Case against KCCA for failure to pay Lukwago’s salary to be heard next month

The High Court civil division in Kampala has set November 20 as the date to start hearing the case in which Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago sued Kampala Capital City Authority for failure to pay his salary from December 2013 to May 2016.

Last year, Lukwago took to the High Court seeking and order compelling KCCA, Attorney General,Kampala Minister and KCCA Executive Director  to pay  his 30 months arrears amounting to shs563 million that accumulated after emoluments and salary arrears following his botched impeachment by KCCA councilors in 2013.

On Monday, both parties met for a pre-trial conferencing session before coming up with a number of matters that the court needs to address during the hearing of the matter.

Lukwago’s lawyers including Chrysostom Katumba and Nathan Mpenga on one side and the lawyers representing KCCA and the Attorney General led by Johnson Natuhwera and Brian Mwanja  agreed that the court should determine whether KCCA’s continued failure to pay the Lord Mayor’s  accumulated salary and emoluments is lawful or not.

The parties also agreed that court should decide whether there are any remedies (damages) to be paid to any of the parties after determination of the matter by the High Court.

Justice Andrew Bashaija adjourned the matter to November 20 for hearing of the case to kickoff.

“Each one of you will be given not more than 20 minutes to argue their case. I hereby adjourn the matter to November 20 2018 at 10 am,” justice Bashaija said.

In an application filed in March 2017, Lukwago asked court for a declaration that the conduct of the four respondents in continuing to freeze his salary and emoluments without any lawful justification is improper in law and is beyond their powers.

Lukwago, who had been elected Kampala Lord Mayor in March 2011 was in November 2013 impeached following a trial by a tribunal chaired by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire that faulted him of abuse of office, incompetence, and mismanagement.

However, on the same day Lukwago was impeached, justice Lydia Mugambe had declared the process and its outcome null and void but the order was ignored by the council chaired by then Kampala Minister Frank Tumwebaze.

In his 2017 suit, Lukwago insists that freezing of his salary for 30 months  on account of  what he termed as a  fraudulent impeachment process was unlawful.