I had intended to serve 10 years, says Lukwago as he swears in for another term

“I had intended to serve as Kampala Lord Mayor for 10 years and leave but because President Museveni brought stagnation in the city and the whole country in addition to attempts to frustrate my first term in office, I have found myself being the longest serving Lord Mayor of Kampala,” Mr Lukwago who has been mayor since 2011 told journalists after taking oath.

He said the last two councils in his regime had tried to frustrate his leadership through political fights because some of them were from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the Democratic Party (DP).

“But they all left. This council is comprised of National Unity Platform (NUP) members who are my friends and hope we will work together to develop the city," Mr Lukwago added before cautioning the council members shun political fights and temptations for quick money.

"We need to serve our electorate. We need to ensure the city sewerage system is worked on, in addition to addressing the challenges of garbage collection, city lighting and poor roads, among others. Secondly, the central government ought to know that Kampala voted opposition and president Museveni needs to respect the wishes of those who voted. He should not try to frustrate our efforts again.”

Mr Lukwago further said the Authority needs about USD$ 2 billion to implement the five-year strategic plan that was passed by the council.

“That money should be made available by Mr Museveni’s government because most of the money is collected from Kampala in form of direct and indirect taxes,” he added.

The ostentatious Wednesday ceremony presided over by Buganda Road Chief Magistrate, Ms Miriam Ayo Akello also saw 54 city councilors sworn in.

Out of these 47 are from the main Opposition party National Unity Platform (NUP) led by former presidential candidate Ronbert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine, four from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, and three from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).

Mr Lukwago was first elected to the position in 2011, he later won the race to retain his seat in 2016 and was re-elected in a tight race in the January 2021 elections.

He won the race with 194,592 votes against his main challenger, NUP’s Nabillah Nagayi Ssempala who got 60,082 votes.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony at city hall in Kampala, the executive director of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Ms Dorothy Kisaka urged the newly elected city councilors to work closely with the Authority’s technical wing to develop Kampala into an attractive developed city.

Ms Kisaka appealed to the leaders to pursue a participatory approach if Kampala is to be turned into an attractive city as well as solving the current challenges faced by over four million people working within the city and over 1.5 million city dwellers.

She said there could arise some misunderstandings but they should be quick to find avenues of seeking harmony for the good of all city dwellers.

Earlier, there was commotion at the inauguration venue after the Kampala Central Lord Councilor, Mr Moses Kataabu who was wearing a red beret took to the podium to take oath with chained hands and a placard hanging around his neck reading "M7 Free Political Prisoners."

This compelled the presiding Chief Magistrate, Ms Mariam Ayo to order him to take off the attire and chains before taking the oath, accusing him of indecent dressing.

When Mr Kataabu seemed hesitant to follow the magistrate’s orders, she suspended the swearing in ceremony for a moment and marched out of the courtroom where it was being held. However, she returned after calm was restored.