ADJUMANI, UGANDA: The long-serving town clerk of Adjumani Town Council Mr. Lagu Samuel has been given up to 48 hours to leave office peacefully or else he faces colossal and long-drawn-out political action, The town council Speaker Mr. Osman Yusuf confirmed this on Wednesday, February 2, 2022.
On January 31, 2022, a council meeting presided by speaker Osman Yusuf passed a resolution to have the town clerk Lagu Samuel interdicted over allegations of gross abuse of office and a series of financial impropriety including causing final loss to the council.
The council alleges that the town clerk failed to account for shs 126m that the council received as compensation from Uganda National Roads Authority [UNRA] in compensation for the council land which has been affected by the ongoing construction of Atyak-Omi road.
The town clerk Lagu Samuel has also been faulted for failing to recover shs110m from the tenderer of town council markets.
Lagu Samuel has further been accused of causing financial loss to the council, after he irregularly interdicted the physical planer, which attracted litigation, the council lost the case and court awarded shs 20m to the plaintiff.
Following the resolution, the speaker Osman Yusuf ordered the embattled town clerk to vacate his office and hand over the office keys to the assistant town clerk, the same day.
Mr. Lagu, who has been occupying the office for 21 years, this morning told journalists that the decision of the council is shoddy, poorly drawn, and contains a lot of absurdities.
He explained that the speaker did not seek an explanation from his office, because the money the council received from UNRA was appropriated by the previous council in an extraordinary council meeting and has been accounted for to the dot.
On the unrecovered money from the tenderer of the council markets, he said the mandates’ lie in the office of the CAO because he awards government contracts and CAO is already dealing with the matter.
“The office of the town clerk has no mandate to interdict an officer, the powers to interdict all local government staff is vested in the office of CAO, the speaker should therefore confine himself to relevant issues”.Lagu Samuel roared.
Lagu Samuel said, the speaker in his naivety used outdated laws, and justified that the speaker used the local government Act 2007 when the Act has been amended as of 2015.
He said. “As a tested and long-serving town clerk and an expert in decentralization, the action of the council is an insult to the law and the entire populace of Adjumani town”.
The town clerk wondered how a speaker of a council for the interdiction of a town clerk when they do not have the mandate whatsoever.
The councilors according to the town clerk wasted some good time like do-nothings, and this he notes tantamount to abuse of office because they wasted government resources for flouting the laws.
However, section 68 of the local government Act 2015 Cap 243 as amended, elaborates on the removal of CAOs and town clerks from office by the council which is in accordance with section 188(2) of the constitution.
The council in a town may recommend, the removal of a town by a resolution supported the two-thirds of the council members on any of the following grounds;
Abuse of office, incompetence and misconduct or misbehavior or such physical or mental incapacity as would render the town clerk incapable of performing the duties of a town clerk as the case may be.
But before passing a resolution under subsection (2) put its allegation to the town clerk who shall have the right to defend himself before the council.
The speaker Osman Yusuf and several members of the council gathered at the office premises on Wednesday morning as the resilient town clerk Lagu Samuel was busy in office executing government business.
The council members who all appeared infuriated refused to give interviews saying it is premature since they have a difficult plan to execute.
Political commentators have described the situation as unfortunate and are worried the tainted relationship between the councilors and the town clerk will affect smooth service delivery while calling upon the two sides resolve the impasse.
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