When Kampala woke up to the scenes of a cordoned-off Nakivubo channel by businessman Hamis Kiggundu, the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago (pictured) was quick to appropriate blame. He said the National Unity Platform councillors at the Kampala Capital City Authority were partly responsible for this.Lukwago revealed that KCCA councillors, the majority of whom belong to NUP, had accepted bribes to pass a resolution allowing Kiggundu, popularly known as Ham, to build over the Nakivubo channel. Lukwago had also written to the Secretary General of NUP, David Lewis Rubongoya, asking him to take action.Rubongoya had not yet responded to Lukwago’s letter. A day after Ham had cordoned off Nakivubo channel with iron sheets, a letter from President Museveni allowing him [Ham] to take over the channel surfaced on social media and somehow deflected attention away from the NUP councillors.In an interview with Uganda Radio Network, the spokesperson of NUP, who doubles as the leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi, had challenged Lukwago to present any evidence to support his allegations against councillors. “I read the resolution; it was a generic resolution, not specific with Nakivubo. But we intend to meet with our councillors who passed it to give us a deeper insight into it. But more critically, it’s not a Council resolution that gives them authority to develop. The real authority that gave Ham that place was Museveni; everyone saw that letter. But if Lukwago said there was any corruption, then he should bring evidence, and we shall deal with this issue. But also away from politics, this is a criminal matter; if anybody has evidence about corruption, then he should take the matter to court,” Ssenyonyi said.NUP councillors, including the KCCA Speaker Zahra Luyurika [NUP, Makindye] have also denied ever passing a resolution allowing Ham to take over the Nakivubo channel. In fact, one councillor from Lubuga Division, Faridah Nakabugo [NUP], has offered to resign if there is any resolution that mentions the Nakivubo channel.This week, angry NUP councillors convened a Council meeting in which they accused Lukwago of seeking political mileage by imputing corruption on their part, yet he knew there was no resolution allowing Ham to take over the Nakivubo channel. They also denied that they had been bribed by Ham.A week ago, URN had reported that it had independently learnt from two NUP councillors who confessed that indeed they had been given between Shs 500,000 to seven million to pass the resolution. Of course, Ham was unavailable to comment on the veracity of the allegation. But away from the bribery allegations that are normally hard to prove, what is not disputed is that the KCCA councillors indeed discussed Ham’s encroachment on the Nakivubo channel that they said was causing flooding in Kampala.This discussion was prompted by the Kampala Capital City Authority Central Executive Committee, headed by Lukwago’s report, in which he wanted Ham to be prosecuted for constructing illegal structures of the Jugula channel, which is also part of the Nakivubo channel. This followed a complaint from the Kampala Catholic Archdiocese about Ham taking over part of the land of St Balikuddembe and St Anthanasius Catholic shrines, closing off their access.The Council minutes signed by the KCCA Speaker Zahara Maala Luyurika and Council clerk Dan Muhumuza, dated April 10 2025, show that the CEC report that was presented by the Executive Secretary for Planning and Civil Works, John Mary Ssebuwufu [NUP, Nakawa], recommended for the prosecution of Kiggundu for impunity as the only way for the Council to “show it’s committed to redemption of drainage channels, fight impunity and speak truth to people [sic].” The CEC also wanted the Council to pass a resolution to cancel all land titles of the Kampala drainage system issued to private investors.The council also called for the prosecution of the acting KCCA Executive Director Frank Rusa Nyakana, who was cited as among those who allowed Ham to illegally construct on the Jugula channel. KCCA minutes obtained by URN show that, save for a few, NUP councillors, after the council not only opposed prosecuting Kiggundu and Rusa but also greenlit the construction of Kampala drainage channels.It should be noted that Nakivubo, which runs throughout the five divisions of Kampala, forms over 50 % of the Kampala drainage system. Therefore, by greenlighting the construction of the drainage system, it essentially means building over the Nakivubo channel.Councillor Ssendi Mosh Afrikan [NUP, Makindye], “proposed that KCCA consider the modern ways of construction and covering of drainages.” His views were echoed by other councillors who recommended the covering of Kampala drainage include: Nakakande Lillian [NUP,] and Bukenya Bonny Bonifance [NUP, Kawempe] who argued for the need to adopt modern methods of drainage construction like other countries such as the Netherlands, where there are “established recycling plants with some having apartment buildings built on top of them.Muganga Micdad [FDC, Kawempe], who “informed Council that construction of open drainages was a primitive mode of construction and stated that open drainages needed to be phased out because they encouraged people to litter.” He agreed that there was a need to support the development of channels because “the open ones were not smart and beautiful.” He suggested that KCCA partners with “credible and able local investors to develop and upgrade drainages.” This view was supported by Kwagala Angel [NUP, Kawempe] and a resolution was passed entreating KCCA to explore, “the option of moving away from traditional methods of constructing open drainages and take up regulated modern methods of drainage construction, prioritising covering and beautification to combat the persistent problem of flooding.”The resolution also obliged KCCA to partner with “credible and able local investors within the respective areas to develop and upgrade the City drainage system…in view of the fact that funding from the Central Government and donors was declining.” Any rational being reading this resolution will absolutely arrive at the same conclusion as did Lukwago that, despite the lack of succinct mentioning of the Nakivubo channel or Ham Kiggundu by name, this resolution absolutely granted Ham permission to build over Nakivubo.The councillors also strongly rejected the CEC recommendation to bring disciplinary action against Rusa. Mwesigye Allan[] noted that bringing disciplinary action against Rusa and other technical officers would be vindictive as it targets him alone and not others who allowed the construction of “Phaneroo and Forest Mall which were causing the floods along the Lugogo area.’This view was echoed by Councillors Keeya Jeremiah Mwanje [NUP, Lubaga], Mbaziira Francis [NUP, Kampala Central], and Tegusulwa Innocent [NUP, Nakawa], among others. Tegusulwa particularly noted that it would be funny for the same councillors who had appreciated the Rusa for the work well done to again turn around and “recommend his prosecution a few minutes later and warned that such an act would make a mockery of Council.”In the end, the Council resolved to reject the recommendation on demolishing the alleged illegal structures constructed over the Jugula drainage channel with immediate effect. It also rejected CEC’s recommendation, placing a moratorium on all processes of KCCA giving out land titles to individual developers on drainage corridors and wetlands in Kampala, in essence allowing for investors like Ham to continue with their projects on Nakivubo.The Council also rejected the recommendation by CEC to reinstate the criminal case against Ham Enterprises, arresting and prosecuting Hamis Kiggundu for building on the Jugula drainage channel. The council also rejected the recommendation on directing the KCCA Physical Planning Committee and Building Committee to stop any further processes of approving Ham Enterprises (U) Limited over the Jugula drainage channel.The Council also rejected the recommendation reprimanding and bringing disciplinary action against former Frank Rusa Nyakuana and other technical officers. The councillors also rejected the recommendation that the IGG investigate the circumstances under which the city tycoons acquired titles on some drainage channels and wetlands in Kampala.These recommendations by members of the opposition seeking the IGG to investigate alleged fraud in the way public properties were being given out to private individuals are perhaps what Councillor Mubiru James[NUP, Lubaga] had talked about at the beginning of the meeting when he warned his colleagues against “allowing tycoons to sweet talk them to allow illegalities.”-URNThe post How NUP Councillors Paved Way For Ham Kiggundu To Takeover Nakivubo appeared first on Business Focus.