Lukwago hands over instruments of power during final KCCA council sitting

13 May 2026, 10:14 am

By Ronaol Ssemagonja

The 19th Mayor of Kampala and pioneer Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago, yesterday at the Kampala Capital City Authority gardens, handed over instruments of power to the Executive Director, Sharifa Buzeki.

This was during the last council sitting for the Financial Year 2025/26 and was presided over by the Authority Speaker, Zahrah Maala Luyirika.

The KCCA-organized event was attended by various groups of people, including councilors, mayors, KCCA leaders, members of the media, the general public, and family members of the Lord Mayor and the Speaker, among others. Gifts and certificates were also handed out during the ceremony.

The Authority Speaker, Zahrah Luyirika, was the first to address the gathering before later giving her brief remarks.

“I want to thank the Almighty God for enabling us as council to complete our tenure. It has been a journey full of challenges and memories. I want to thank my party, the National Unity Platform, for believing in me. I thank Jajja Mbuga and the Super Supreme Mufti for their counsel and spiritual guidance. I thank the honorable councilors, the Lord Mayor, and Sauda Madaada for whatever they have done to ensure that we fulfill our constitutional roles,” she said.

“I extend my thanks to the KCCA casual workers, the unthanked heroes, and the people of Kampala. Budget constraints are among the challenges that have limited our intended performance. Let us choose collaboration over conflict. To the girl child out there, your dreams are valuable. Today, I am celebrating my 56th birthday, and I am grateful to the Almighty,” she added.

She later invited the Lord Mayor to deliver the State of the City Address for 2025/26.

In his 75-page booklet, Lukwago highlighted the significance of the Lord Mayor’s office, the challenges faced, and the achievements registered during his 15 years as the political head of the city.

“Fortified by this instructive adage from the over four-century-old William Shakespeare play, All’s Well That Ends Well, I note with a great sense of pride and gratification that history, and indeed posterity, will always acknowledge with honor that Omuloodi Ssalongo Erias Lukwago offered the Pearl of Africa’s Capital City steadfast, clean, credible, people-centered, and value-based leadership for a solid period of 15 years, not mentioning the five-year stint as Member of Parliament representing Kampala Central,” he said.

Lukwago further stated that despite the challenges, his leadership upheld the people’s sovereign authority and continued to strengthen the vision for Kampala City.

He also noted that the office of the Lord Mayor remained influential and relevant in representing the people of Kampala effectively.

The Lord Mayor further highlighted that the World Bank facilitated the construction of markets such as Usafi, Gaba, and Kamwokya markets, although he urged the incoming leadership to follow up on the projects.

Regarding the way forward, Lukwago proposed several reforms to help KCCA achieve its Strategic Plan for FY 2025/26–2029/30. These included scrapping the Ministry for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs and replacing it with a broader ministry responsible for all cities in the country, reducing the number of Resident City Commissioners (RCCs) from 18 to one, and requiring all authority councilors and division urban council mayors to possess academic qualifications equivalent to those of Members of Parliament.

“Mayors of Division Urban Councils and all authority councilors are capital city planners with both policy-making and oversight mandates. The Town Clerks of the Division Urban Councils should be accorded their rightful status as accounting officers,” he emphasized.

He insisted that it remains a challenge to have councilors whose academic qualifications are below an A-Level certificate, considering that the Lord Mayor is required to appoint a deputy from among the councilors, yet the minimum qualification for that office is an A-Level certificate or its equivalent.