Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has slammed President Museveni over the sacking of top Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) officials noting that the move will not bring justice to the families affected by the Kiteezi disaster.
Lukwago insists that the president owes a genuine apology for failing to address the longstanding issues that led to the mismanagement of funds intended for Kiteezi landfill maintenance.
Lukwago’s remarks follow President Museveni’s decision to dismiss key KCCA figures, including Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka, Deputy Director Eng. David Luyimbazi, and Director of Public Health Dr. Daniel Okello, after an Inspector General of Government (IGG) report implicated them in criminal negligence.
Museveni cited the IGG’s findings, which revealed gross oversight by the sacked officials, and instructed the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and other crime management agencies to investigate the matter further. However, Lukwago holds Museveni directly responsible for the institutional failures at KCCA, pointing out that the president appointed the very officials now under scrutiny.
He believes that Museveni ignored continuous warnings from local leaders and MPs about the dangerous conditions at Kiteezi. “Museveni ought to apologize to Kiteezi victims for the mess that has been happening at KCCA because he never took vigilance as a head of state, despite the continuous call for something to be done by us, area MPs and the local community leaders of Kiteezi,” Lukwago stated.
Lukwago criticized Museveni’s lack of urgency, arguing that the president should have taken action immediately after the tragedy. “Even after the incident, the president did not take the issue of Kiteezi seriously. From day one, he didn’t show the kind of vigilance required by the Head of State in such a situation. If he was serious, those people were supposed to have been interdicted on the same day of the disaster,” Lukwago added.
The Lord Mayor also emphasized that the KCCA had been spending UGX 4.1 billion annually to maintain the Kiteezi landfill, but instead of proper maintenance, a “mountain of garbage” piled up under the watch of government officials. “But the mere fact that those mountains piled up under the government watch and nothing was being done. Somebody should have been held accountable even before the tragedy happened in the first place,” Lukwago noted.
In addition to his calls for accountability, Lukwago expressed disappointment that the president had not yet visited Kiteezi to meet the affected community. He urged Museveni to engage directly with the victims to fully understand the impact of the disaster and explore more effective solutions.
Following the tragedy, Museveni directed the State House Comptroller to provide financial assistance to the victims’ families, offering UGX 5 million to each family of the deceased and UGX 1 million to those injured.
