UCU gets new Guild President

By John Semakula and Emmanuel Weyaula

INDEPENDENT candidate, Emmanuel Okunny was on Saturday elected the Guild President of Uganda Christian University (UCU), Mbale Campus.

The final results announced by Peter Gidudu the UCU Mbale Campus Guild Returning Officer showed that Okunny scored 650 votes out of the 1,037 votes that were cast.

Okunny becomes the 11th Guild President of UCU Mbale Campus. He beat his rival Rachael Nabulo who garnered 372 votes.

Kenneth Wenani of National Resistance Movement (NRM) is the outgoing guild president, having taken over from Job Musimbi also of the ruling party.      

Okunny’s victory makes him the first independent candidate to occupy the UCU Mbale guild president’s office since the establishment of multiparty political dispensation in Uganda in 2005.

The university based in Mbale shortlisted two candidates out of the four who had shown interest in the seat. 

The other two were technically blocked because they did not meet the electoral vetting criteria for people aspiring for the office including good conduct and performance.

During the final rally on Friday and on the Election Day, Police deployed heavily on the campus after intelligence revealed that some groups of students were bent on disrupting the polls. 

Okunny has promised to address student’s issues, and to bridge the gap between the administration and students.

The Regional Police Commander Elgon Region Jacob Opolot described this year’s UCU Mbale students’ guild presidential elections as peaceful,