Four students of Makerere University were on March 6th injured in an accident along Stuart Road just, a few meters outside Lumumba Hall.

The over speeding car, registration number UAQ 660/Mrammed into a group of about 100 students who were escorting Bwowe Ivan Kakungulu (in poster), an independent candidate in an after-rally drive, heading to areas of Wandegeya, Kikoni, KikumiKikumi and Nakulabye.

The Makerere university police commander OC JacksonMucunguzi says the culprit deliberately drove into a mass of students for reasons well known to him.

However, some witnesses said that this was an attack from one of Bwowe’s opposite camps.
The casualties suffered numerous injuries and were rushed to Mulago hospital by fellow students for treatment.

After bumping into the crowd, the driver narrowly escaped from the angry students and took off with damages on the car.

“God has been on his side. Had he landed in our hands, he would be no more,” said a witness.
The driver managed to drive out the institution and hid the car in a garage in Bwaise, a Kampala suburb.

“We were alerted about the incident and immediately swung into action.We followed the car and later discovered it at a garage in Bwaise but the driver had already gone”, said Mucunguzi.
The car is currently held by the police at Kanyanya police station.

Mucunguzi however says that the police had got vital documents to help them track the culprits.
“A number of documents were secured by the police from the car including a Makerere student’s admission later for MASABA KARIM 13/U/7829/EVE, 213017080, a first year student of Quantitative Economics and documents about the car’s ownership which revealed that the car belongs to MASABA RAMADHAN. The documents will help us trace the whereabouts of the person who was driving the car,” said AfandeMucunguzi.

Violence in Mak elections
This is not the first time Makerere’s guild presidential elections have turned violent.On a number of occasions mainly on rallies, supporters from different camps use a number of ‘provocative’ mechanisms which eventually result into violent skirmishes.

In the 2010 elections that brought Shaban Senkubuge to the presidency, two students lost their lives while one was severely injured in the violence that escalated after the elections.

There were also minor skirmishes in the 2012 and 2013 elections in which a number of supporters sustained severe injuries.

Makerere university police OC attributed the violence to the increased consumption of alcohol by the supporters bought for them by the candidates, and drug abuse mainly marijuana.

He cautioned the students against such acts and that anyone trapped shall face the law.
“We cannot stop students from supporting their candidates, but they have to do it according to the law. We shall effectively deal with the culprits,” said mucunguzi.

What the students say
A number of students from different camps have raised concerns of threats from opposite camps. SimonSsenoga, a campaigner of one of the candidates says that he received threats from their opponents and was later beaten by unidentified persons a day later.

Such violent acts have forced many students to shun the campaigns in fear of their lives.

“We thought it would be a fair play, but it seems things are getting out of control.We have no option but to retaliate,” said a student who preferred anonymity.

Statements of that nature indicate unless serious measures are taken, mainly by the police and the university administration, more violence is likely to unfold.

The impact of students’ campaigns
The time after 4pm has become wild to Makerereans particularly those that study in the evening and the dwellers of Makerere’s environs. This is a result loud disrupting noise from bands, hooting and whistling for the different candidates moving around and outside campus.

Evening students of Adult Education said that some of their lectures are disrupted until the convoys pass. These are highly affected because their lecture rooms are just next to Complex Hall where two candidates reside. The Hall thusacts as the kick off point for these candidates.

Traffic in and outside campus is also affected by the candidates’ convoys that move around and outside campus blocking the moving vehicles. Wandegeya residents and traders have urged the police and varsity authorities to bar students from moving out of campus as it disrupts their movements and business.

Final list of candidates out
The final list of candidates eligible for participating in the election was released by the EC yesterday at Mary Stuart. This put an end to the disarray that has been surrounding the process. A number of candidates who had applied had issues with marks. Some of them had retakes and others missing marks which according to the electoral laws means they are not on normal progress, a prerequisite for standing for guild presidency.

Out of the thirteen candidates that returned nomination forms, only eight were cleared to contest, according to EC Chairperson Michael Byemero. These are;IvanBwowe, SarahAseru, LillianAber, PhillipMusiime, Eddy Kintu, NicholasNanyeenya, SamuelKomakech and JuliusTabaaro.

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