Alice Nnanungi, the Chairperson of the Masaka City Building Review Committee has failed to defend her stay in office after the High Court in Masaka dismissed a petition that sought to block her removal.
Nnanungi; also the City councilor for the Nyendo-Mukungwe division, went to the High Court last month to block the City Council from deliberating and considering a motion that sought to relieve her of duties. In her application, Nnanungi argued that she had obtained intelligence information that the Council was conspiring to irregularly reconstitute its sectoral committees; a motion she argued was directly targeting her.
A section of councilors had generated a petition seeking to remove Nnanungi from office, accusing her of abuse of office and corruption through coercion and soliciting bribes from applicants who seek approvals of their building plans. She, however, argued that the accusations were based on falsehoods and malice, engineered by a clique of politicians who wanted to malign her character for selfish political scores.
Despite her securing an interim order restraining the council from assigning new chairpersons of sectoral committees, Masaka City Mayor Florence Namayanja went ahead to reshuffle all committees and accordingly dropped Nnanungi on grounds that their statutory term of office of two and half years had also expired.
Consequently, Nnanungi also filed a petition challenging the reshuffle, arguing that it was informed by ill motives and false allegations against her character. She accordingly asked the Masaka High Court to stay the execution of the changes and order that she stay in office up to the end of her term of office.
In her plaint, Nnanungi told the court that the former Speaker had earlier led to council to pass a motion to approve a merger of some sub-committees, arguing that any other reshuffles were nullity. However, a ruling by Masaka High Court Registrar Julius Borore dismissed the petition on grounds that it lacked merit and was overtaken by time.
The Court ruled that the Mayor acted within her powers to make the changes in the committees on the expiry of their statutory term of office and that upon approval by the council, the decision was legally binding.
“The court also faulted the applicant for failing to adduce evidence concerning the allegations that instigated debate and her subsequent removal from the committee, thereby labeling her claims speculations upon which it could not grant her prayers.
However, Nnanungi received the ruling with reservations, arguing that it was not a fair representation of justice, which she sought in the courts of law.
URN.