Late January 2025, Niwandinda who is also the secretary in charge of finance, planning and administration for Rukiga district council held a press conference and accused Kakwerere of suffocating efforts to have the public get updates about the performance of the district.
Robert Mbabazi Kakwerere, Rukiga District LCV Chairman has
sacked his vice Samuel Niwandinda on accusations of insubordination.
The sacking comes after Niwandinda declared his intentions to contest against Kakwerere in the National Resistance Movement-NRM party primaries.
Last month, Niwandinda who is also the secretary in
charge of finance, planning and administration for the Rukiga district council held
a press conference and accused Kakwerere of suffocating efforts to have the public get
updates about the performance of the district.
According to Niwandinda, ever since they assumed office in
2021, district leaders have never held a radio talk show or community gathering
commonly known as Baraza to explain to the people of Rukiga how the district
has performed.
Niwandinda also argued that no political leader has moved to the
communities to supervise or assess government programs like the Youth
Livelihood Fund (YLP), Emyooga and the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme
(UWEP) among others.
He also accused Kakwerere of keeping quiet as the district
faces an exodus of civil servants due to Kakwerere’s alleged harassment. He also claimed that the district service
commission, land board, and Public accounts are inactive, which has hindered
service delivery.
In a letter dated February 5, 2025, and released on Friday,
addressed to the office of Rukiga District Speaker, Kakwerere confirms revoking of Niwandinda’s appointment
as the District Vice Chairperson as well as a member of the district executive.
Kakwerere accuses Niwandinda of insubordination
and breaking the oath of allegiance. Kakwerere says that Niwandinda’s replacement
will be delegated by any member of the executive until a substantive one is
presented in the next council sitting.
When contacted, Kakwerere said that it is his right to decide who to be his
vice.
//Cue in: “ebyo ota bimbuza...
Cue out: obwo’bugabe.”//
Niwandinda says that he is not bothered by the decision to replace him.
