By Isaac Akugizibwe

KIU, Main Campus - It was sheer display of total quality intellectual ability and brevity for the candidates, love, commitment and excitement for the electorates and the rest of KIU, as the two presidential aspirants, Reagan David Kaddu and Calvin Mwahuzi, faced off during the 2022 KIU Law Society Presidential Debate yesterday.

With ululations, chants, songs of solidarity and instant applauds from the rest of the KIU family and supporters of each candidate to exciting dances of all nature, yesterday's presidential debate was a pleasant experience to be a part of.

Both candidates arrived at Lecture Hall 409 where the debate took place with a style and tempo that eventually made it one of the most exciting events at KIU in the new year so far. Each candidate had a maximum crowd that sang and chanted their names at every turn.

Kaddu arrived at the KIU premises accompanied by a convoy of about four cars with some of his supporters at the windows, while Mwahuzi was accompanied by exciting kadodi dancers who first made rounds all over campus dancing to the popular kadodi beats.

Lecture Hall 409 was filled to capacity during the debate thereby prompting some revellers to follow proceedings from outside. The highly expectant crowd comprised of both law and non-law students of KIU. True to their manifestos and slogans, both candidates displayed a high quality intellectual ability, oratory and strategic planning skills to the extent that the judges found it hard to determine the best.

"I think all the candidates have been so good, straight to the point and their manifestos show that actually all of them are very fit for the position. If it was possible, I would recommend to have them all," Counsel Fahad Kyazze, the Chief Moderator and Judge of the debate remarked.

Kyazze added that both Mwahuzi Calvin and David Reagan Kaddu have a great vision for the KIU Law Society which requires them to work together no matter the outcomes of Friday's election.

"I concentrated alot on academics because it is what makes you a product of KIU. It is not about the noise you make, it is about knowing the law that makes KIU students tick. I am very happy that your candidates have great vision in that direction. How I pray that you remain united and be able to work together even after the election on Friday," he added.

In his submission, Kaddu promised to promote and improve moot court competitions, sports and the academic status quo of the School of Law. He said that moots would help improve the practical abilities of students while sports would keep the students united.

"I have been a member of the winning team in moots, so I know what it takes to improve in our moot court competitions which I hope will be vital for us to get hands-on knowledge of how to go about cases in court," he explained.

Kaddu also promised to engage the administration to solve the issue of missing marks. He said that he is developing an application that will help in the tracking of exams. He plans to introduce the exams tracking app while launching his ground breaking app, the "Kaddu Reagan David app".

Mwahuzi's manifesto revolves around promotion of social capital for the lawyers, enhancement of student leadership, and introduction of mentorship series for law students. He said that he will also concentrate on developing strategies that can enable ideas and policies to work efficiently and effectively.

"We plan to look at how our students can get social capital especially outside KIU. We need them to engage in issues bigger than KIU. By that, once entrusted with power, we plan to introduce mentorship series for law students. This will help enhance their knowledge of the law and also bring them closer to the practitioners," Mwahuzi said.

He also pledged to create unity and togetherness among law students which he said was a missing element for the lawyers at KIU to explore their potential.

Despite the mistrust and tension between the supporters of both candidates, the two sat near each other and appeared to smile and share ideas during the debate. Indeed, immediately after the debate, Kaddu reached for Mwahuzi's hand and the two shook for some minutes before hugging each other. This was a sign of fair play.

However, Kaddu and Mwahuzi still have another epic show down in today's open air campaigns before facing off on the ballot paper on Friday 4th February 2022.