MINISTERS STATEMENT ON THE CASE OF ERIAS LUKWAGO VERSUS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE TRIBUNAL INVESTIGATING THE

PETITION AGAINST THE LORD MAYOR VIDE MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATION 445 OF 2013. 28th November 2013 The former Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago filed an application against the Attorney General and the tribunal investigating the petition against the Lord Mayor vide Miscellaneous Application 445 of 2013, seeking interim orders to bar myself, the Authority councillors, agents and any other persons from convening a meeting to deliberate on the Tribunals report and not to conduct any further acts pursuant to that report. By this time, I had convened a meeting of the Authority scheduled for the 25th of November at 9.00 a.m. at KCCA Authority chambers. On the said date, the Authority councillors in attendance voted on a resolution to remove the Lord Mayor from office when twenty nine Authority councillors voted in favour of the Lord Mayor`s removal and three voted against. The Lord Mayor ceased to hold office at 9.30 a.m. when the said resolution was passed. Today, I have learnt that the High Court has issued an interim injunction barring myself, the Authority councillors and agents and other persons from convening a meeting to deliberate on the Tribunals report and not to conduct any further acts pursuant to that report until the main cause is heard.

I have further learnt that the Attorney General drew it to the attention of the Learned Judge both in his letter to the Court on 26th November 2013 and in his statement before the Court today that the impeachment proceedings had been concluded prior to grant and service of the initial interim order. The Learned Judge has instead chosen to proceed and pronounce himself on the second interim order as if these facts had not taken place. The interim injunction has thus been issued on the 28th of November 2013 seeking to stop the meeting that occurred on 25th November 2013. The interim injunction is therefore impossible to implement as we cannot stop a meeting that has already occurred. Infact the seat of the Lord Mayor has already been declared vacant and the Electoral Commission has been accordingly informed. We are not able to implement the order since clearly it has been overtaken by events which the Court was not able to consider in these applications. We have however sought the legal advice of the Attorney General on this matter.

Frank Tumwebaze MINISTER FOR THE PRESIDENCY AND IN CHARGE OF KAMPALA CAPITAL CITY