ARTHUR Nantamu is the new guild president of Makerere University Business School. The 24-year-old, who stood as an independent in a race where national party politics took centre stage, beat six other candidates.
By Jacobs Odongo ARTHUR Nantamu is the new guild president of Makerere University Business School. The 24-year-old, who stood as an independent in a race where national party politics took centre stage, beat six other candidates.
However, vote tallying was marred by controversy. An unidentified agent to Samuel Nassasira, picked votes for one of the candidates and stuffed them into a ballot box containing Nassasira’s when he realised that he was trailing Nantamu by more than 200 votes.
In the ensuing commotion, students smashed windows at the tallying centre.
An anti-riot squad from the Central Police Station in Kampala was called in restore calm.
But the students, mainly supporters of Nantamu and FDC’s Innocent Ayo, refused to go home until the whole process was done with. At 11:00pm, vote counting resumed after a consensus that Samuel Nassasira’s votes be nullified.
At about 1:00am, the commission chairman, Dan Lyadda, declared Nantamu the winner with 892 votes (27%), followed by Ayo with 768 (24%) and in third place was DP’s Ronald Ssekajja with 662 (20%). The only female candidate, Nulu Naluyombya got 196 votes, Alex Kiyaga 50 and CP’s Anthony Ayembare 33.
Lyadda said the total votes cast was 3,253 but 277 were invalid.