By Sadique Bamwita
ENTEBBE
The Entebbe Municipality Deputy Mayor Charles Kabwama and Entebbe Division ‘B’ LC3 boss-Richard Sekyondo plus seven councilors on April 15,2025 snubbed summons issued to them by the Legal services and Investigations committee of the Equal Opportunities commission.
The seven councilors who snubbed the Equal Opportunities Commission Legal team include Councilor Jackie Mirembe, Yasin Ssemanda Kyeyune, Ahmed Bawonga Kasawuli, Innocent Ssewankambo, Nyansio Mutebi, Hassan Kitoogo and Twaha Kikomeko plus the chairperson of Kitooro Taxi Park, Lovi Mangeni Wandera.
The Head of Civil Litigations at the commission Miragi Musema told the affected traders that as a legal witchdoctor, he will not fail to produce the accused politicians before his court to answer the charges against them.
“We shall produce all the accused politicians before the commission whether alive or dead, “Mr. Musema vowed adding that he is committed to ensuring that all the affected market vendors get justice.
Mr. Musema asked the affected traders to provide more information that will help the commission in adjudication of justice. He fixed next week on Wednesday 23 April, 2025 when the commission is expected to grill the eleven accused politicians on how they used their political influence to allocate themselves a number of lockups in the disputed Kitooro Taxi Park leaving out the original market vendors who were operating there.
The affected market vendors accuse the eleven selfish politicians of using their political influence to allocate themselves several lockups yet majority of them were neither tenants nor landlords in the previous Kitooro Taxi Park.
On April 3, 2025, the aggrieved market vendors led by Magyezi petitioned the Equal Opportunities Commission seeking fairness in allocation of lockups in the newly constructed Kitooro taxi park. They accused the greedy councilors of influencing the Municipal Commercial officer Stephen Mulindwa to allocate each of them more than three lockups in addition to allocating them space in the taxi park to mount their kiosks.
It should be recalled that in 2017, Entebbe Municipal council demolished all the old structures in Kitooro Taxi park and began redeveloping the taxi park, and during that time all the affected market vendors were promised to be given lockups and stalls when the construction is complete.
Regrettably council never fulfilled this pledge after the accused greedy councilors dominated the allocation exercise and each politician got more than three lockups while the original market vendors got nothing. The affected market vendors argue that this action violates the provisions of Equal Opportunities Section 14 of the Equal Opportunities Act Cap 7.
The affected market vendors want the Equal Opportunities to invoke the powers under section 14 (3) & 15(4) (b) of the Equal Opportunities Act Cap 7 to compel all the accused politicians to surrender the lockups or any other space acquired in the newly constructed Kitooro Taxi park and put in place an equitable arrangement that takes into consideration or gives priority to the petitioners for purposes of fairness, order Entebbe Municipal council to conduct a fair process of reallocating the lockups or any other space in the disputed Taxi park, to direct council to review and strictly observe the Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the petitioners in 2017 and finally to declare that the conduct of the Deputy Mayor Charles Kabwama and Entebbe Division ‘B’ LC3 boss-Richard Sekyondo of allocating themselves lockups or to their lovers or relatives as something illegal and incoherent or irregular.
