My Life Is In Danger – Lukwago Cries Out

According to Lukwago, the developing unrest is centered on transportation-related issues rather than political ones.

“This is an extremely significant issue. I’m worried because things are getting out of control. You won’t understand why bullets will start falling on me tomorrow. In an interaction with the House’s Physical Infrastructure Committee on May 11, Lukwago submitted a report regarding claims of inflated Bills of Quantities for civil works in Uganda’s capital Kampala. “I would like Parliament to pick interest in this matter,” he added.

He continued, “He is tying the subject to roads as he had [before partially] claimed that I would not have access to [certain] contracts. If it were about political conflicts, I would respond that these are things we are used to. Over his dying body, he claimed.

As of the time of publication, Kabuye was unavailable to comment on the accusations since he did not return calls from this reporter or respond to messages, including those sent via WhatsApp.

The Committee’s chairman, David Karubanga (of Kigorobya County), encouraged Lukwago to contact security services including the police due to the nature of the allegations.

Karubanga questioned Lukwago about the actions his team is taking to address the issue as his team’s concern about the current bad condition of Uganda’s roads, which are marked by enormous potholes, grew.

Lukwago replied by acknowledging that the whole road system in Kampala is “rotten to the core, which he attributed to perpetual neglect, inadequate funding, and abuse of the little funds available.”

There are 2,100 kilometers of roads in Kampala, but only 616 of these are paved. To make matters worse, our budget line for civil works in the upcoming FY2023/24 has been reduced from Shs78 billion to Shs10 billion,” Lukwago said. “As KCCA, we receive a meager Shs26billion which is not remitted timely.

According to the mayor, small interventions are being taken to address financing issues, including borrowing money from development partners.

Road maintenance in Kampala alone requires at least Shs75b to Shs100b every year, according to Dorothy Kisaka, executive director of the KCCA.

In April 2023, she stated that “the annual Shs26 billion government allocation for city roads is insufficient.”