Lukwago, Kamya case adjourned

POLITICS      

KAMPALA - The hearing of a case filed by Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago against the Minister for Kampala, Beti Kamya, has been adjourned at the High Court civil division.

Kamya's lawyer Mac Dusman Kabega sought an adjournment before Justice Henrieta Wolayo on grounds that he had just received instructions from the minister and he needed adequate time to study the case file.

Kabega also informed court that both Lukwago and Kamya never had a chance to meet and explore opportunities of amicable settlement as directed by court and henceforth asked for another opportunity on behalf of the parties to do so.

This prompted Justice Wolayo to adjourn the case until June 11, hoping that Lukwago and Kamya would have concluded the mediation process.

Court last month summoned Kamya to appear for cross-examination after Lukwago dragged her to court, accusing her of illegally passing off as the political head of the city - whereas she was not elected by the people.

The Lord Mayor says his mandate to serve as the duly elected head of the city has been usurped by Kamya.

He argues that on January 23 this year, the minister decided to suspend council meetings where deliberations on how to govern the city are made.

According to court documents, Kamya stalled the council meetings on grounds that they are illegal and no longer relevant to the city - a decision Lukwago describes as irrational and unreasonable.

In his petition filed early in April, the Lukwago is seeking orders to quash Kamya's decision regarding the legality of council meetings and another decision that subjects all his travels as the Lord Mayor to a "ministerial permit".

Lukwago claims such decisions are an infringement and abuse of his rights and freedoms.

He further seeks orders to compel Kamya to put in place a metropolitan physical planning committee as required by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Act 2010, arguing that the absence of this committee negatively impacts him in the performance of his executive duties of developing and strategising for the city.

Lukwago contends that unless court intervenes and restrains Kamya from making such irrational decisions and passing off as the Lord Mayor, the sovereignty of the people of Kampala will be put in jeopardy, hence affect the social contract he made with his voters in May 2016.

Genesis of the matter               

Kamya blocked Lukwago's trip to the recently concluded 9th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF) in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia from February 7 to 13, 2018.

The executive director of UN-Habitant, Dr. Joan Clos, had invited Lukwago, as the Lord Mayor of Kampala, to attend the convention but Kamya blocked him.

However Kamya in her letter dated January 6, 2018 to the KCCA executive director states:

"Reference is made to my letters to you dated August 22 and August 29, 2017. For this matter his worship Lukwago Elias is not cleared to travel to Malaysia."

In another communication to Musisi dated February 2, 2018, Kamya made reference to her August 22, 2017 letter titled 'Benchmarking Law enforcement practices in Kigali, Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam'.

"I shall not be clearing any more applications for travel abroad until the benchmarking trips to Nairobi, Kigali and Dar-es-Salaam on street vendors, boda boda and solid waste management is implemented," a letter reads in part.

What KCCA says

KCCA director of public and corporate affairs, Peter Kaujju, said there was a directive from the Prime Minister's Office last year, which bestowed all line ministers with authority to regulate travel of their docket officers.

He confirmed that Lukwago was meant to travel for the 9th WUF, the biggest global conference on cities, which took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Kaujja said the ticket was paid for by the World Bank, but that Lukwago was meant to acquire his per diem from the Kampala minister, which she did not approve.