{There were scenes of celebration at the High Court and later on the streets of Kampala on Wednesday after a judge ruled that Mr Erias Lukwago is still the Lord Mayor.}
In his ruling, Justice Yasin Nyanzi said an interim court injunction issued on Monday by acting registrar of the court, Mr Fred Waninda, still stands.
Justice Nyanzi said the interim injunction would be in place until Mr Lukwago’s main application seeking a judicial review of the Kampala Capital City Authority Tribunal report is determined.
The tribunal headed by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire had among others, found Mr Lukwago guilty of abuse of office, incompetence and misconduct.
The tribunal was constituted by Kampala Minister Frank Tumwebaze after 17 councillors petitioned him.
On the basis of the tribunal report, Mr Tumwebaze on Monday called a city authority council meeting where 29 councillors voted to impeach Mr Lukwago. Three voted in the mayor’s favour.
However, minutes before the KCCA meeting could start, Mr Lukwago’s lawyers obtained an injunction issued by Mr Waninda, restraining Mr Tumwebaze and KCCA from proceeding.
The order asked KCCA to wait for the ruling on the case challenging the tribunal report. Efforts to serve Mr Tumwebaze with the order turned chaotic as police denied Mr Lukwago’s lawyers entry into KCCA premises.
The police under the command of the Kampala South regional commander, Mr James Ruhweza, beat up one of the lawyers, Mr Abdullah Kiwanuka, before bundling him onto a pick-up truck.
Mr Allan Ssewanyana, a councillor, had to be bundled out of the meeting room by plain-clothed security operatives after he tried to serve a copy of the injunction to Mr Tumwebaze in vain.
The government also contested the authenticity of the interim injunction, labelling it a forgery since it lacked a seal.
But Justice Nyanzi on Wednesday upheld the injunction and said he was convinced that Mr Lukwago would suffer irreparable damage that would not be compensated in monetary terms if the interim injunction was not issued.
The judge also explained that the position of the lord mayor is not commercial but elective one before directing the Attorney General, one of the respondents, to bear all Lukwago’s legal bills incurred in pursuing the case.
Daily Nation
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