Taxi drivers throw own leadership out of office

Police officers deploy at Kyazanga Town Council offices after taxi drivers stormed the premises asking the council chairperson, Mr Rashid Kawaawa, to force their leaders to hold elections. Photo by ALI MAMBULE

LWENGO. Taxi drivers operating in Kyazanga Town in Lwengo District on Tuesday denounced their association leadership, accusing officials of insubordination, failure to hand over office and misappropriation of the association funds.
The angry drivers, headed by Mr Abdul Sseguya, stormed the office of Kyazanga Town Council chairperson Rashid Kawaawa asking him to force their leaders to hold elections for new leaders.
The drivers claimed since 2010, when the current chairperson Abdul Katamba and his team took over office, they have registered no development at all.

“We once bought a taxi van with which we expected to make some money that would help our members, but we don’t know where the vehicle is and nobody has ever come out to explain,” Mr Joseph Mawanda, a driver, said.
Mr Kawaawa invited the two warring parties to his office and both agreed to hold fresh elections for the association leadership.
Mr Sseguya emerged winner after beating Mr Lazaaro Ndihuura to become the new association chairperson. Mr Katumba didn’t seek re-election.

Police was heavily deployed at the venue to avert any chaos.
“Our next step is to demand for accountability of the association funds,” Mr Sseguya said, adding that more than Shs20m had been collected by the outgoing leadership but it was not accounted for.
However, Mr Faisal Ndugwa, the outgoing treasurer, denied allegations of misappropriating association’s funds, adding that his team had not been given chance to show accountability of whatever money they received and how it was spent.
“Some of the money was borrowed by members of that newly elected team and they did not pay it back,” Mr Ndugwa said.