Lukwago clashes with Judiciary over KCCA court

By Brian Mayanja and Taddeo Bwambale

A row has erupted between the Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago and Judiciary over the presence of the of the Kampala Capital City (KCCA) Court at City Hall.

The KCCA court is located within the precincts of the Mayor's Parlour, and Lukwago wants it shifted to another location.

On Friday, Lukwago confronted officials at the court complaining about the noise made by suspects who were awaiting trial.

The incident occurred at about 2:00pm as he was preparing for a closed-door meeting. More than 30 of the suspects had occupied of the rooms bordering the Deputy Lord Mayor's office.

Lukwago also said he had received complaints about extortion by court officials handling suspects in the ongoing crackdown on trespassing along green areas in the city.

While Lukwago was seeking an explanation from the court magistrate, some of the suspects managed to escape, leading to a scuffle between law enforcement officers and Lukwago's aides.

A group of angry law enforcement officers stormed the Mayor's Parlour and threatened to beat up the Deputy Lord Mayor, Sulaiman Kidandala.

"Do you know what we go through to arrest those suspects? We put our lives at risk! How can you just let those youth run away?" A female enforcement officer asked Kidandala.

Numbed by the threats, Kidandala folded his arms and looked on as they hurled insults at him. The incident led to a standstill at KCCA, forcing some workers to close their offices.

Some of the enforcement officers later pounced on people who were waiting to meet the Lord Mayor, accusing them of aiding the suspects to flee. It took the intervention of the Police to restore calm.

Two months ago, Lukwago said he wrote to the chief magistrate of Buganda Road Court, demanding that the court be moved out of the KCCA premises.

"We cannot have two separate institutions operating within the same area," Lukwago said in an interview with the New Vision yesterday. KCCA spokesperson, Peter Kaujju declined to comment on the issue saying it was a legal matter.

But the Judiciary Spokesperson, Erias Kisawuzi explained that the Court cannot be distanced from KCCA since its presence was backed by an Act of Parliament.

"The KCCA Court cannot be abolished because it is one of the courts cited under the Magistrates Act. But if the Lord Mayor has genuine concerns about extortion at the KCCA Court, he should raise it to us," Kisawuzi stated.