Exclusive: Kampala Lord mayor haji Erias Lukwago is detached from reality, he earns 38m per month, although many people are unemployed. Whisper Eye Reports
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party mobiliser in Kampala Central Kinobe Ahmed Rahman has roasted Kampala Lord Mayor haji Erias Lukwago for his failure to fight for the rights of unemployed Ugandans but instead mocking them.
Former Kampala Central MP for five years and now two-five-year terms as Kampala city Lord Mayor haji Erias Lukwago last month laughed at unemployed politicians including his former campaign manager Mr Samuel Walter Lubega Mukaaku.
Mr Kinobe states;
At the launch of his campaign trail to seek re-election for the post of the Lord Mayor for the 3rd time, haji Lukwago ranted against his former campaign manager Mukaaku Lubega how unemployed and lazy he is!
In his words Lukwago told Mukaaku to go find a job and work and stop begging! Well many people didn’t go deep to dig into Lukwago’s rant but as of today as a graduate who has looked for jobs for 3 years now since my graduation, started businesses and lost them at the expense of high taxes and KCCA law enforcements today I have reflected on Mr. Lukwago’s rants so deeply!
In Uganda and Kampala in particular, there are so many people like Lubega Mukaaku whose education has not helped them to secure a decent job not because they are lazy but because there are no jobs or lack connections to get one!
In Kampala there are so many Mukaakus who have toiled to start up businesses but have either lost them due to unfair taxes or law enforcement officers in the KCCA!
In Uganda and Kampala unemployment is not by choice or out laziness but it is a condition created by those in power, with power and in positions of responsibility in this country and in Kampala itself!
Just to remind people like Lukwago, Youth unemployment alone is 78% in Uganda as per the African Development Bank Report and it is on the increase day by day! Therefore, it is extremely wrong and out of context for someone who claims to be fighting for the ordinary struggling lower people to mock one of them at the same time, this shows how unreal that person’s rhetoric is or has been!
Just as a polite reminder; no one calls for a bad situation in his life, no one asks to be a beggar, no one goes to school to throw his degree on the street and become a nuisance as Lukwago terms Mukaaku, no one!
I don’t think Mukaaku ever applied to be a beggar or unemployed anywhere as a dad or a father what will his children make of such statements uttered by Lukwago to their father who struggles everyday to make ends meet while striving to secure a better future for them!
To me by the virtue of fact that Mukaaku is trying, begging and not stealing or never given up, he is a hero and not a villain!
He is way and way much better than the mocker whose profound joy is in reminding Mukaaku and many more who are like him of their situation without literally doing anything to change it but maintaining the status quo! If Mukaaku’s intentions were selfish, he would long be gone to NRM where baggers walk away with sacks of money! To me Mukaaku’s patience without away of survival in terms of a political office is phenomenal and I respect him for that!
His choice to join politics is genuinely for the good of the people who like him and not for personal gains!
He would rather beg a fellow opposition figure than compromise his values to join the ruling junta! Hail Mr Mukaaku
In many cities outside this country, holding a mayoral post is a privilege to serve the lowest level people! Besides the politics involved therein, a mayor can use his position to pull synergies with regional and foreign counterparts in regards to job creation, ICT & Innovation, Academic exchanges, Talent search and development, Entrepreneurship development etc all aimed at job and wealth creation for people who fall in the caliber of Mukaaku!
The mockery of Mukaaku by Lukwago shouldn’t be taken lightly by ordinary people, it outrightly spells out Lukwago’s perception towards ordinary Ugandans especially the unemployed in Kampala and Uganda at large!
For Lukwago who is privileged to have been elevated by the lower people, it sad to mock the very people who made you, the very people whom everyday you say that you’re fighting for, very absurd!
I believe the time is ripe to stoop beyond the politics of sentiments in Kampala and face the reality while addressing the problems of our people! Yes politicking, having the rule of law and accountability in place is good but we need to look beyond good and find someone phenomenal for the task ahead.
That office requires talent, innovation & creativity backed by a team of visionary conceptualists and researchers to achieve greatness for the people of Kampala!
Hiring creatively talented people who fall in Mukaaku’s category to come up with solutions addressing their own problems than mocking them is the way to go, creating platforms which further this creativity, talents and connections to progressive networks is key to achieving better results for the ordinary people than the 10 years of lamenting.
In as much as we ask for accountability from the technocrats, as leaders we should also account more to the people in terms of tangible results or projects that benefit the people directly than false promises! Yes Activism is good but what more are you adding to it to benefit the people? Where’s your creativity?
I know someone is going to bring in the rhetoric of government is hindering me this and that but why hasn’t the government hindered Balimwezo from pulling synergies with foreign partners to help his Nakawa people?
If they failed you locally for 5 years, why didn’t you use the 5 years that proceeded to think outside the box and establish cross boarder partnerships to benefit your people! If a division mayor can do it, how about a Lord Mayor? Such rhetoric of ping pong regarding government frustration should end! Yes in Africa if you’re not for the government they do everything to frustrate you but you as an individual what have you done beyond normal that we should give you credit for like Engeneer Balimwezo?
To the likes of Lukwago and Munyagwa, mocking people like Mukaaku is well okay with them but to people who are more less line Mukaaku, it is the greatest of insults we have ever received for it typically spells out how we are truly regarded by such leaders!
As majority unemployed beggars association in Kampala, we stand with our own “Samuel Mukaaku Lubega” and assure him that we will have his back in all his pursuits! We also assure him that his choice of candidate for the Mayoral race in Kampala will be our very choice and we shall overwhelmingly stand or rally behind him for he is the true definition of our hustle and struggle and a true inspiration to never give up in life!
For the man I have supported and campaigned twice for the post of Lord Mayor in Kampala at zero cost, facing the wrath of the regime guarding your own victory, Mr. Lukwago Erias you broke my heart and this is the time we part ways! I wish you good luck but this time round, you’re not the best choice for unemployed people like us to support and vote for.
I will always have you as my lawyer but not anymore as my leader.
To all the Kampala people who are like Mukaaku Lubega, the unemployed youths, the mothers whose businesses were lost to KCCA enforcement, whose businesses are washed away by floods every time it rains in Kampala, those whose families depended on UTODA, those who used to earn from the KCCA carnival etc, this time round let’s choose what Mukaaku chooses for his eye holds a vision for we people who are like him.
Enough of the sentiments for we need creative action oriented leaders to solve our 21st century problems.
Mr Kinobe Ahmed Rahman, the FDC Mobiliser Kampala Central stated.
