By Mulengera Reporters
The Katikkiro of Buganda Charles Peter Mayiga on Thursday drove to Lord Mayor Emeritus Erias Lukwago’s Wakaliga home where he assured the children and Nalongo Zawedde, the incarcerated PFF boss’ wife, that the Buganda Kingdom leadership was solidly behind them as they go through this very difficult moment, because the Kabaka’s man remains innocent until proved guilty. A personal friend to the incarcerated senior counsel, Mayiga said the leadership at Mengo would never abandon Lukwago even if he is finally found guilty, gets convicted and sentenced to whatever sentence.
Mayiga said the leadership at Mengo feels obliged to be there for Erias Lukwago because he an obedient man of the Kabaka who has always been there for his King, including being always very respectful of the throne (the Namulondo) while imploring others to do the same, while using the public office platform he has occupied and held during the preceding 20 years-including being the MP Kampala Central (2006-2011) and Lord Mayor of Uganda’s Capital City Kampala (from 2011 to 2026).
Accompanied by his mutual friend Medard Segona, who is also Erias Lukwago’s defense attorney and workmate at their law firm, Mayiga also leveraged the presence of a large media delegation, to wear a bold face and address the elephant in the room. Without directly uttering out his name, Mayiga addressed his message to Gen Museveni’s son Gen MK, who currently is the most feared man in Uganda.
By his own confession, Gen MK is the reason why Erias Lukwago remains incarcerated, having endured torture and dehumanizing treatment for the days he spent at his infamous basement before finally being arraigned at the Makindye Magistrates Court, where he was charged with misprision of treason.
Gen MK, whose take-no-prisoners approach has since caused many citizens to become very scared and uncertain of tomorrow, a few days ago posted a message on his X platform making it clear that Lukwago is his personal prisoner who will never walk to freedom until he personally forgives him. He added that personally being appealed to or requested by the Kabaka of Buganda, is one of the conditions upon which Erias Lukwago’s acquittal and release would be considered!
Veiledly addressing himself to Gen MK, who didn’t have to mention by name, Mayiga asserted that the Kabaka made himself abundantly clear on 24th June when he hosted Buganda clan heads at his Mengo palace where he unequivocally condemned human rights violations and cases of leaders taking the law in their own hands to occasion acts of torture upon their fellow citizens. The Kabaka demanded that such acts of impunity stop immediately so that the rule of law returns to Uganda.
Perhaps feeling obliged to do so (being a lawyer himself), Mayiga (who carefully chose his words) also called out public officials who lately have been leveraging their offices as platforms to criminalize free speech in Uganda. He said its cowardice for anyone to become sleepless merely because a leader like Erias Lukwago opts to use his free speech in a dissenting manner.
He explained that it projects weakness, and not strength, for any leader to become sleepless simply because of what someone else has spoken about him or her. He said in this era of social media, Ugandans, like elsewhere in the world, can say anything about anyone and there is no way anyone is going to succeed gagging them not to. He called holders of public office to develop a thick skin and get used to harsh online scrutiny. Mayiga, who personally has endured such haranguing by Ugandans on social media, described Erias Lukwago as a very peaceful and law-abiding man who is also loved by a lot of people because he is a straight talker who is never ashamed of publicly expressing his views regardless of who holds a contrary view.
He said that, beyond being fearlessly outspoken on social justice issues, there are simply no any other ways in which the Erias Lukwago he knows can ever be harmful to anyone. The very popular opposition politician remains remanded even at the Mulago Hospital bed where he is receiving medication from but Nalongo Zawedde, his spouse, did inform and notify him about the Katikkiro’s planned visit to their Wakaliga home, something that he profoundly welcomed. The Nalongo gave the Katikkiro a precious gift in form of a book, containing things he accomplished as Kampala Lord Mayor, wrapped in very nice African fabric. She said Lukwago had instructed her to do this.
Upon unsealing the gift, a beaming Mayiga (smiling from ear to ear) said that Erias Lukwago deserves to be celebrated, as opposed to being persecuted in his retirement, because of the hard work he put in and the high standards of incorruptibility he set for the 15 years he served as Kampala’s pioneer Lord Mayor.
Mayiga said that Lukwago’s public record is his strongest selling point and it’s the reason why millions of people in Buganda and more so Kampala city continue to be in love with him even after going through so much persecution at the hands of Uganda’s CDF whose actions Mayiga implied risk keeping millions of Ugandans traumatized and uncertain about their tomorrow besides making Uganda less attractive to foreign tourists and foreign investors whose FDI the GoU badly needs if Gen Museveni’s 10 fold economic growth strategy (growing Uganda’s GDP from the current $65bn to $500bn between now and 2040) is to ever be realized.
Mayiga also notified Nalongo Zawedde that beyond his 24th June proclamation at Mengo palace, the Kabaka was continuing to closely follow the latest developments pertaining to the health and mistreatment of her husband Erias Lukwago whose absence the Katikkiro suspected must have condemned the family to lots of economic misery and deprivation.
Remedially, the Katikkiro brought some goodies including matooke and many other groceries to aid Zawedde’s efforts to keep feeding the children in the absence of their dad. He called on the children and Nalongo to remain firm in the belief that their bread winner is innocent and will one day rejoin them. He called on them to pray and the rest of Ugandans (including Muslim Sheikhs) to do all they can to work towards Erias Lukwago’s freedom.
Mayiga’s move comes only days after Prince Kassim Nakibinge fearlessly criticized the CDF’s actions and also publicly called upon cultural leaders like him to stop their indifference and demand for Lukwago’s freedom and that of other political prisoners of conscience whose numbers keep growing every passing day as the government drone operations escalate. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
