There was drama on Thursday when Nakaseke South Member of Parliament, Paulson Luttamaguzi, was chased away from a function organised to launch emergency construction works on a section of the Kasana–Lugogo–Timuna road, which links Luwero to Nakaseke district.
For close to five months, the 12.5-kilometre road-particularly the section passing through a swamp, had been cut off after floods washed away culverts. The road is a critical route for Nakaseke farmers transporting produce to markets in Luwero town.
Luwero district controls about 400 metres of the affected section, while Nakaseke covers 600 metres.
State Minister for Luwero Triangle, Alice Kaboyo, invited leaders from both districts, including NRM candidates, to Bulawula village in Luwero district to launch the emergency works. But the event quickly morphed into a campaign rally for NRM parliamentary candidates and President Yoweri Museveni, with speaker after speaker urging residents to reward the government at the ballot.
Tensions escalated when Luttamaguzi arrived as Nakaseke NRM District Chairperson Muhammad Gubya was addressing residents. His presence triggered loud protests from supporters of his rival, Charles Nsereko Basajjassubi.
Although organisers allocated Luttamaguzi a seat in the second row, Nsereko’s supporters sat on the ground, shouting and demanding his immediate removal. They accused him of “abusing the government and Nsereko daily on radio” and vowed they would not tolerate him at the event.
Nsereko attempted to calm his supporters, urging them to allow Luttamaguzi to stay and listen to the NRM government’s achievements but the crowd rejected his plea, insisting the MP must leave before the programme could continue.
As the situation grew chaotic, Luttamaguzi was escorted away by Minister Kaboyo’s bodyguards and police officers for his safety.
Speaking later, Luttamaguzi condemned the hostility, saying he had been vocal in pushing the government to repair the broken culverts and that the project launch should not have been politicised.
After order was restored, the function resumed. Minister Kaboyo dismissed claims that the government rushed to fix the road to secure votes. She insisted the intervention was part of the state’s mandate to ensure residents have access to markets.
Kaboyo announced that government is injecting 200 million Shillings into the emergency works, which will involve installing temporary culverts and murram to restore connectivity. She added that in the next financial year, the section will be upgraded permanently to resolve recurrent flooding.
Racheal Ngozebwa, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Road Maintenance at the Ministry of Works and Transport, said the ministry’s engineering team, supported by district technical staff, will execute the swamp section works.
Luwero district has a road network of 2,723.7 kilometres, while Nakaseke has 1,849 kilometres. However, many of the roads in both districts are currently in poor condition or completely impassable.
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