Masaka District given up to November to vacate offices
Mr Mayiga (R), and other officials at the installation in Masaka. PHOTO BY Malik Fahad Jjingo.
What you need to know:
The new Buddu County chief wants to repossess the Buganda-owned offices that were occupied by Masaka District after the 1979 Tanzania invasion of Uganda.
Masaka- The newly installed Pokino (traditional chief) for Buddu County, Mr Vincent Mayiga, has given Masaka District authorities up-to November to vacate the Buganda kingdom-owned premises and find new headquarters.
Mr Mayiga, a former diplomat, said this at the Masaka District headquarters at a function where he was installed as the new Pokino.
In his inaugural speech Mr Mayiga said his office needed space to serve people, adding that the district authorities had up to November [this year] to vacate the office.
Mr Mayiga, 64, replaces businessman Charles Kiyimba Kwewaayo who recently retired. His call was supported by the Masaka Municipality MP, Mathias Mpuuga, saying the district should live the Pokino’s office to allow him implement development programmes in his county.
He was installed together with two deputies, Mr Isaac Ssemuju and Robert Kisooi Musule in the presence of religious leaders, local politicians and MPs.
Buganda Kingdom second deputy Katikkiro Mr Muhamood Ssemambo presided over the function on behalf of the Katikkiro (prime minister) Charles Peter Mayiga.
In 1979 the Masaka District administration block was destroyed during an invasion by Tanzanian.
The district was forced to shift its headquarters to the Pokino’s offices, considering that cultural institutions had been abolished and their properties ceased by the central government.
Mr Joseph Kalungi, the Masaka District chairperson, has on several occasions been appealing to the public to help them finish their offices.
For about 10 years now the district has been struggling to re-build its headquarters but is yet to be completed.
Profile
Mr Vincent Mayiga, traditional chief (Pokino) Buddu County.
Age: 64
Background: He is a devout Catholic and a member of several Diocesan Committees. He is also a prominent and powerful member in the Buganda kingdom.
Education: He attended St Henry’s College Kitovu for his secondary education before joining Makerere University for a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
Work experience: He worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for five years, before taking up a job with the Food and Agriculture Organisation from where he retired about five years ago.
