{UAH} THE LUKWAGO BATTLE STILL ON!

Uganda's High Court in Kampala has written to the Solicitor General stating that the Court injunction barring the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Council from impeaching the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago is valid and binding.

In a letter dated December 13 and copied to the Attorney General, the Assistant Registrar Civil Division Tadeo Asiimwe says there is a record of proceedings indicating that the Attorney General was represented at the hearing of the application after which the injunction was given. The registrar says the Attorney General's lawyers requested for leave to appeal the injunction decision but it was denied.

The letter also states that the injunction was issued at 8:48am on November 25, about 12 minutes before the KCCA councillors started the proceedings to impeach Lukwago on grounds of incompetence, abuse of office and misconduct.  In the meeting that was chaired by Kampala Minister Frank Tumwebaze, 29 councillors voted to remove Lukwago from office, while only three opposed the move.

The letter also indicates that the impeachment of the Lord Mayor is thus null and void.

Erias Lukwago's lawyer Medard Sseggona told local media that the letter has been sent to the Solicitor General and the Attorney General and he hopes that they will follow the law.

Lukwago's lawyers, however, challenged the manner in which the Lord Mayor was impeached saying that court had already blocked the meeting. But Minister Tumwebaze said he had not seen the copy of the injunction by the time the meeting ended towards 10am. One of Lukwago's lawyers Abdallah Kiwanuka was roughed up as he tried to serve the court order at the City Hall where the KCCA meeting was taking place.

Later Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and Attorney General Peter Nyombi told the media that government did not recognise Lukwago as the Lord Mayor.