Outgoing Kampala Lord Mayor Ssalongo Erias Lukwago lost his temper and protested as a section of National Unity Platform (NUP) councilors led by Faridah Nakabugo the Lubaga Division woman Councilor attempted to frustrate his handover speech.
On Monday, Kampala Capital City Authority(KCCA) organized a special sitting to celebrate Lukwago’s 15 year tenure at city hall as the Lord Mayor and the ceremony was also used to accommodate his official office handover to the city Executive Director Hajat Sharifah Buzeki who will hand it over it to the newly elected Lord Mayor Ssalongo Ronald Balimwezo.
However, when KCCA speaker Zahara Luyirika welcomed Lukwago to make his handover speech, Nakabugo put up a fight insisting that before Lukwago makes his speech, let the NUP councilors first handover the appreciation gift to the speaker thanking her for a job well done in presiding over the city council.
She submitted that Luyirika has been accommodative giving them opportunity to raise issues touching the life of their voters and following up their issues to make sure that they are sorted, and because of that, she deserves an appreciation award.
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Lukwago insisted that the appreciation gift should be given after he has handed over her speech noting that Nakabugo just wanted to frustrate his ceremony and waste his time which he wanted to utilize by telling the people of Kampala and Uganda at large what he has done for them and his failures.
Nakabugo was overruled and Lukwago was given the opportunity to proceed and deliver his handover speech.
In his speech, Lukwago pleaded for the amendment of the KCCA Act noting that there should be a minimum education qualification for a councilor.
He insisted that it is not only the Lord Mayors who are supposed to have minimum education qualification of a Member of Parliament because when elected, they are burdened by uneducated councilors who don’t understand policies and other issues.
One of the councilors told Ono Bwino that the reason why they wanted to frustrate Lukwago’s speech is because he wanted to use the opportunity to expose them as corrupt leaders who were bribed to give away Nakivubo drainage channel.
“He was the one behind those people who shouted at us when we were picking our appreciation certificates that we ate Kiggundu’s bribe. We know Lukwago’s politics but we defeated him, he can give testimony that Bobi Wine’s electricity forced him out of city hall,” a councillor boasted.
But Lukwago assured them that their new Lord Mayor is not going to out shine his performance warning that even though he was defeated, he is going to continue fighting for Rule of Law.
The development comes hours after Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba through his alleged X handle revealed that it was not an easy battle to defeat Lukwago whom he branded as an idiot in Kampala insisting that he has been using his office to mislead the public on development.
Lukwago insisted that his defeat was influenced and heavily facilitated by mafias in Kampala who are targeting public property especially land.
Kampala Minister Hajat Minsa Kabanda praised Lukwago for being incorruptible noting that it is not easy to serve fifteen years and your name as a leader is not dragged in corruption allegations wishing him well in his next move.
