Charles Mwanguhya Mpagi and Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa
13 July 2009
Kampala — The planned expansion and takeover of Kampala City by the Central government has hit a snag following concerns raised within Cabinet about the constitutionality of expanding the boundaries.
Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi opened the Pandora's box when he, in a May 14 letter to Local Government Minister Adolf Mwesige, pointed to "constitutional huddles of extending Kampala beyond the boundaries provided by the current gazetted notices."
Mr Nsibambi's letter also copied to Attorney General Khiddu Makubuya among others, said he had "received advice from a distinguished lawyer who is a member of the NRM organisation" that article 5(2) of the Constitution details what makes up the Republic of Uganda and the components which are regions, Kampala, and the districts.
Quoting Article 178 of the Constitution, Prof. Nsibambi said: "The intended attempt to expand Kampala beyond the boundaries provided in the current gazetted notices is likely to cause us constitutional problems e.g if one tries to include Entebbe or any part of Mpigi or Wakiso, the act would be an attempt to change the boundaries of the Constitutional Buganda Region whose boundaries were determined by Article 178 (3)."
Prof. Nsibambi's letter, in which he also indicated that Parliament has no mandate to pass the current Bill, has sparked a fresh snag in Cabinet, especially after Mr Mwesige on July 2 wrote to President Museveni asking for permission to amend the Bill to exclude parts of Wakiso from the boundaries of Kampala Capital City.
"It has occurred to me after wide consultations that the extension of the boundaries of Kampala Capital City to some parts of Wakiso District would require the amendment of the Constitution," he said. "Under Article 178 of the Constitution, the districts of Buganda listed in the First Schedule of the Constitution, are deemed to have agreed to form the regional government of Buganda. Kampala Capital City was not deemed to be part of Buganda region. The extension of the boundaries of Kampala Capital City to any of the districts of Buganda region would therefore be unconstitutional," Mr Mwesige wrote to the President.
Prof. Nsibambi could not be reached by press time but Mr Mwesige could neither confirm nor deny his July 2 letter to President Museveni.
"I cannot ascertain if the document you have is genuine or not because I have not seen it, even other media houses have been calling me but I am not in a position to give a substantive comment until I see the document you allege was signed by me," Mr Mwesige, who said he was in his Bunyangabu Constituency, told Daily Monitor by telephone.
The alert raised by both Prof. Nsibambi and Mr Mwesige's communications has provided fresh ammunition to anti-Kampala takeover opponents including Democratic Party activists who on Saturday addressed a press conference and indicated that the government has itself admitted that the matter is unconstitutional. "The entire process is unconstitutional and we advise them to withdraw the entire Bill because an amendment cannot in anyway cure an illegality," said Mr Erias Lukwago, the DP legal advisor who also doubles as the Shadow Cabinet Attorney General.
Last month, Mr Mwesige tabled the Kampala Capital City Bill, 2009 in Parliament that will abolish KCC and establish the Kampala Capital City Authority to run the city.
In his July 2 letter, Mr Mwesige said the Bill will extend the boundaries of Kampala to Wakiso, by making parts of Makindye Sabagabo, Entebbe Municipality, the area three kilometres west of Kampala-Entebbe Road and Kira Town Council part of the capital.
Once approved, the new plan will also automatically make the position of mayor ceremonial who will be elected by KCCA from among the directly-elected councillors by simple majority.
Buganda Kingdom and some opposition groups have opposed the new law. DP is leading the campaign to have a referendum before the Kampala Capital City Bill 2009 is enacted into law.
Meanwhile, the Police yesterday dispersed a DP rally in Ndeeba, a city suburb, that the opposition leaders had called to drum up support against the Kampala takeover. Three DP officials including Mr Sam Lubega, Mr Church Ambrose Bukenya and Mr James Ssekidde were arrested and were still being held at Katwe Police Station by press time.
Police fired teargas as they fought running battles with the DP supporters.
Regional Police Commander Kampala South Moses Kafeero said the organisers had defied Police advice to call off the rally until they agreed on a convenient venue.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
