Makerere To Vote Again

Written by: 
CHRISTOPHER TUSIIME

The High court yesterday dismissed, with costs,
a petition filed by Bazil Mwotta, the guild
president-elect of Makerere University.

In his ruling at Twed towers in Kampala, Justice
Stephen Musota said the Makerere tribunal’s
ruling still holds and that Mwotta and his
political rival Roy Ssemboga should follow its
ruling.

“Mwotta’s application was found to be devoid of any merit whatsoever,” the judge ruled.

This means the tribunal will hold fresh guild
presidential elections for all eight candidates at
the College of Education and External Studies
(Cees) next semester.

Mwotta had been declared winner of the March 11, 2016 election by Makerere University’s
electoral commission. But Ssemboga appealed
to the tribunal, citing irregularities.

The tribunal, which has the dean of students, Cyriaco Kabagambe as its secretary, ordered a rerun for all eight candidates in the Cees.

The rerun didn’t take place in part because
students refused to take part, saying it was time-wasting. Meanwhile, Mwotta ran to court
to overturn the ruling calling for a rerun. Among other things, he prayed court to declare him the legally- elected guild president without fresh elections at Cees.

Makerere currently has no guild president afterthe tribunal ordered a rerun. The Guild Representative Council members (GRCs), elected at the hall and school level, have also not sworn in because there is no guild president to preside over the function.