Makerere Guild Ministry Apologises to Freshers Ball Performers After Rain Disrupts Programme

The Guild Minister for Culture says organisers had agreed on guidelines to prioritise entertainment, but bad weather forced changes that left some performers with limited or no stage time. The Makerere University Students’ Guild Ministry of Culture, Mobilisation and Social Affairs has issued a clarification following disruptions to the Freshers Ball programme, acknowledging that changes made during the event left some performers dissatisfied and others without an opportunity to perform. In a statement dated 1 November 2026, Guild Minister Mutebi Edward said the organising team had agreed on guidelines ahead of the event, which were shared in advance and approved by the security team.

According to the statement, the arrangements were intended to maximise the limited time available for entertainment while ensuring that students received the best possible experience. Rain forces organisers to cut speeches The ministry explained that the organising team, comprising guild leaders, security personnel and representatives of event partners, had agreed that speeches would be accommodated only when time allowed. However, rain disrupted the event, forcing organisers to remove what the statement described as unnecessary speeches from the programme. The decision, the minister acknowledged, did not sit well with some stakeholders. The explanation provides context for the programme changes that became a subject of public discussion following Saturday night’s Freshers Ball at Impis Rugby Grounds. It also highlights the difficulty of balancing formal university addresses, entertainment commitments and weather-related delays at a large outdoor event. Organisers apologise to affected performers The ministry expressed regret over the limited time allocated to some performers and the exclusion of others from the programme. “On behalf of the organizing committee, we are profoundly sorry for the little time allocated to some of our performers and to those who were entirely left out of the program,” the statement reads. The apology acknowledges that the programme changes affected people who had been included in the event’s entertainment line-up. However, the statement does not name all the affected performers, specify how much performance time was lost, or indicate whether any further arrangements will be made to compensate those who missed their slots. What does this mean for future Guild events? Beyond the immediate controversy, the statement raises questions about how major student events should be planned and managed when circumstances change. Outdoor events require contingency plans for bad weather, delayed performances and competing programme commitments. Clear communication between organisers, performers, security teams and university representatives is essential when changes become unavoidable.

The ministry’s explanation establishes that the programme had agreed guidelines and that the weather disrupted the schedule. It does not, however, provide a detailed account of how the revised programme was communicated to every affected stakeholder. For future editions of the Freshers Ball, stronger contingency arrangements and a clearly defined process for managing schedule changes could help prevent similar disagreements. The ministry concluded by thanking students for attending in large numbers despite the rain and reaffirming its commitment to working with all stakeholders, whom it described as central to the success of the event. As the discussion continues, the statement serves as both an explanation of the organisers’ decisions and an acknowledgement that those decisions had consequences for the performers involved. Source: Statement from the Office of the Guild Minister for Culture, Mobilisation and Social Affairs, Makerere University Students’ Guild, dated 1 November 2026.