The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Council has summoned former Kampala District Land Board chairperson Yusuf Nsibambi over a controversial land scandal involving the leasing of prime public property -- including part of the Nakivubo drainage channel -- to private interests.
During a tense special sitting on Thursday, the City Executive Committee, led by Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, presented a report accusing Nsibambi of authorising leases that flouted KCCA procedures, threatened public safety, and undermined urban infrastructure.
"It's absolutely absurd! How do you lease a drainage channel? It's like giving out your lungs and expecting to breathe," Lukwago exclaimed.
"We cannot allow public land, especially critical infrastructure like drainage systems, to be parceled out like cheap Christmas candy."
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Nsibambi is the current MP for Mawokota South in Mpigi District on the Forum for Democratic Change ticket. He is also the party's whip in Parliament.
The report flagged five plots as having been irregularly leased: Plot 406 at Namirembe, Plot M880 off Spring Road, Plot M73 at Kira Road, Plot 02 on Kenneth Close in Kamwokya, and Plots M69 and M70 in Lugogo.
The most contentious is the plot encompassing the Nakivubo drainage channel -- a key flood-control structure in Kampala's central business district.
While expressing outrage, Lukwago emphasized due process, suggesting Nsibambi should be heard before any action is taken.
"We are not here to witch-hunt anyone," he said. "We are not holding Nsibambi guilty. He deserves a fair hearing. If he can't appear before the council, we can reach him wherever he is. With Deputy Speaker Tayebwa, he can even choose to invite us to his chambers to state his case."
The KCCA executive also hit back at what they described as "irregular parliamentary resolutions" that purportedly backed the leases.
Lukwago accused Parliament of overreach and vowed not to legitimize illegal transactions.
"We are prepared to defy Parliament's stand because these decisions are unrealistic and outright dangerous to urban planning," he said.
The scandal is the latest in a growing list of land-related controversies to hit Kampala in recent years, highlighting what many see as systemic failures in managing public assets.
"How can Kampala move forward if public assets are constantly under siege?" one councilor asked during the heated debate.
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The leasing of land critical to drainage infrastructure, particularly at a time when Kampala faces chronic flooding, has triggered alarm among urban planners and residents alike.
Critics argue that unchecked land grabbing has crippled KCCA's efforts to organize the city and protect essential infrastructure.
Efforts to contact Nsibambi for a response were unsuccessful. He did not answer repeated phone calls by the time of publication.
As the council awaits his appearance, questions continue to swirl around how the leases were approved, whether Parliament's role was complicit, and what mechanisms are in place to reverse damage done to public land management.
