Kawempe Deputy Resident City Commissioner (RCC) Suleiman Walugembe and Division Mayor Emmanuel Sserunjoji have clashed over authoritative powers to summon a leaders’ meeting.
Mayor Sserunjoji earlier on Thursday had called a Local council 1& II leaders meeting to discuss matters arising from rampant insecurity within the division but the meeting was later cut short by the RCC urging that the Mayor didn’t have powers over it
The convene intended to bring together 120 LC 1 and 22 parish leaders with hopes of reaching possible ways of narrowing down criminality.
In a letter addressed to the Mayor by the RC, he stated under the provision of the National security council Act Cap301, the mandate and powers to hold or preside over a division security meeting are vested in the RCC’s office as the head of the security committee in the division.
RCC Walugembe advised that all the security concerns in the division must be raised by the LC chairpersons and also sent to his office through the District Internal Security Officer (DISO)
“A mayor is just a member of the security committee whose powers are to hold consultations first from the overall leader,” he said.
Mayor Serunjogi however, faulted the RCC for condemning an engagement to which he is mandated to support as the division security head.
“I wrote to the Deputy RCC and all the police commanders in the division but a few hours later, I got a communication that the meeting will not happen unless it is called by the RCC,” he said.
Sserunjogi justifies that calling security meetings of the kind is a mandate to him under section 8 of the National Security Council Act
“The deputy RCC has no power to stop the mayor from holding a meeting so I ignored the letter and went on with the meeting”
Of late, there have been Increased cases of insecurity in the Kaweme division where different youths groups beat up people at night as well as rob them of their belongings.
