Forum for Democratic Change’s flag bearer, Andrew Mujinya yesterday joined NRM’s Boniface Mbabazi in the coolers at Makerere University’s Police Station over alleged fraud

The duo are said to have forged academic documents as a way to creep through not only their party primaries but also the students’ electorate to become next Guild president.

Drama ensued immediately after Mujinya’s candidature was frustrated by the Michael Byemero led Electoral Commission.

The EC General Secretary, Harris Justus Akampurira said that no candidate with queries would be spared.

“We want to run an electoral exercise whose transparency has never been seen at this university,” Akampurira said in an interview with the press.

Mujinya, a 2nd year student of Computer Science prior to falling victim had duped his party, winning with 36 votes beating his closest rival Lillian Aber from the school of Languages, Literature and Communication to become FDC flag bearer.

NRM’s Mbabazi is said to have conned the party’s secretary General one Gabriel Acaye a law student into accepting him as a sole candidate in the 2014/2015 Guild Presidential bid.

While appearing before a crisis NRM delegates meeting held at the University Guest House on Wednesday, Mbabazi apologized for having embarrassed the party after he was exposed to lack academic credentials.

“I only trusted the wrong people, and it is for the reason that all this is happening,” Mbabazi somberly stated.

He also revealed that it was not the first time candidates had contested in the guild race with forged results.

But that was not all. He confessed that he had strategically secured the confidence of the electoral commission.

Scheme exposed
Craftly, Mbabazi successfully won the NRM Primaries un-opposed after his rivals pulled out of the race.

Mbabazi’s troubles began with the fight between Mujinya and Aber. It is alleged that after losing to the former, Aber, who had the mainstream party support had quickly looked out for how to get into the Guild race without necessarily overriding the party guidelines.

It was at this point that her spies, with the skillful wits of one Jeremaya Keeya Mwanje, a deserter from DP’s Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) that Mujinya’s academic account was hacked into and his results made public, prompting Aber to petition FDC about the Mujinya’s lack of qualification.

The development led to a series of panic not only in the FDC that had to quickly find a credible candidate but also in the pro-Mujinya camp to maintain their earlier victory that would prospect into Guild Presidency.

First, the camp demanded that all candidates’ results be made public for a common interest and transparency. It is this demand that set a wave of panic in the Electoral Commission, pushing them to verify all submissions by the 14 candidates and consequently throwing out five candidates for lack of academic credentials.

These include: FDC’s Mujinya, NRM’s Mbabazi, Wanyama Emmanuel, Muyiga Faisal and Murungi Emmanuel.

Private troubles vs Public Issues.
What started as a personal move to attain solely personal interest has ended up becoming a matter of public debate.

The university is likely to invoke the Rules and regulations that govern the student fraternity in light with examination policy which may in the end result into the prosecution and dismissal of those involved in the forgery. This has got far reaching implications on their morality and broader future.

The greed for power coupled with despair to attain this selfish goal was later to be exposed by the intrigue in others not wishing anyone else but themselves to take the seat.

Aber’s act which later turned out a blown whistle saved majority of the students from being ruled by a tiny hungry minority, though it was maliciously done. It has been argued that her move was meant to only disqualify Mujinya only to end up stirring the political waters, exposing four others.

The moral authority and the transparency of the electoral commission remains questionable that although they have denied any dubious dealing with any candidate it is now public knowledge that Mbabazi in one way or another helped all the five commissioners to get to their current positions.

The argument here is that if indeed the EC initially accepted to sell their integrity for favours and presents, they betrayed their own souls throwing out their sponsor and will never win his trust in life again.

It was also appropriate that students were saved from quack leaders. If they lied to voters in their primaries, then all they were telling us and those they were about to tell the university electorate were basketfuls of lies.

But NRM and FDC are not the only victims to the vice, other parties and personalities too are.
It would thus be imperative for people to mind first about their morality before taking un-weighed actions.

Moses Kyeyune is a former minister for Information in the 2012/2013 Guild regime.

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