Only time will reveal the real reason behind Musisi’s surprise resignation

This week, news of the resignation of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) executive director Jennifer Musisi made headlines.

Ms Musisi tendered in her resignation to President Museveni in a 21-page letter, citing KCCA successes, failures and challenges over the last seven years. There was no specific reason given for her departure, though political interference and poor funding were some of the challenges she cited.

According to some political actors, Musisi’s resignation was long overdue. There is a school of thought that claims that since the 2021 general elections are just three years away, Musisi’s method of work is no longer needed to further damage NRMs support within the city.

Before being blamed by President Museveni for NRM’s poor performance in Kampala and Wakiso in 2016, Ms Musisi’s name had been synonymous with evictions, demolition of houses and removing traders off Kampala streets.

The KCCA executive director’s resignation, shrouded in mystery, leaves more questions than answers. She was once close to the appointing authority, having won his trust with the implementation of policies the ruling party thought were successful.
As some members of the public continue to wonder what could have gone wrong, it might be realistic to assume that Musisi’s resignation is a gesture to insulate the appointing authority from a pending embarrassment.

According to Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, “KCCA will not allow Musisi to leave office until she has presented all the accountability. We want her to present how she has been awarding contracts in KCCA because she refused to reveal who the contracts committee chairperson is.”

It was always publically known that the Lord Mayor and executive directive did not see eye to eye over many issues.
However, what seems to be surprising was the speed at which the relationship between Musisi and the appointing authority went bad.

After previously heaping praises on Musisi, President Museveni just six months ago overturned KCCA’s decision on taxation of taxi operators, rendering the authority’s bid to expand its revenue stagnant.
Many observers claim that these were clear signs that the working relationship between the two parties was in distress. The difficulties in the relationship would end abruptly with the resignation of the executive director, a formidable administrator in her own right.

Musisi’s resignation came a few days after equally admired American ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, resigned under mysterious circumstances.
In Mr Donald Trump’s administration, Haley was credited for winning and maintaining the president’s confidence to the end.
During a White House meeting between Trump, Haley and the media, the US president said: “She’s done a fantastic job, and we’ve done a fantastic job together. She’s a fantastic person, but more importantly, she is also somebody that gets it.”

The day before Harley’s resignation, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) called for an investigation into seven private flights paid for by South Carolina business executives that Haley and her husband accepted in 2017.
In Uganda, as always, behind certain government officials’ actions are deep suspicions. For a country where resignations are a rare occurrence, only time will reveal the real reason behind Musisi’s surprise resignation.

Ms Victoria Nyeko is a media commentator.
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Twitter:@VictoriaNyeko