In every generation, a city is occasionally graced by a leader whose vocation transcends office, whose fidelity to principle outlives political seasons, and whose public service matures into a moral covenant with the people. Kampala, Uganda’s capital and conscience, has been such a beneficiary. The decision before its citizens is not merely electoral; it is existential. It is a choice between continuity of conscience and the peril of transactional governance. In this solemn calculus, the case for re-electing Erias Lukwago is overwhelming, compelling, and grounded in fact, law, history, and measurable achievement.
Leadership in a complex metropolis is not ornamental; it is burdensome. Kampala is a living organism, home to over 1.6 million daytime residents – and an estimated 4-5 million people within its greater metropolitan area, contributing close to 65% of Uganda’s GDP. It is a city strained by rapid urbanization, informality, infrastructure deficits, environmental stress, and persistent inequality. The Lord Mayor’s office, particularly within the statutory framework of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), is one of limited executive power but immense democratic and symbolic responsibility. It demands a leader of unusual moral stamina, legal acumen, institutional memory, and unyielding courage. Lukwago has not merely occupied this office; he has dignified it.
First principles matter. Lukwago’s public life has been anchored in constitutionalism, the rule of law, and democratic accountability rare virtues in an era where expediency often masquerades as governance. Trained as a lawyer and nationally known long before becoming Lord Mayor for his fearless parliamentary and civic activism, he has consistently defended the supremacy of the Constitution, the autonomy of local governments, and the right of citizens to participate meaningfully in decisions that shape their city. His leadership philosophy has remained unwavering: that public power must be exercised transparently, lawfully, and in the public interest.
When institutional overreach threatened to reduce the office of the Lord Mayor to a ceremonial relic, Lukwago chose resistance over resignation. His unlawful impeachment in 2013, carried out through a procedurally defective process that violated rules of natural justice, remains one of the most consequential constitutional confrontations in Uganda’s urban governance history. Lukwago challenged the process in court, and the High Court nullified the impeachment and reinstated him to office. That judgment reaffirmed the supremacy of due process and sent an unmistakable signal that even the state is not above the law. It preserved not only his mandate but the sanctity of the ballot itself.
That legal victory was not isolated. Lukwago has repeatedly confronted the state through courts, council resolutions, and public advocacy whenever executive actions threatened democratic governance. His challenges to amendments and administrative directives that centralized authority within KCCA forced national conversations on decentralization, accountability, and the limits of technocratic governance. Each confrontation was conducted without fear or favour, anchored in law rather than populism, and aimed at safeguarding institutional integrity rather than personal survival.
Nowhere has his courage been more visible than in his environmental and public-interest advocacy. The controversy surrounding the construction of commercial developments over critical drainage channels most notably the HAM building project affecting the Nakivubo drainage system stands as a defining example. Lukwago publicly opposed the covering and constriction of drainage infrastructure, warning, correctly, that it would exacerbate flooding, environmental degradation, and public health risks in a city already vulnerable to climate-induced disasters. His position was later vindicated as Kampala experienced recurrent flooding, exposing the long-term consequences of ignoring environmental safeguards in favour of short-term commercial gain. In this stance, Lukwago articulated a principle too often forgotten: that development that destroys ecosystems and public infrastructure is not progress but deferred catastrophe.
Similarly, Lukwago has been an unrelenting defender of wetlands and natural buffers within the city. While wetlands in Kampala have shrunk dramatically over recent decades due to encroachment, he consistently raised alarms about illegal allocations, irregular titles, and environmentally destructive developments. His advocacy underscored the constitutional duty to protect natural resources for present and future generations, positioning him as one of the few urban leaders willing to confront powerful interests in defence of ecological justice.
His people-centered leadership has also been evident in the long-running disputes around the Old Taxi Park and transport hubs. As thousands of livelihoods came under threat from privatization, restructuring, and forced relocations, Lukwago stood firmly with taxi operators, commuters, and workers, insisting on consultation, lawful procedure, and humane transition. He resisted attempts to criminalize poverty and informality, reminding authorities that Kampala’s transport system is sustained by the very people often excluded from decision-making. His interventions helped avert violent confrontations and amplified the principle that urban order must be achieved through dialogue, not coercion.
Measured achievements reinforce this record. Under Lukwago’s tenure, the City Council evolved into an active oversight institution rather than a ceremonial appendage. Numerous resolutions were passed demanding transparency in procurement, accountability in public-private partnerships, and protection of public land. These actions helped safeguard city assets worth billions of shillings markets, road reserves, drainage corridors, and public spaces in a city where land disputes remain one of the leading sources of litigation and social conflict.
Beyond statutes and council chambers, Lukwago’s leadership has been palpably human. Kampala’s informal economy employing over 60% of the city’s workforce has consistently found in him an ally. Market vendors, boda boda riders, street traders, artists, and casual workers have encountered not contempt but recognition. When markets burned, when floods displaced communities, when evictions loomed without compensation, Lukwago was present demanding relief, lawful process, and humane policy responses. This is leadership grounded in dignity.
Experience, when married to integrity, matures into wisdom. Lukwago is the longest-serving Lord Mayor in Kampala’s modern administrative history. Over successive terms, he has accumulated unparalleled institutional memory of the city’s bureaucratic anatomy, political fault lines, and socio-economic rhythms. This experience has enabled him to navigate intergovernmental relations with firmness and restraint cooperating where possible, resisting where necessary. Continuity under such leadership has meant stability, not stagnation.
Statistically, Kampala has recorded improvements in revenue collection efficiency, expansion of paved urban road networks, drainage rehabilitation, and digitization of public services under the broader KCCA framework during Lukwago’s tenure, despite persistent political headwinds. Governance scholarship is unequivocal: such gains can not be sustained without public legitimacy. Lukwago supplied that legitimacy. By remaining the trusted voice of the electorate, he stabilized the social contract between city authorities and residents, reducing the likelihood of unrest, policy failure, and administrative paralysis.
Perhaps most compelling is his record of personal probity. In a political environment where public office is too often monetized, Lukwago’s record remains conspicuously clean. His lifestyle has remained modest, his conduct transparent, and his positions consistent. He has not traded principles for privilege. This moral credibility is not rhetorical; it is cumulative, built over years of scrutiny and sacrifice.
Intellectually, Lukwago has elevated civic discourse. He speaks with clarity, legal precision, and historical awareness. He does not pander; he persuades. In an era dominated by soundbites, his seriousness is not elitist; it is responsible governance.
Those who present themselves as alternatives often promise efficiency without accountability, development without participation, and harmony without justice. These promises are seductive but hollow. Kampala does not need a compliant administrator; it needs a constitutional sentinel. It does not need silence in the face of illegality; it needs a voice that speaks truth to power. It does not need novelty for its own sake; it needs leadership tested by adversity and refined by struggle.
Re-electing Lukwago is, therefore not an act of nostalgia. It is an investment in democratic resilience, environmental stewardship, institutional memory, and civic dignity. It signals that Kampala values courage over convenience, law over whim, and service over spectacle.
Cities remember. They remember who stood when it was costly, who spoke when silence was safer, and who served when betrayal was lucrative. Kampala’s memory is rich with such moments, and Lukwago’s imprint is indelible. To renew his mandate is to renew a covenant with integrity, accountability, environmental justice, and people-centered governance.
In the final analysis, leadership is not about perfection; it is about direction. Under Lukwago, Kampala’s direction has been unmistakable: towards constitutionalism, inclusion, and dignity. Amid turbulence, he has been a compass. Amid pressure, a pillar. Amid compromise, a conscience.
For these reasons, legal, moral, historical, environmental, statistical, and profoundly human, Hajj Elias Lukwago stands unrivaled. To vote for him again is not merely to choose a candidate; it is to choose the kind of capital Kampala knows it deserves and confidently presents to the world.
The writer is a lawyer, researcher and governance analyst
By Atwemereireho Alex,
