EDITOR
Mbarara District Council, chaired by District Speaker Venansi Munanukye, has recommended and formally requested the appointing authority to transfer the current Deputy Resident District Commissioner (DRDC), Kaswabuli Simon Peter Watch, citing an inability to work with him any longer.
The motion, which addressed a matter of urgent public importance, was presented to the district council by Hon. Mugume Bernard Mukuru, the male councilor representing Kashare Sub-county, also known as “Ekikonda njojo.” The motion was seconded by Hon. Tumuhairwe Jenifer, the lady councilor for Rwanyamahembe Sub-county, and Hon. Kabeireho Moses, the male councilor for Bwizibwera Rutooma Town Council, during a district council session held in the council hall at Kamukuzi, Mbarara.
According to the petition, Kaswabuli Simon Peter Watch faces accusations based on the standard rules of procedure for local government councils in Uganda, revised in July 2019, specifically Rule 28, Subsection (1). Hon. Mugume Bernard further referenced Section 73 of the Local Government Act, Cap 243, as amended on December 31, 2020, which outlines the process for the removal of a Resident District Commissioner, Deputy, or Assistant District Commissioner by a resolution supported by two-thirds of all council members.
The accusations against Kaswabuli include publicly disparaging district councilors as illiterate, uneducated, and ignorant of local governance processes. Specifically, it is alleged that on October 31, 2024, while closing the district budget conference, Kaswabuli claimed that councilors could not read or understand English, suggesting that heads of departments use pictures instead of written words and figures to communicate with them.
Furthermore, Kaswabuli is accused of becoming a security threat, allegedly using a pistol to intimidate people instead of mediating, despite his role as the district’s head of security. On October 4, 2024, during closing remarks at Rwanyamahembe Seed Secondary School, he is said to have urged attendees not to vote for uneducated councilors in the future.
Despite a plea from Mbarara District Chairperson Tumwesigye Didus Tabaro, who requested that the councilors give Kaswabuli a chance to apologize, the councilors unanimously rejected the appeal. Witnesses to these events included the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for Mbarara District, Herbert Kamugisha, Mbarara Resident District Commissioner Mrs. Nanziri Amina Rukanga, and Mbarara District Chief Administrative Officer Muhwezi David.
