Lukwago sworn in for the third term

By Prossy Kisakye

Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has been sworn in for the third term.

The function presided over by Buganda Road Chief Magistrate, Miriam Ayo Akello also saw 54 City Lord councilors sworn in earlier today.

Out of these 47 are from the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), 4 from the ruling NRM party, and 3 from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).

Accompanied by his wife and children, Lukwago has taken the oath to lead another five years as the city lord mayor of Kampala.

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’s 60,082 votes.

Earlier, speaking at the swearing-in ceremony at city hall in Kampala, the Executive Director of Kampala Capital City Authority, Dorothy Kisaka urged the newly elected City Lord Councillors to work closely with the authority’s technical wing to build Kampala into an attractive developed city.

Kisaka expressed the need for 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 4 million people working within the city and over 1.5 million city dwellers.

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

Earlier, the drama ensued at the swearing-in ceremony after the Kampala Central Lord Councilor Moses Kataabu took to the podium to take oath wearing a red beret, chains, and a placard with words demanding the release of all political prisoners.

This forced the presiding Chief Magistrate, Mariam Ayo to order him to take off the attire and chains he was wearing before taking the oath.

Kataabu initially refused to heed the orders of the magistrate, causing commotion and this prompted the temporary halting of the ceremony.

Later Ayo returned to court and resumed the ceremony after calm had returned.

Written by Noelyn Nassuuna