Former KCCA directors summoned over mismanagement of Wandegeya market

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Anti-Corruption Court in Kololo has summoned two former directors at the Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA to answer to allegations of abuse of office.

Harriet Mudondo, the former Director of Gender, Community Services and Production, and Dr. Esau Galukande, her deputy are the directors wanted to answer to the allegations.

Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro issued the criminal summons while presiding over court in Kololo.

Prosecution alleges that between 2016 and September 2020, Mudondo and Galukande used their office to irregularly allocate stalls or shops in Wandegeya market to non-eligible members, something which was in contravention of the set guidelines and hence frustrating government plans for the said market.

The two are also accused of causing damage to public property. Prosecution alleges that Mudondo and Galukande while entrusted with control over Wandegeya market indirectly allowed the demolition and merger of stalls and lock-up shops at the market thereby causing damage and cracks onto the walls of the market.

The two are charged along with Saul Asaba who was the supervisor cooperatives at KCCA and former chairperson allocation committee of Wandegeya market, and Wilberforce Waligo, the KCCA officer Trade and Enterprise Development and former member of the allocation committee.

Prosecution alleges that Asaba and Waligo in abuse of their offices irregularly allocated Public Commercial Utilities in Wandegeya Public Market for purposes unrelated to the original government plan and in contravention of the revenue projection on the said commercial utilities which included stalls and lock-ups.

Prosecution further alleges that Jonathan Gita, former Wandegeya Market Chairman Interim Committee and Joseph Kalema who was a member and others still at large conspired to defraud chicken roasters of stalls in Wandegeya market by fraudulently signing Memorandum of Understanding between themselves (Gitta and Kalema) to allow Kalema to own twelve chicken roasting stoves in the market at the expense of other roasters.

Gitta and Kalema are further charged alongside five people for conspiring to defraud eligible vendors of Wandegeya market of stalls through multiple acquisition of stalls at the expense of other vendors.

The five are; Richard Kamya who was also a member of the interim committee and two former members of the allocation committee of Wandegeya market Derrick Sozi Kiryowa Kulubya and Suzan Nabakiibi, and two other people Teddy Birungi alias Muzungu and Grace Tusiime alias Akiiki a businesswoman in the market.

Apart from the two directors, the other seven accused people appeared before court and were remanded to Luzira prison pending their bail application hearing.

Wandegeya market was commissioned in 2013 and an Interim Committee instituted by Kampala Capital City Authority- KCCA. The committee led by Jonathan Gita was soon accused of allocating multiple stalls and shops to vendors while denying others working space yet they had been registered to acquire space.

In 2020, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni directed KCCA to repossess all public markets and also suspend old leadership committees in markets accusing them of engaging in faction fights and charging vendors exorbitant fees among other atrocities.

Currently, Wandegeya market is led by Mayi Nabukenya who was installed when the Gitta led committee was suspended.

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