Lukwago wants to destroy me - Nabilah

By John Semakula and John Masaba

Kampala Woman MP Nabilah Nagayi Sempala has accused Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago of hatching a plot to remove her from Parliament.

Nagayi accuses Lukwago of masterminding the petition in which two lawyers under Uganda Catholic Lawyer’s Society (UCLS) want her removed from Parliament on grounds that she is unconstitutionally representing women of Kampala.

Lawyers Jude Mbabali and Richard Lumu took the petition to the Constitutional Court. They argue that Kampala is no longer a district and therefore Nabilah’s position as the Woman MP for Kampala is illegal. They cite Article 78(1b) of the Constitution of Uganda which says only a district can have a women’s representatives in Parliament.

Lukwago declined to comment on Sempala’s claims. However, Mbabali said UCLS does not fight personal wars. “We have been attacking the Government for acting unconstitutionally and Sempala has been part of us so she must live by what she preaches,” he said.

“We have no personal vendetta against her. She should just resign tomorrow to allow Parliament amend the Constitution.” he added.

In the petition, the duo want Sempala removed from Parliament. They also want court to order a refund of all the tax payers’ money she has been receiving in allowances and salary from Parliament in the last two years.

Mbabali said Nagayi was in Parliament when the KCCA Act was debated and passed and must be fully aware that Kampala ceased to be a district. “Kampala is an Authority like Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) so it can’t have a woman representative,” he argued.

Nagayi’s accusations against Lukwago are based on ongoing disputes between her and Lukwago, as well as Lukwago’s closeness to the key players in the case. Mbabali, an active politician and a staunch supporter of DP from Masaka district, works under Lukwago and Company Advocates, Lukwago’s law firm. Lukwago’s deputy and close associate, Suleiman, Kidandala is listed among the witnesses.

Nagayi says Lukwago wants her out of her job because she has been putting him under pressure to explain to voters what he has achieved in his two years in office.

“I am not any other person in Kampala. I am Lukwago’s supervisor. But when I ask him for accountability, he feels very uncomfortable,” she said.

She added: “I have been very patient with him yet when he was still MP for Kampala Central, he was very impatient with others.”

Recently when a group of youth from Kawempe stormed City Hall purportedly to remove him from office for failing to perform, Lukwago blamed the attack on Nagayi.

Appearing on several TVs and radios, Nagayi denied the allegations, urging the mayor to concentrate on fulfilling his campaign promises, adding that if the Lord Mayor does not deliver, voters would push him out.

During the recent parliamentary probe into KCCA wrangles, Nagayi was vehemently critical of Lukwago and supportive of KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi.

Nagayi has family ties with former Kampala mayor Nasser Ntege Sebaggala, a strong opponent of Lukwago.

Others see the fight between Nabilah and Lukwago as an early preparation for the 2016 general elections. By 2016, Nagayi will have represented Kampala women for two consecutive terms in Parliament and might contest for Lukwago’s position.

Dan Wandera Ogalo, a Constitutional lawyer and former MP, says the petitioners should have gone to the High Court and not Constitutional Court.

Additionally, he argues that the creation of KCCA as an authority was done for administrative purposes and did not remove the geographical status of Kampala as a district.

“There is still a district called Kampala. It is in our Constitution. I have not heard anywhere where Parliament amended the Constitution to remove Kampala as a district,” he said.