Prime
Minister intervenes in Hoima council fights
Council members during the meeting at the Hoima District headquarters on Monday. The Minister of Local Government, Mr Raphael Magyezi, has convened an emergency meeting of the Hoima District Council. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The fight was a result of a disagreement between one of the councillors and the district vice chairperson.
The Minister of Local Government, Mr Raphael Magyezi, has convened an emergency meeting of the Hoima District Council, two days after some of the councillors traded blows during a sitting on Monday.
Mayhem broke out during a district council sitting when a disagreement between Buraru councillor Patrick Rusoke and the district vice chairperson, Mr Benson Ciche, turned into a physical fight.
Trouble started just as the councillors were preparing to adopt the day’s Order Paper.
Mr Rusoke raised an objection to the Council speaker arguing that the councillors were not given a seven-day notice before the meeting as required by their Rules of Procedure.
“We were invited on short notice. We were notified about this council meeting three days ago, yet this is not an extraordinary council sitting. This sitting is not in order because it contravenes the Rules of Procedures,” Mr Rusoke said.
He requested the Chief Administrative Officer, Mr Elias Byamungu, to interpret the Rules of Procedures, but the speaker ruled that Mr Rusoke was out of order.
Dissatisfied, Mr Rusoke took a copy of the Rules of Procedure to Mr Ciche, who is also the Buhanika Sub-county Councillor.
After a short tense exchange, Rusoke and Mr Ciche started fighting.
Other councillors quickly joined the fight. In a video clip shared online, the councillors were seen colliding into each other, and assaulting each other as some cheered and filmed the chaos.
One councillor lifted a plastic chair and used it to hit those who had fallen on the floor which was littered with various documents.
Some of the members fled the chaos while others hurled insults and obscenities.
Hours after the dramatic scenes, the councillors started blaming each other for the fight.
“I took the Rules of Procedure to him (Mr Ciche), but he shut me down and started fighting me. I am also a human being, I fought back,” Mr Rusoke said.
Mr Ciche denies initiating the fight. He accused Mr Rusoke of attacking him first.
He also denied the allegations that his office convened a meeting of councillors contrary to the Rules of Procedure.
“That meeting was not there. That’s not true,” he said.
The district chairperson said blamed the fight on land grabbers, who he said are conniving with unnamed security officials.
By press time yesterday, the meeting called by Mr Magyezi was still ongoing.
