Councils impeach Masaka City speaker, elect deputy mayor as replacement

Masaka City councilors have censured the Speaker, Mr Tony Ssempijja over allegations of  abuse of office and incompetence.

In a censure motion moved by Ms Zahara Nalubyayi (councilor representing Kimaanya Ward), out of the fifteen city councilors, thirteen  on November 29 voted Mr Ssempijja out of office accusing  him of inviting them  for council business on short notice violating R.14(1)(a), Rules of Procedure.

“He [Ssempijja] committed an illegality when he convened an illegal council yet he was warned against it, but didn’t take heed,” she said.

The councilors also accused Mr Ssempijja of 'smuggling' an item into council business which led to the election and merging of sectorial committee before end of tenure. This, they said, violated Rule 19, Rule 18(6) and Rule 27(5) of the standard  Rules of procedure governing council.

In an extra ordinary meeting presided over by Local Government Minsiter, Mr Raphael Magyezi,  Mr Ssempijja was given the opportunity to defend himself against the allegations by the councilors. He rejected this saying he needed seven days to prepare a  written defense which council declined.

The minister was prompted to adjourn the meeting for several times to enable Mr Ssempijja  give his side of the story.

After several adjournments, Mr Ssempijja said he was working under challenging situations and accepted that he erred in the process of conducting his duties as speaker and asked for forgiveness. However, this was too late and the charged councilors instead voted him out.      

National Unity Platform (NUP) has a majority in the council with 10 councilors and the other five subscribe to the ruling National Resistance Movement party .

Masaka City Electoral Commission presiding officer Mr Anthony Mwayita  led the council into the elections that replaced Mr Ssempijja with Mr Achilles Mawanda, the Deputy Mayor and Mukungwe Ward representative.

Mr Ssempiija and another councilor, Ms Alice Nanungi (representing Nyendo Ward ) did not take part in the censure vote and the election of the new speaker  after the  Deputy speaker, Ms Stephanie Nanyunja who had been nominated to contests against Mawanda  pulled out of the race at the eleventh hour. 

Masaka Chief Magistrate, Mr Aloysius Natwijuka later swore in Mr Mawanda as the new city speaker and the latter who is a member of NUP promised to ensure that he unites the councilors.

Mr Ssempijja, also a NUP member who had served in the position for barely 3 years, said he was going to court to challenge his dismissal.

The process to vote a deputy speaker, however, flopped after the two people proposed Mr Charles Banga (representative of older persons), and Mr Stephanie Nanyunja female workers representative) declined to take up the position.

The minister advised the councilors to elect a deputy speaker at the subsequent council meeting which they agreed.  

Mr Magyezi asked the new speaker to lead in creating harmony and unity in the council to ensure that there is service delivery to the electorate. 

“There can be disagreements but this doesn’t mean that it should distract service delivery, because of persistent fights within council. You have roles to play as councilors to the people that voted you. I ask the former speaker to work with his successor because he remains as a councilor and I thank him for his tenure because it’s not an easy task to be a speaker and again thank him for accepting to ask for forgiveness from councilors where he made mistakes,” he said.   

Mr Mawanda, is the principal of the Catholic Church owned Butende Technical Institute in Masaka City and former  Masaka District speaker. 

He promised to use his vast experience in leadership to unit councilors.

According to the Local Government Act Section 11(6), a speaker can be removed from office by the council through a resolution supported by not less than two thirds of the members on grounds including "abuse of office, incompetence, misconduct or misbehavior or such physical or mental incapacity as would render the speaker incapable of performing the duties of speaker."

The duties of the speaker among others are; to preside over all meetings of the council, is charged with overall authority for preservation of order in the council and enforcement of the rules of procedure of the council and perform functions which are similar to those of the speaker of Parliament .