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Musisi walks-out

To explain the friction between Musisi and Lukwago, several pundits blamed alleged lacunas in the law setting up KCCA. They said it is not specific of separating roles; especially on who is the boss. Part of the reason for that, instead of neatly managing the roles of the elected Lord Mayor and councilors to manage the city in a mayor-council relation used before 2005, the KCCA padded on appointed KCCA officials, and Museveni crowned the controversial arrangement by appointing a minister for Kampala. That model is unknown in city management modules. Observers, among them Nsibambi, argue that the KCCA leaders could make it work if it was not for political point scoring. Despite the shenanigans, Lukwago contested in 2016 and won re-election.

By the time she resigned on Oct. 15 Musisi was stilling boiling over Lukwago but there appeared no vigour. Over 10 top KCCA officials had quit, including at director level. Apart from Musisi, only one of the original top team remained. With Musisi gone, the original KCCA is dead.

Museveni’s unrealistic blame 

But blaming Musisi for Museveni’s political failure in Kampala misses the reality that Museveni was in 2016 defeated in many urban centres across the country.

Museveni’s NRM had, in fact, won only 8 out the 30 mayoral positions or only 26% of the vote in major municipalities across the country. This was in sharp contrast to the presidential poll results which Museveni won by 61%, and the parliamentary elections where the opposition won only 56 seats and NRM over 280.

The opposition swept all five mayoral slots in Kampala and NRM losses were blamed on Musisi’s iron-gloves approach. But the opposition also won many mayoral position outside Musisi’s reach; in Mbale, Wakiso, Mukono, Masaka, Lira, Soroti, Rukungiri, Masindi and more. Clearly the NRM rout in major urban centres was less about Musisi and more about elite disenchantment with Museveni and NRM. In any case, the elites in Kampala are staunch Musisi fans. On the ballot paper, however, they skip NRM to tick opposition candidates.

The only substantive NRM win was in Jinja where the main opposition candidate; DP’s Baswale Kezaala, had become a discredited NRM sympathiser. He lost to an NRM candidate and was rewarded with an ambassadorial posting after the elections. The other top NRM win was in Mbarara, for historical reasons.

Musisi was equally aware that since Museveni came to power, his nemeses in Kampala have been different shades of the Democratic Party (DP). Currently, Museveni’s main opponent is Erias Lukwago; a historical DP leader who currently allies with opposition FDC stalwart Kizza Besigye.

The only time a non-DP won an election in Kampala was in 1986. This was under the Movement no-party arrangement and Bidandi Ssali defeated fellow movementists; Sam Kutesa and Joseph Mulenga. The later were DP-leaning while Bidandi was from Museveni’s Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM).

Recent DP leaders in Kampala have included Christopher Iga, Nasser Ssebagala, Ssebaana Kizito. Before that were Hajji Ali Serunjogi, Damiano Lubega, Wasswa Ziritwawula, and even Dr Specioza Kazibwe. Museveni has battled these DP stalwarts, and in cases of Kazibwe, Ssebagala, and Ziritwawula successfully co-opted some of them. He has never defeated them.

Aware of all this, Musisi must have started drafting her resignation letter soon after the 2016 elections. Clearly a result-oriented manager with an eye for opportunity and a penchant for innovation, she was not carved out for warming the seats of White Hall without working.

Sensing Museveni’s cold-shoulder, she slowed down, became despondent. And the city noticed as one radio clip played soon after her resignation letter became public illustrated. The clip was a street interview of a child (imagine a six year-old and translate into Luganda which she spoke).

Interviewer:  Do you know Jennifer Musisi.

Child: Yes, she is the city boss who has resigned.

Interviewer: What do you see as her good work?

Child: She restored order and brought us the city carnival

Interviewer: Oh, but she did not organize the carnival this year. So?

Child: Well, I too couldn’t get that.

Until Jennifer Musisi explains some of her actions better in November as promised, many observers will remain equally confused.

One comment

  1. Too much hoolabaloo has been made another the death of KASHOGI am beginning to believe that KASHOGI was more than a journalist the western media want us to believe.
    Many journalists have been imprisoned killed maimed without such an unpropotianal outcry
    …the question must be WHO WAS KASHOGI?

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