Who are the new KCCA councillors?
What you need to know:
When the new Kampala Capital City Authority councillors were named last week, questions were raised about how they met the criteria, with some saying they had only been appointed to make a decision on the fate of Erias Lukwago. Abdulaziizi K. Tumusiime highlights the professional backgrounds of the people representing engineers, doctors, architects and lawyers at the city council.
Karuma Kagyina
Uganda Institute of Professional Engineers representative
Karuma Kagyina was born on December 23, 1948 in Rukiga county. He went to Kihanda Church School and Bulema Primary School for his primary education. For Secondary, he studied at Bukinda Junior Secondary School and Nyakasura School. He then joined the University of Nairobi where he got a bachelors degree in civil engineering and graduated in 1973.
He has practised engineering for 40 years. He started work in 1973 as a design engineer for C.A Liburd & Associates. He designed the buildings of Bukalasa and Arapai agricultural colleges. He also designed the present day Stanbic Bank in Gulu (it was Uganda Commercial Bank then).
In 1974, he joined Kimbowa Builders and Contractors where he worked as a site engineer for the present day Workers’ House. He was in charge of supervising works on the site on behalf of the contractor. Between 1976 and 1989, he worked with two engineering consultancy firms in Kenya, where he designed urban roads, highways and bridges.
It is not the first time he has worked with the city council. The first time was in 1989, when he joined Kampala City Council as deputy city engineer and surveyor in charge of the City’s past-civil strife recovery programme. In 1991, he joined the Ministry of Local Government as the Chief Engineer in charge of rural feeder roads rehabilitation and maintenance.
From 1998 to 2009, he worked with the Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT) as Uganda’s assistant commissioner for engineering, district and urban roads. In 2009, he became chairman of the MoWT contracts committee, a position he held till 2012. He is currently the vice chairman of Uganda Association of Consulting Engineers, where he chairs the training and capacity building committee.
Verna Mwinganisa
Uganda Society of Architects representative
The mother of four was born in Nairobi. She attended Mushanga Primary School in Sheema District for her primary level, and joined Maryhill High School in Mbarara District for her secondary education. In 1994, she was admitted to Makerere University for a bachelors degree in architecture and graduated in 1999.
In the same year, she got a job with National Housing and Construction Limited as an architect. Her role was to design estates and the buildings within the estates. In 2001, she got a one-year scholarship to Belgium to pursue a master’s degree of architecture in human settlement. On her return, she resumed work at National Housing. She has held various portfolios at the company. She was a project development manager where her role was to co-ordinate the design team which included; architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and land surveyors to ensure the smooth implementation of projects. She was later promoted to contracts administration manager, where she was the contact person between the company and its contractors. By the time she left the last July, she was the general manager of a National Housing joint venture. She has since started up a private firm called Evolution Age.
She has been a vibrant member of the Uganda Society of Architects. She served as the society’s vice president from 2006 to 2007. She had earlier served as honorary secretary from 2004 to 2005.
Denson Nyabwana
Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Association representative
He is a graduate of medicine and surgery from Makerere University. He started out as an intern at Mulago hospital and later became a medical officer at the same hospital. He left Mulago and worked in Iganga Hospital still as a medical officer. After Iganga, he joined Uganda Prisons Hospital as a medical officer.
He was later promoted to the post of medical superintendent of the hospital. Thereafter, he served as the acting director of prisons health services. He then became the Assistant Commissioner for Uganda prisons health services. He retired in 2011 and switched to private practice. Lately, he has been doing consultancy on health systems governance. He is the current treasurer of Uganda Medical Association.
Frank Kanduho
Uganda Law Society representative
He was born on October 20, 1977 in Kazo. He is married and has two daughters. He started school in 1986 at Kazo Primary School, where he completed his primary level in 1992. In 1993, he joined Mbarara High School for secondary education until 1998. He was admitted for a bachelor of laws degree at Makerere University in 1999. In 2003, he enrolled for the bar course at Law Development Centre. He was called to the bar in 2005.
In the same year, he started work as an advocate with Mwesigwa Rukutana and Co. Advocates. In 2006, he was temporarily dismissed from the firm for reasons other than professional ones. He had campaigned for a parliamentary aspirant in Kiruhura District whose candidature Hon Rukutana Mwesigwa, the firm’s managing partner, opposed.
However, he was reinstated after intervention by elders in the district. In 2007, he became a partner at the firm. In 2009, he resigned from the firm in order to contest as a Member of Parliament for Kazo. He lost in the party primaries. Because of his strong allegiance to the movement party he did not take the option of contesting as an independent candidate. He returned to private practice. Together with a colleague, a one Byamugisha, they formed Byamugisha, Kanduho and Co. Advocates.
Later they separated and he founded his own firm, Kanduho and Co. Advocates, where he is the managing partner. He is a member of the NRM legal team and has represented the party in 37 suits.
