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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Members of the National Unity Platform (NUP) at Makerere University will hold their primaries at the party’s headquarters after being blocked from holding them within the university.
The party is looking for its flag bearer for the guild elections slated for April 14, 2023, according to a roadmap released earlier by the Electoral Commission chairperson, Levi Tshilumba.
David Musiri, the NUP institutions head, told URN that while they had wanted to hold their primaries on campus, they had since been forced to relocate the debates and primaries outside the confines of the university, opting for the new NUP headquarters located at Makerere Kavule.
“We are going to have our primaries at our new offices in Kavule, and we hope that everything will go on smoothly,” Musiri said. They had earlier set March 24, 2023, as the date for hosting their primaries within the university premises. However, their plans were abruptly suspended after receiving a directive from the dean of students.
In a March 24, 2023 letter, addressed to all students, the Dean of Students, Winfred Kabumbuli, stated that holding a Political Party Student Guild Debate on campus contravenes Article (6) 6.2 of the Makerere University Guild statute 2022 and urged the organizers to reconsider their plans.
“While we encourage healthy debate and discussion on campus, it is imperative we uphold this statute as it promotes a fair and inclusive environment for all students regardless of their political affiliation and is also done in accordance with the University policies. I urge you to reconsider your plans to hold a political party Guild debate and abide by the students Guild statute to avoid inconvenience,” the letter read.
Since last year, Makerere University has been criticized for limiting students’ rights to freely affiliate themselves with their preferred political parties during Guild Presidential elections, were initiated last year when the University Council recommended prohibiting partisan politics in student leadership, citing concerns that political affiliations sow discord among the student body.
This was linked to an incident in which Betungura Bewatte, a student from Uganda Christian University died during the Makerere guild campaigns last year. His death followed chaotic scenes between Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters near the Nsibirwa hall.
Makerere University Secretary Yusuf Kiranda then said that while the university had been trying to provide free political space for all students to run for the guild leadership regardless of their political affiliations, it had become evident that some of the political identities tend to override the fundamental identity, which is being a student.
However, while speaking to a crowd at the Makerere@100 guild dialogue earlier this month, Prof. Umar Kakumba, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of academics, said that the university had never banned political parties but rather intended to regulate the 2022 election in light of the campaign-related violence that resulted in the loss of life.
“That tactical maneuver that came around was occasioned by the demands of the time. But let me state clearly that nobody, no authority, including the council, has ever banned political affiliations, because that is a right that is guaranteed by the constitution,” he said.
When asked whether students will be allowed to identify themselves with the political parties of their choice, the electoral commission chairperson, Levi Tshilumba, declined to comment.
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