Tony Ssempijja, the Speaker of Masaka City Council, is facing censure for allegedly tampering with official council records and exhibiting high-handedness while carrying out his duties. A group of councilors is plotting the removal of Ssempijja from his position, accusing him of misusing his authority to mistreat councilors, exerting undue dominance over them, and neglecting his parental responsibilities, which tarnishes the council’s reputation.
Eleven out of the sixteen councilors have signed a petition, which they have submitted to the Minister of Local Government, notifying him of their intent to pass a vote of no confidence against the Speaker. Rosette Nansubuga, the Masaka City Female Councilor, alleges that Ssempijja has repeatedly altered official council records, including minutes and agendas, to serve his interests.
She also accuses the Speaker of stifling open debates during council sessions and making biased decisions, including imposing unwarranted penalties on councilors with dissenting views. The petitioners further accuse Ssempijja of irregularly introducing a motion on the order paper to merge various standing and sectoral committees of the Council, and subsequently deciding on it without thorough debate.
“The motion was passed without meeting the majority vote requirement, and anyone opposing it was suspended for two sessions on charges of insubordination,” the petition reads in part. Zaharah Nalubyayi, the Kimanya-Kabonera Division female representative states that they have repeatedly tried to counsel Ssempija without success, indicating his resistance to reform his behavior.
She adds that apart from his inappropriate execution of official duties, the Council has also received numerous complaints about Ssempijja neglecting his parental responsibilities, which has led to public disrespect. “We cannot continue having him as a superintendent of our council. We have sought the intervention of the line Minister to sanction our attempts to clean our house,” she indicates.
Nalubyayi also accuses Ssempijja of facilitating and shielding the irregular sale and allocation of public properties in the city, as well as obstructing efforts to recover fraudulently lost assets. However, Ssempijja attributes his troubles to the disruptive behavior of a group of councilors who disagree with his principled work style. He dismisses the allegations against him as unfounded, asserting that he will effectively defend his position before the Minister of Local Government.
The Local Government Minister, Raphael Magyezi, has announced that he will personally address the concerns and preside over a session in the area in two weeks. According to the Local Government Act, a Speaker or Deputy Speaker can be removed from office by a resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the council members, based on grounds of abuse of office, incompetence, misconduct, or misbehavior.
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