The quest for new leadership of the Egerton University Students’ Association has degenerated into a shambolic and shameful spectacle.
There is a general feeling that the already poorly-constituted Electoral Commission is compromised and is under coercion by the Administration, certain rogue officials from the Office of Dean of Students, some outgoing EUSA officials who have shoddy interests, and certain aspirants who want undue advantage and unfair competition.
Many PETITIONS/ APPEALS against illegally-operating Student Commissioners, electoral misconduct, the nominees list, individual aspirants especially for SGC positions and Highlights of IMPUNITY and IRREGULARITIES are as follows: EUSA Constitution’s Article 55 (c) on “Eligibility for EUSA Student Members of the Electoral Commission” indicates that “Subject to this constitution a member shall be qualified to be nominated (to be a Student Commissioner) if he/she shall;- (c) be in his/her final year of study.”
None of the Student Commissioners is a FINALIST. As the current semester (and hence the Academic Year) is yet to end and most of the Students Commissioners are of the 2018 Cohort, at the time of publishing the current Nominations List these Student Commissioners are STILL IN THIRD YEAR SECOND SEMESTER.
It is NOT UNTIL NEXT SEMESTER (beginning on April 11) that they will be in their FINAL YEAR and only then will they be legally operating and eligible to conduct a nomination process; Article 18 (a) of EUSA Constitution states that a person is not qualified for nomination as an SGC member if the person “is an official in any other association within Egerton University.”
Shockingly, a number of serving club officials have since been cleared for various SGC posts. These include Boaz Mauti (who is Chair for the Engineering Students Association), Margaret Gathoni (who is Chair of the Ecotourism and Hospitality Association), Anastasia Nyokabi (who is Vice Chair for the Statistics students association SSABEU), Byrum Nyongesa (who is Treasurer and HoD for Red Cross Egerton Chapter), and Samuel Mbugua (who is a Christian Union official).
Article 54 (1) of the EUSA Constitution stresses on “the right of all members to vote and stand for election”. Shockingly, the entirely physical/ in-person (campus-based) elections are scheduled for April 2022 when the 2020 Cohort of the Faculty of Health Sciences will be OUT OF SESSION.
This group (of more than 400 students) is expected to report back to campus on May 16, 2022 well after campaigns and elections. This is also in violation of Article 6 (iv) on The Bill of Rights which clarifies that “Every member shall have the right to take part in all activities and enjoy all facilities of EUSA without hindrance, unless otherwise provided in the constitution.”
Article 17 (e) requires a candidate nominated for the elections to be “Registered for that particular semester of study,” and NOT THE PRECEEDING SEMESTER. This is in line with Article 59 (a) (i) which requires the Electoral Commissions to “Establish the timetable for the electoral process which should be completed by the end of the seventh week of the SECOND SEMESTER.”
Article 5 (b) on EUSA Membership defines a REGISTERED STUDENT to be “One who has paid fees and registered online during the CURRENT SEMESTER.” Further to this, it is University Policy to allow for Academic and Finance Registration within the first five (5) weeks of that particular Semester, not a previous one.
If elections are to be held in April as has been announced by the Electoral Commission (any yet this is the first month on the Semester), and considering the Semester officially begins on April 11, THERE IS A HIGH LIKELIHOOD THAT SOME CANDIDATES PRESENTED FOR ELECTIONS SHALL NOT HAVE REGISTERED AS STUDENTS and hence shall be ineligible for the said elections.
