By Michael Atwakiire
Sheema: Itendero ward local council committee members in Kagango division, Sheema municipality, on Sunday evening chased their Speaker Steven Katwiromunda from their meeting, over allegations that he is involved in several corruption scandals.
The Councillors said they didn’t invite Katwiromunda to attend their meeting but that they were shocked to see him entering into Kyamungwe church of Uganda, where the meeting was to be held. They thus forced him to move out from their meeting but he refused, which annoyed them and they decided to move away after postponing the meeting.
Fredrick Mande, the chairperson National Resistance Movement (NRM) Kagango division, who had organized the meeting, said that; ” The reasons why I organized the meeting was to discuss Itendero issues, among them being corruption cases in which the Speaker Katwiromunda is named.”
He added that “I invited all Itendero local council chairpersons and their committees plus both ward and division councilors but I didn’t invite Katwiromunda. I couldn’t invite him because most of the challenges we face in Itendero especially in our Matooke market, our councilors being denied chance to speak during municipal council meetings and others are because of Katwiromunda.
He came with the chairman for elderly persons in Sheema municipality Rev. Adonia Katebariirwe. When I asked them who had invited them, Katwiremunda told us that he was invited by Councillor Muhumure Santos, whom I had also invited.”
Mande also said that “I asked the Speaker and his friend to move out but he arrogantly refused, telling me to instead move out. We therefore postponed the meeting because we couldn’t do the mistake of holding the meeting with him.”
Grace Baguma Nabbi, the councilor Itendero ward, said that he supported what members did, because ever since Katwiromunda became Speaker, he has tried his best to marginalise Itendero.
It should be recalled that a few months ago, Sheema municipality marketing and production committee members led by Hon Rabecca Burinda alleged that Katwiromunda had been illegally collecting tax from Itedero Matooke market for a period of four months worth Shs18M .
After introducing their concern to Sheema municipal council meeting that was held on December 19, 2019, in which they wanted Council to institute an independent Anti-corruption Committee to investigate the matter, Speaker Katwiromunda used his powers to close that chapter and seriously refused councilors to discuss it.
When this reporter contacted Katwiromunda about being thrown out of the meeting, he said that he was invited by Councilor Muhumure Santos to talk to the people of Itendero but that was shocked to see his fellow leaders chase him away like kid.
Although there are allegations that Katwiromunda was locked inside the church for over 30 minutes , he refuted the same saying that; “By the way I wasn’t locked inside the church. After realising thatvthe situation had started going out of hand, the caretaker closed me inside so as to keep me safe, until Itendero police came to restore order.
