UPU guild presidency contenders fail to express themselves

There was drama at Uganda Pentecostal University main campus in Fort Portal on Friday during the open air public debate for the three candidates vying for the guild presidency when candidates failed to explain their policies to the students.

It all started after the candidates were asked on their interventions to end the problem of tribal segregation which has plagued the university.

"I expected the candidates to give us their views on how they are going to address the challenge of tribal segregation which has left many students divided at the university," said Steven Birungi a student.

Birungi said the differences are threatening peace and unity and challenged the candidates to address the challenge with university management.

Three candidates are vying for the guild presidency; Philbert Clouds, Davis Musinguzi and Philbert Okidi.

Johnson Musinguzi another student said the campaigns have been marred with voter bribery and intimidation by the candidates and their agents.

"The elections will not be free and fair given the events that are happening during the campaigns but we are documenting every event with an aim of challenging the election results in cases things don't go well for my candidate," said Musinguzi.

Clouds who is the favourite to win the seat, said among other things that his tenure would fight against tribalism in the university's three campuses.

"We need to collectively work together and ensure that we fight tribalism because it is a very big threat to unity among the students and it also impacts on the academic performance," said Clouds.

He said that that there is need to revisit some of the university policies which don't favour the students so that collaboration between the staff and the students can be enhanced at the university for better academic performance.

Okidi pledged to bridge the gap between the students and the staff at the campus.