A section of the Hoima Town Council has demanded that the LC3 chairman, Francis Atugonza, be prevented from conducting any council business. During a stormy meeting at Kijungu Hill Hotel yesterday, 12 councilors allied to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) presented a petition to the Council Speaker asking that Atugonza be barred from doing his work in Hoima town. They said the ban should remain until a court case involving Atugonza is resolved. Atugonza was arrested on December 3rd and charged with abuse of office and theft of government property. He is currently out of prison on bail. The councilors, led by the former Hoima Town Vice Chairman William Kunihira, requested that the Town Clerk to seek legal guidance from the Solicitor General on their petition. They said they believed it was wrong for Atugonza to keep managing council business when he has been indicted by court. This is the latest blow to Atugonza's leadership. In October three members of his executive committee resigned their positions on the recommendation of the NRM District Delegates' Conference. It was resolved during the conference that working for Atugonza was detrimental to the progress of the NRM in Hoima. During yesterday's council session, the councilors demanded that the LC3 chairman's fuel allowance be reduced from 300,000 shillings to 100,000 shillings. They said there was no justification for Atugonza to continue using council funds. Francis Atugonza was livid. He stormed out of the meeting, saying that without a report from the Solicitor General, no one had a right to take his job away from him. He said the session was illegal and he would not be bound by its recommendations. Jackson Amanya, the Speaker of Hoima Town Council, said Atugonza's behavior at the session was inappropriate. He said that as Speaker, he had the right to convene council sessions on any pertinent matter at any time.
