Tensions are rising at Mbarara City Council as eight councilors have petitioned Mayor Robert Mugabe Kakyebezi and Speaker Bonny Tashobya to urgently convene an extraordinary council meeting over alleged financial mismanagement and governance failures.
In a letter dated January 12, 2025, the councilors expressed frustration over the City Town Clerk, Assy Abireebe Tumwesigire’s continued failure to address critical issues affecting the city’s administration. They accuse the Town Clerk of ignoring their demands for accountability on several unresolved matters, including the mismanagement of 4.2 billion shillings in uncommitted funds, irregularities in the Bishop Stuart–Buremba Road project, and the ongoing arbitration dispute between MBJ Consults and Mbarara City Council.
Other concerns include the city’s unspent budget balances as of July 1, 2024, the dispute involving the Mbarara City Truck Owners and Loaders Association, malfunctioning street lights along Mackanising Street, and the unexplained delay in reinstating staff who were cleared by the courts. The councilors are also demanding transparency in the city’s staff recruitment process.
The group’s initial letter, dated December 23, 2024, was copied to the Mayor but has since gone unanswered, fueling suspicions of deliberate negligence. The councilors argue that these issues threaten the city’s governance and development, urging immediate intervention.
The Mayor and the Speaker are yet to respond to the petition, and efforts to obtain a comment from Town Clerk Tumwesigire were unsuccessful by press time.
Story by Aggret Twesigye
