Govt promises to explain baby’s death after investigations

Mourners join Madina Namutebi (2nd R) whose kid was knocked dead at City Hall, Kampala

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Mr Lukyamuzi called on Parliament to form a select committee to investigate KCCA brutality. But the minister cautioned the House against jumping to conclusions and asked members to wait for the official statement

Kampala.
Government has committed itself to explain to Parliament the circumstances under which a two-year-old boy was killed by a Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) vehicle at City Hall in Kampala on Monday.

Yesterday’s commitment was made against the backdrop of calls by MPs for a review of KCCA’s enforcement policy which was criticised as inhumane and brutal.

The government pre-empted what had the makings of a stormy debate with the Minister for Local Government, Mr Adolf Mwesige, hurrying to the microphone during the afternoon plenary and calling upon MPs to be calm as the matter is investigated.

“The question of death by accident of a citizen is a very serious matter. The situation of death of a person is not a speculative issue and it must be investigated,” Mr Mwesige said.

“The Minister of Internal Affairs will come here next week to give a detailed statement after the investigation so that Parliament can discuss it from an informed position,” he added.

However, Rubaga South MP John Ken Lukyamuzi (CP) and Butambala’s Muwanga Kivumbi (DP) described KCCA enforcement agents as brutal and an insensitive.

“What happened to that unfortunate baby is just a tip of a bigger problem in KCCA. It is the way officers in KCCA do their duties. It was something bound to happen and will happen again unless we address the issues in KCCA,” Mr Muwanga said.

Mr Lukyamuzi called on Parliament to form a select committee to investigate KCCA brutality. But the minister cautioned the House against jumping to conclusions and asked members to wait for the official statement.

“The proposal for a select committee to investigate brutality in KCCA is premature and we should desist from jumping to conclusions that officer so and so should be held responsible,” Mr Mwesige said.

On Tuesday, two-year-old Allan Ssemaganda was run-over by a KCCA car after straying away from his grandmother.

His grandmother had taken him to his mother at CPS, where she was being held, for breast-feeding, but when the KCCA officials stopped the breast feeding request, sat around pondering he next move only to hear shrieks of the dying kid.

The deputy speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, stood-over the debate saying the House should wait for the investigation and ministerial statement.

“Let’s leave this matter here. A child has died, it needs to be investigated and the minister has undertaken that the investigations will be made and a statement will be made and that’s when we will debate the issue when the statement comes here,” he said.