Lukwago Prophesy Passes in KARMA Style President Now Runs Kampala with KCCA Councilors Virtually Idle in Absence of Law, Doing Away with the Office of the Lord Mayor With Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) Councilors hell-bent on censuring him, Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago warned that after he had gone, next in line would be the Councilors themselves. “Those censure-happy Councilors do not know that they are indirectly digging their own political graves. After I have gone, it will become very easy for Museveni to take over Kampala,’’ Lukwago prophetically said then. The embattled Lord Mayor had also stated that his intended censure was only revenge for asking hard accountability questions in regard to tax payers’ money, which he felt, was being misused at City Hall. After reported several visits to State House, where they allegedly earned themselves new vehicles and cash, majority of the Councilors guillotined the Lord Mayor. Background Lukwago’s troubles began in May, when a big majority of Councilors voted to kick-start his impeachment process, for among others, failure to execute his duties aka incompetence. The troubles would come to head in November last year, when Justice Catherine Bamugemereire found the grounds given by Councilors, while seeking the Lord Mayor’s impeachment, to have been sound. In a meeting chaired by the Minister in Charge of Kampala Frank Tumwebaze, following Justice Bamugemereire Tribunal Report, a total of twenty nine councilors finally sealed Lukwago’s fate. Court’s role Though the High Court allowed him to return to his office, he only spent three hours at City Hall. Acting Chief Justice Steven Kavuma ordered him out. The Supreme Court would later temporarily overturn his eviction, but again ruled he was to remain outside office. Subsequently, the Supreme Court sent Lukwago back to the Constitutional Court, which has for three weeks not given the case a date, even though the Supreme Court ordered it should be heard expeditiously. Months later, councilors are coming up to regret what they did. Makerere University councilor Bernard Luyiga opened the lid when he claimed to have been misled into censuring Lukwago. Luyiga has since formed what he refers to as the Kampala Revolutionary Council (KRC) to have Lukwago immediately return to City Hall. “By duping us into censuring Lukwago I have since learned the President wanted to shield the Chief Executive Director Jennifer Musisi from rendering accountability for public money,” Luyiga says. Luyiga is a DP member. So it was thought he regretted his action, to reconcile with his voters ahead of 2016 elections. It is also understandably alleged that the President had pledged to support Luyiga to replace Lukwago. It is alleged that the President has since abandoned his other position. And that he is now looking at having the KCCA Act amended in order to supposedly do away with the Office of the Lord Mayor altogether. In the alternative, insiders say, Museveni wants his party to field its own candidate, hoping that Kampalans have warmed up to NRM, after seeing the developments his government has put up in the city. Its change of heart by the President, inside sources had alleged, Luyiga got angry and decided to spill the beans regarding the alleged behind-the-scenes-machinations which reportedly took place at State House. Luyiga aside, NRM leaning Councilor Salim Uhuru (Kisenyi) is also bitter at what is going on at City Hall. He says the absence of Lukwago has seen Minister Tumwebaze and Executive Director (ED) Jennifer Musisi “hijacking” the work that is supposed to be done by councilors. “Tumwebaze and Musisi have no respect for leaders who were elected by voters in Kampala. They treat councilors as if they do not matter at all. They take key decisions affecting our people without involving us the leaders,” Uhuru quarrels. He has no kind words either, for President Museveni, who is also his NRM party Chairman. “Museveni, who is an elected leader, is expected to have respect for people who were also elected by Ugandans. However, he is siding with Musisi, who was never elected in the first place and Tumwebaze, who comes from a constituency deep in Kabale and is therefore, not well placed to know whatever Kampalans want,” he rages. Because Lukwago was elected by Kampalans, Uhuru argued President Museveni ought to respect the people’s choice. “Even if Lukwago looks like a dog in the eyes of the President, he must respect him since it is him Kampalans elected their leader. It is disturbing to see the President who refers to voters as his biggest gun, busy undermining leaders chosen by some of those voters,” Uhuru asserted. Lawyers’ Councilor spill beans But the surprising package of all is Uganda Law Society (ULS) Councilor, Frank Kanduho. A lawyer by training and practice, Kanduho supported whatever was done to censure his learned friend Lukwago, as having been within the ambit of the law. Months after, Kanduho now joins Luyiga, Uhuru and many other Councilors, who are grumbling in hushed voices, in regretting having thrown out Lukwago. Mafioso deals: According to Kanduho, Lukwago’s censure paved way for cliques at City Hall, who are now as busy as a bee cutting and engaging in illicit deals, to the detriment of Kampalans. If him and fellow councilors had not censured Lukwago, Kanduho now concedes, there is no way such criminality could have taken place, with the Lord Mayor simply folding his hands or looking on, instead of taking action… or at least raising a piercing alarm. Minister Tumwebaze and ED Musisi, Kanduho claims, have since the censure turned into the Alpha and Omega at City Hall, doing whatever work and taking whatever decisions they choose, without recourse to them the elected councilors. We have not had a meeting for the last ten months ever since the Lord Mayor was impeached. All work and decisions are taken by Jennifer Musisi,” Kanduho grumbles on. With the Lord Mayor out of the way, Kanduho laments, the Council lacks quorum to ask accountability questions and so can his Legal Committee raise legal questions before decisions are taken by Minister Tumwebaze and KCCA boss Musisi. Councilors who ask questions, Kanduho claimed, are silenced with blackmail such as being accused of having joined Lukwago, which is near criminal seeing the way he was politically dealt with. Voice of voiceless Councilors Majority of Councilors, we gathered, share the views of their colleagues. We understood that such Councilors have not been bold enough to own up, fearing that such could land them in trouble. “The situation is as grim as our colleagues have told you,” more than eighteen Councilors sampled for this article, stated. Kampala Central Division Chairman Godfrey hinted on this when he addressed a press conference last week. “Jennifer Musisi and Minister Tumwebaze are now doing the work and taking the decisions we are supposed to do and take as elected leaders. They even draw and pass budgets for divisions, yet it’s us who know the needs of our people,” an angry Nyakana lamented, before announcing that he is dragging both Tumwebaze and Musisi to courts of law for hijacking their roles. Why now? Since the councilors and Division Chairmen have been allegedly rendered idle with 2016 fast approaching, some analysts can argue that the Kampala leaders are saying whatever they are saying with the fact at the back of their mind. There is also talk that the councilors were promised lots of goodies in order to prompt them to censure Lukwago, but those who did the promising allegedly never walked the talk. All in all, if it is true that leaders of the people have been rendered idle, it would be very disturbing indeed, remembering that power belongs to the people who then use it to elect leaders to act in their name and interest. It would even amount to disfranchising Kampalans via denying them the right to elect leaders of their choice, which is unconstitutional. Hence Lukwago’s prophesy that what was going around at the time would come around has come to pass… investigator.co.ug/politics/3769-lukwago-prophesy-passes-in-karma-style.html
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 15:04:48 +0000
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