PaluPala, new UNZASU president
PALUPALA, NEW UNZASU PRESIDENT
In many people’s minds, it was out of
over-zealousness, overrating oneself and a failure to introspect himself when
Shadreck Mumba aka Palu Pala, a third year Media and Communication Studies
(MCS) student declared his intention to contest the the presidency of University of Zambia
Students Union (UNZASU) this year.
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| Shadreck Mumba ( PaluPala), UNZASU President Elect - Picture Credit - Shadreck Mumba Facebook Page |
What was deemed as a dream has come true following
the Monday, September 30, 2019 election.
By the morning of October 1, 2019, results were
announced, with Palu Pala scooping the topmost UNZASU position, beating 13
other presidential candidates.
He garnered 722 votes against his closest rival,
Fred Mwila Musonda (UNZA Excellence) who polled 644 votes while Reagan Mung’omba (Makopolo) got 495 ballots
and Hendrix Buumba was in the fourth position with 476 votes.
In the fifth position was Chama Mwasa with 402 votes
followed by Walter Kasempa in the sixth position with 332 ballots and the only
lady vying for UNZASU presidency, Jika Chenkalapa landed in the seventh
position after polling 80 ballots and Wallence Njovu was right behind the
female candidate with 75 votes.
Wisdom Sakanyi got 57 votes, Desire Mphande polled
40, Peter Kacheka polled 25, Bernard Kakana was in the twelfth position with 22
votes while Fletcher Lweendo had 13 and Saviour Mayonda brought the rear with a
paltry 12 votes.
The announcement sent students, into a frenzy of jubilation with some making a mock-coffin for
Marcopolo who lost ‘with dignity’ as only 227 votes separated the two.
Palu Pala described the victory as a milestone and
that it was for all students whom he urged to be proud of his election.
“Fellow intellectuals, I want to thank you all for
your belief,” he said in a statement after his election.
He added that, “I want you all to know that each
vote you made, whether it was for me or any other contestant, counted.”
The UNZASU president-elect further implored the
entire student populace to share his vision since UNZA was their institution.
“I promise you that we shall endeavor to create a
union that is robust and holistic not only on UNZA but also on national issues.
This is what UNZASU is embedded on historically,” he said.
The position of Prime Minister went to Justine Ngosa
(Popoka) who got 1,484 votes against the closest rival Jack Sichela who
garnered 801 votes while the Vice President is Gregory Chisha who got 991 votes
to beat six other contestants.
Many other students from the same third year MCS
class also declared their candidature for various positions in UNZASU.
Gilbert Chibozyi (UNZA One) vied for the position of
UNZASU Vice President, Shike Chilowekwa (Bonveka) for Minister of Information,
Research and Employment while Charity Mushaukwa (pa CA) went for the position
of Minister for Gender and Ethics and Wankumbu Simukonda contested the position
of Minister of Sports and Games.
A number of other students from the MCS Department
jostled for other positions in the UNZASU Executive such that if all candidates
from this department had won, there was going to be little left to be occupied
by learners from other schools and departments at the University of Zambia
(UNZA).
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| UNZA students during the campaigns |
Palu Pala, like many other MCS students and those
from other schools put up a strong campaign especially after successfully
filing in their nominations.
Although his victory was a surprise, but not so much
of that since it was evident that students in the third year MCS class fell in
love with his manifesto and campaign strategies such that when it was rumored
that Shadreck was being sponsored by the Patriotic Front (PF) government, there
was total disagreement among his course mates mostly.
ENDS
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