By today’s dawn, Shamim Nambassa is the talk of the Ivory Tower as she has been declared winner of the Makerere University Guild elections, 2021-2022.
Shamim bagged victory with over 90% of the vote.
This is undoubtedly a new political era for this is the third consecutive time NUP is prevailing dominant at the academic hill.
The National Unity Platform was quick to congratulate the newly elected guild leader. In a tweet, the party wrote;
“Congratulations Comrade @Shamim_nambassa on your well-deserved victory! Seeing many young Ugandans continuing to identify with our message only confirms that ours is a just cause. Indeed, this is a generational cause.”
However, the felicitations have not come with a price to pay. The National Unity Platform is the current face of opposition and to contest for a political position of that repute especially on a hill that does not see eye to eye with the ruling government, political repercussions were only expected.
Shamim has kept the NUP faithful grounded in the struggle through her oratory excellence and penmanship skills.
Yesterday, she reaffirmed to the NUP faithful that the struggle is far from over and she confirmed that until the red brigade’s struggle is over, her face is to be seen for generations to come.
‘What over is it when we still breath, who says it’s over when that red pigmentation still flows in my veins? I say NO! It’s only over when we meet in heaven. Short of that, the battlefield shall see my face over and over again.’
Nambassa wrote her messages to the youthful faithful like a general leading an army to war. It is to surprise she showed up to the final campaign in the signature NUP overall combat just to reaffirm the truth that this meant war for her.
‘Tomorrow we march. They have the army, they have the money, they have guns, the cannons, the cells. But we have us! You have my hand and I have your hand. As long as we have us, our resolve shall not be broken.’
She concluded her message by roaring on all the NUP faithful like an enraged army commander to fight by the ballot, encouraging them not to give up fort until the sounds of victory are heard in Kampala.
On November 9th, the administration took over her Twitter accounts and announced her arrest. The victor had been arrested by police on a fateful evening as she launched her campaigns for the Guild elections.
She was however relentless as by the next day, she took to Twitter leading a red brigade of NUP faithful in the signature Makerere University ‘wewe’ chant. Nothing at this point could stop the flame.
Her last rally was evidence of her relentlessness.
Perched on one student’s shoulder, she led a swarm of red around the Makerere Hill in a parade that depicted the election outcome even before the students could head to the polls.
Her efforts were acknowledged by NUP MP who took to his Twitter;
‘@Shamim_nambassa has been a target of state repression since campaigns kicked off. The lioness in her didn’t fade. She today roared so loudly that the Junta quaked in fear. I rally all Makerereans to cast their polls in favor of Nambassa who represents their interests as students,’ he tweeted.
Nambassa comes to office as a hybrid of necessary desperate measures and the flair of logic and intellect. She has received resounding reviews from key political players with many calling her a revolutionary that has got the bravery of a lioness in her.