Court orders government to pay Lukwago Shs500 million

Kampala. The Court of Appeal has ordered government to pay Shs500m to Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago in arrears for salaries he missed following his controversial impeachment in 2013.
“I am a very happy man. Yes, the victory has come late but at least it has finally come,” Mr Lukwago said shortly after the unanimous judgment was read out by the registrar, Mr Philip Odoki, last Friday.
The three justices Stephen Musota, Kenneth Kakuru and Christopher Madrama heard the appeal which had been filed by government against Mr Lukwago who won the first case in the High Court.
The judges unanimously dismissed the appeal and said it had been overtaken by events. They ordered government to pay Mr Lukwago costs of the appeal.

“I also note that the proceedings giving rise to this application arose out of the impeachment of the Lord Mayor in 2011 term of office. The issues raised and the matters deposed to by Mr George Kalemera and Jennifer Musisi Ssemakula are in respect of the term of office of Lord Mayor which ended in 2016,” Justice Musota, who wrote the lead judgment, said.
“The Lord Mayor was re-elected in 2016 for a new term which runs to date. This application is therefore overtaken by events. In the premises, the applicant’s application lacks merit and is dismissed with costs. I so order,” he added.
The applicants in the appeal were Attorney General and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).

They had appealed against the judgement of High Court judge Lydia Mugambe Ssali who ordered the reinstatement of Lukwago into office after she declared the purported impeachment null and void.
The Attorney General, William Byaruhanga, was also appealing against Justice Mugambe’s judgement that declared then Kampala minister Frank Tumwebaze, Ms Musisi, officials from Justice ministry like Cheborion Barishaki (now a justice of the Court of Appeal), Martin Mwambutsya, Caleb Mugisha, Dickson Akena and Eric Sabiti from Electoral Commission as being in contempt of the High Court order which was defied.

Background
On November 25, 2013, Mr Lukwago was controversially impeached by majority of Kampala Capital City Authority councillors over alleged inappropriate conduct. The move came after Justice Catherine Bamugemereire’s Tribunal instituted by then Kampala Minister Frank Tumwebaze, to probe the mayor’s conduct found him guilty of abuse of office, misconduct and incompetence.
However, in her ruling on March 28, 2014, Justice Mugambe stopped the said officials from declaring the seat of the Lord Mayor vacant pending the disposal of his main case challenging the impeachment. However, they went ahead to evict Mr Lukwago from office.

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