Drama unfolded on Monday when the outgoing district councillors convened a council sitting in the absence of the Speaker.
More than 30 district councillors gathered to receive and discuss a report from various statutory boards and commissions. The report was expected to be presented by the LC5 Chairperson, Erastus Kibirango. However, the councillors waited in vain for District Speaker Derrick Lukanga to arrive and preside over the session, creating tension and uncertainty.
The LC5 Chairperson, Erastus Kibirango, later stepped in and presided over the sitting, declaring it a joint session between the District Executive and the Council before presenting the reports for discussion. The technical team, apart from the Clerk to Council, also shunned the council sitting.
Lukanga told URN in a telephone conversation that the council business for the current term officially ended on May 7, 2026. He noted that during the last sitting, the councillors approved the district budget for the 2026/2027 financial year before being awarded certificates of recognition for their service during the term.
Lukanga further revealed that the district had planned for six council sittings during the financial year, of which five had already been held.H e added that the sixth sitting will take place during the swearing-in ceremony of the new district council scheduled for Friday this week.
“It would be irregular for me, as the Speaker, to convene another council sitting after we already held the end-of-term meeting and awarded certificates to Councillors,” Lukanga said. He added that the matters the councillors intended to discuss could be deferred to the next council term.
“I do not want to be summoned by the Inspector General of Government for holding council sittings outside the approved budget,” Lukanga stated. However, the councillors and the LC5 Chairperson faulted Lukanga for deciding without properly interpreting the Local Government Act.
Kibirango argued that the law permits the council to hold at least six sittings or more, provided there is a budgetary provision for them.
He maintained that funds for the sitting were available and that during the previous council meeting, members had unanimously agreed to reconvene and handle the pending business.
Hussein Kato, the outgoing District Councillor for Bombo Town Council, and Isaac Wampamba, the District Councillor for Butuntumula Sub-county, insisted that the council sitting was lawful and that the matters on the agenda were important and could not be postponed.
Kato argued that the special council sitting for the swearing-in of new councillors had already been budgeted for, and therefore, there was no justification for calling off the meeting.
During the council sitting, councillors discussed reports from the District Land Board, the District Service Commission, and the Public Accounts Committee.
Herbert Kigo, the outgoing District Councillor for Kalagala Sub-county, tabled a motion condemning corruption in job recruitment and urged the incoming council to take firm action against District Service Commissioners implicated in the alleged malpractice. However, it remains unclear whether the resolutions passed during the sitting will be implemented, given that the District Speaker did not attend the session.
Sources told URN that some councillors allegedly pushed for the council sitting in order to earn sitting allowances as they close the term. A month ago, the same councillors pushed for a study tour at Namunkekera Industrial Park, during which each reportedly received 300,000 shillings in allowances from the district treasury.
The Local Government Minister Raphael Magyezi has given outgoing councils until May 12, 2026, to hand over office and surrender all government property. Magyezi also directed that the newly elected Local Government councils should assume office between May 13 and 29, 2026-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com=
