Bitter exchange of words and near fist fight marked the end to five year term for Mbale Municipal councilors.
What was meant to be a last council session today came to an abrupt end when councilors turned rowdy and engaged each other in near fist fights over who is to be blamed for the corruption which rocked the council during their tenure.
Trouble started when the speaker Abdulah Kutosi, urged members to endorse a motion seeking to grant Masaba Kanindo, the mayor a house or a car worth 20 million shillings as a token of appreciation.
The speaker had also proposed that he should be given three million shillings as a token and each councilors would be given two million shillings.
Bur Robert Masinde, the councilor for Maluku objected to giving the mayor twenty million shillings or a house on grounds that he was allegedly part of the clique of councilors responsible for illegal sale of public land in the town.
An exchange of bitter words then ensued between the mayor Masaba and Masinde. Mayor Masaba accused Masinde of witch hunt and vowed to ‘finish’ him off if he does not back off.
But Masinde insisted that Masaba should not be rewarded with a house because he allegedly benefited from illegal sale of plots.
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Two other councilors Zanubia Namutamba also got into physical confrontation with councilor Jalil Mugoya over who corruption. Namutamba had claimed that some councilors were in the process of selling Namakwekwe children’s park land.
But councilor Mugoya shot back that Namutamba was also equally corrupt since she had benefited from an illegal plot.
In the ensuing scuffle Mugoya jumped and grabbed Namutamba’s neck and was restrained by fellow councilors.
Speaker Abdulah was then forced to adjourn the last council session indefinitely.
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