for the 92nd Makerere University Guild Presidency has been building toward a flashpoint for weeks. Tomorrow, April 7, 2026, it may arrive — in Kikoni, at Nalika Lane, where two of the most prominent candidates in the field have each announced major campaign events at the same venue, on the same day, at the same time.
The two candidates at the centre of the standoff are Gracious Kadondi, affiliated with the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), and Hannah Karema Tumukunde — former Miss Uganda and arguably the most recognisable face in the 92nd guild race.
Both camps say they booked Nalika Lane first. Neither has stood down. Police have not yet issued guidance. And the student community is watching with a mixture of anticipation and genuine anxiety about what Tuesday will bring.
Two Events. One Venue. Two Very Different Vibes.
The irony of the situation is not lost on anyone following the campaign closely. Both candidates have announced headline-grabbing entertainment lineups designed to pull massive crowds — which means that if both events proceed as planned at the same location, the result will not be a party. It will be a confrontation.
Kadondi has billed her event as a “Street Jam” featuring King Saha, Nubian Li, Dax Vibez, Kabako, and Nina Roz — a lineup that would draw significant numbers on its own terms, regardless of the political context.
Karema has branded hers “Retake yebinyanya nyanya” and promises DJ Suuna Ben, Sheebah Karungi, B2C, and others — a set of names that similarly guarantees a large turnout from Makerere’s student population.
Under different circumstances, either event would be one of the campaign season’s highlights. Together at the same venue, they represent a potential tinderbox.
Each Side Claims Priority Booking
The dispute over the venue booking has sharpened the tension considerably. Each camp insists it secured Nalika Lane first, and each has accused the other of deliberate provocation.
Karema’s team has been particularly pointed in its public communication. In a formal statement issued to her supporters, Karema said her team had written to the Inspector General of Police seeking permission to host a series of campaign events in Kikoni — including a porridge night at MISH Hostel and a street jam at Douglas Villa and Nalika Lane. She said all events had been cleared by the relevant authorities.
She flatly rejected accusations that her team deliberately chose the venue to engineer a confrontation. Instead, she accused unnamed rivals of exploiting delays in the release of her campaign flyers to announce their own event at the same venue on the same day — effectively jumping a booking that was already in place.
“Anyone claiming to have booked the venue earlier should present verifiable evidence to the public,” her statement said.
Kadondi’s camp has not publicly backed down from their event plans either. With two sets of supporters, two sets of booked artists, and two candidate teams converging on the same street, the conditions for disorder are undeniably present.
This Is Not The First Flashpoint This Season
The Nalika Lane standoff is the latest — and most serious — escalation in a campaign season that has already seen significant disorder.
On March 27, 2026, Makerere University authorities were forced to halt the 92nd Guild Presidential debate after clashes broke out between supporters of Kadondi and Karema shortly after Karema made her remarks at the debate. The Guild Electoral Commission Chairperson, Maureen Owomugisha, confirmed that the debate would be rescheduled once the situation had calmed — a rescheduling that itself signals how volatile the atmosphere around this particular contest has become.
The two candidates and their respective support bases have generated the kind of energy that makes for a compelling election — but also the kind that, without careful management, tips from excitement into violence.
Police Yet To Respond
As of Monday, the Uganda Police Force had not issued any public guidance on how the rival events at Nalika Lane would be managed on Tuesday. That silence is itself a source of concern for those monitoring the situation.
Without a clear police directive — on whether one event will be permitted to proceed, whether both will be allowed on condition of separation, or whether the venue will be declared off-limits to both camps — the risk of supporters arriving, finding a rival event in progress, and responding badly is real.
The Guild Electoral Commission, which has already had to intervene once this season to halt a debate that descended into chaos, will also be watching closely.
Beyond the immediate question of tomorrow’s events, the Nalika Lane standoff illustrates something larger about the 92nd Guild Presidential race: it has become, by some distance, the most intensely contested and politically charged Makerere guild election in recent memory.
The competition between Kadondi — whose NUP affiliation gives her campaign a distinctly national political dimension — and Karema — whose public profile and manifesto-driven campaign have attracted significant media attention — has energised a student body that is paying close attention to both candidates and what they represent.
That energy is a sign of a healthy democratic culture on campus. Whether it can be channelled constructively through the remainder of the campaign, or whether it will continue to spill over into disorder, may depend significantly on what happens at Nalika Lane tomorrow.
