A whistle blower has written to top NUP leadership, the KCCA Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and Authority Speaker Zahara Luyulika naming and shaming 5 Authority Lord Councillors for involving themselves in clear extortionist activities targeting directors and owners of private schools in Nakawa Division.
The whistle blower is none other than Jalia Nalubwama who is the Deputy Speaker for Nakawa Division Council. In her one page petition, Nalubwama explained that the five Lord Councillors have been storming private schools in her Kyanja A constituency claiming she is the one who gave them confidential information about the schools’ noncompliance with the KCCA set requirements. That purporting to be members of the KCCA’s Education & Social Services Committee based at City Hall, the five on arrival will demand to inspect the school’s infrastructural facilities.
At the conclusion of their kiwaani, sham and unauthorised inspection they summon the headteacher, directors and other bosses to an impromptu meeting within the school premises and point out the defects and noted areas of noncompliance. They then declare the school closed purporting to be invoking their authority as members of the Education & Social Services Committee!
In her petition, Nalubwama says the school owners will panic and end up calling for negotiations during which the Kiwaani KCCA Education Committee bosses will name their price.
In one instance, Ms Lorene Nabatanzi, who is the director for Kyanja-based Erieka Foundation School, was asked to pay Shs2m to have her school declared reopened. Having failed to raise the money, she pleaded for mercy and in the end, the Kiwaani KCCA inspectors (traveling as a group in one posh vehicle) accepted Shs500,000 which they allegedly received and let Ms Nabatanzi be.
Nalubwama’s petition indicates that the Kiwaani inspectors proceeded to another school (Abubakari Swidiq Secondary School) whose director Farouk Semwanga was harassed and treated in the same way until he parted with some good money to have the academic institution reopened.
The petition names the five ill-fated Lord Councillors to include Bonny Bukenya from Kawempe Division, Faizal Sebayiga (Nakawa), Winnie Nansubuga (Nakawa), Rose Kigozi (Rubaga) and Ritah Nakubulwa (Rubaga).
Nalubwama’s petition, which has since incited other lower level NUP Councillors to raise a red flag claiming to have been misrepresented by the same Kiwaani KCCA inspectors, indicates that in the Nakawa Division neighbourhood of Kyanja A alone, 8 other schools were declared closed under similar circumstances and the sham closure was only declared vacated after the panicky directors parted with money to wet the thirsty beaks of the 5 Kiwaani KCCA schools inspectors.
Mulengera News this Tuesday evening spoke to Councillor/Speaker Nalubwama who confirmed the authenticity of her one page petition (dated Monday 11th September) which has since been duly received by the Offices of KCCA Authority Speaker Zahara Luyulika, Lord Mayor Lukwago and the KCCA Education Directorate bases at City Hall. “There is no way I was going to keep quiet much as the culprits are fellow NUP members because their acts were damaging my reputation among voters in Nakawa and more so my constituency of Kyanja A.”
She added that one of the victimised school directors confided in her mum demanding to know “why our own daughter is sending top KCCA officials to come and extort money from us while threatening to close down our schools.” Nalubwama explained “there is no way I can just keep quiet because some of these schools directors are my key supporters in Kyanja.”
She further revealed that she had notified her area NUP leaders led by Lord Councillor John Mary Sebuwufu Kiyimba who is also a Minister in Lukwago’s executive at City Hall. “He was hurt and said that as a party, this is something they must inquire into to determine the appropriate sanctioning of the impugned Lord Councillors.”
She also shared the same on a whatsApp forum of KCCA Speakers and their Deputies where Zahara Luyulika and her Deputy Karim Masaba both are members. She admitted being aware of other NUP Division Councillors being victims of misrepresentation by the same 5 Kiwaani KCCA Education inspectors.
She said she knows the impugned leaders and their supporters are likely to fight back but she is prepared to pay whatever price that comes with such risky whistleblowing. From what Mulengera News knows, Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago is unlikely to take any steps preferring to leave the matter with Zahara Luyulika cautious not to be misunderstood or perceived as fighting NUP since he personally belongs to a different party called FDC (at least for now).
It has also been revealed that other Lord Councillors have equally been named and implicated in similar extortionist schemes while impersonating other KCCA City Hall level Committees of Public Health, Works and others. A knowledgeable NUP insider says a lot more rot is likely to similarly be unearthed in the coming days and weeks.
Kamwokya will be left with no option but to take some remedial action (like the fearless Abed Bwanika and other Masaka leaders recently did against Mayor Florence Nakayanja) or risk being misunderstood for condoning corruption in public office. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [whatsapp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).