TAKEAWAYS

• Hannah Karema finished second to Gracious Kadondi in Makerere Guild polls.
• She cited faulty voting links in CoBAMS and CHUSS as a challenge.
• Karema says she is happy a fellow woman won the election.

Former Miss Uganda 2023/24 Hannah Karema has spoken out following the just-concluded Makerere University Guild elections, where she finished a close second behind NUP’s Gracious Kadondi, who was elected the institution’s 92nd Guild President after polling 6,801 votes against Karema’s 5,787.

Speaking after the election, Karema said she is proud of the campaign she ran and remains satisfied with the effort her team put into mobilising students across campus.

However, she noted that the online voting process was not without challenges. According to Karema, several students from her stronghold colleges, particularly the College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS) and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS), experienced technical issues after voting links reportedly failed to work properly during the early hours of the election.

“I am satisfied with how we campaigned and the energy students showed throughout this race.”

She explained that voting was scheduled between 8:00am and 11:00am, but some affected students only managed to access the links midway through the exercise, while others gave up due to frustration.

“Some students were discouraged by the delays and left without voting, but I still respect the final outcome.”

Despite her concerns, Karema warmly welcomed Kadondi’s victory, saying she is especially happy that a fellow woman emerged winner. She noted that the historic contest between two women perfectly aligns with her wider mission of championing the girl child and women leadership.

Asked whether she would be willing to serve in the guild cabinet if appointed by Kadondi, Karema said she is open to whatever comes next, emphasizing that her main interest remains service to students and advancing the issues she campaigned on.

She added that seeing a woman take the top seat already gives her satisfaction, and any opportunity to contribute further would be welcome. Karema also praised the massive student turnout, saying both campaigns inspired thousands of students to participate in one of Makerere’s most historic guild elections.