LIRA, UGANDA: Lira City Workers Female Councillor Hon Sarah Awor Angweri has vowed to drag the city council and speaker to court over her illegal suspension.
While addressing the media from Grand Pacific Hotel in Lira city on Tuesday April 25 2023, Hon Angweri said the Minute and resolutions arrived at on the 30th day of April 2023 during Lira City Council were null and void, and therefore she is taking a drastic legal redress on the council and the person of the Lira city council speaker Hon. Okwir Patrick for suspending her unlawfully.
Sarah Angweri outlined five major grounds for her intention to drag the council to court as below;
Ms Angweri says the person who took the minute of the meeting is not qualified as per the Local Government Act Cap 243 section 62 sub-section that states that the minute taker should be a clerk to the council and points out clearly that ‘the clerk to the council should be at the rank of or above the chief administrative officer.
In line with this, Angweri says Mr Okello Robert Ayoo is not a substantially appointed clerk to the council and I have a copy of the 2018 validation of staff where there is a big question mark about his position
“I repeat let him challenge me in the forthcoming court battle if he is not aware that he is an ordinary askari. You can not take a minute of council meeting if you do not have a qualification to the level of senior assistant secretary,” added Awor
Secondly, the councillor notes that the Lira City Council Speaker Hon. Patrick Okwir acted outside the law which is contrary to Standard Rules Of Procedure for Local Government Council rule 14 sub-rule, clause 1 that requires that invitation of notice of council meeting be made at least seven working days before the actual day of the meeting.
“To my surprise, an Invitation to the meeting was sent to the Lira City Councillors forum on the 27th Day Of March 2023 but the meeting was just scheduled to be on the 30th March 2023 hence three days only to the actual day of the council meeting. Therefore the notice of the meeting was not circulated seven clear working days prior to the date of the meeting,” Angweri noted further.
She also outlined that the Speaker made a wrong conclusion outside the law because when he suspended me for two consecutive sittings without pay which is now for about six months he has never and ever since in the history of his speakership given me three different warning letters as required by law.
Secondly, the order of suspension was not in good faith and should provide evidence of grave misconduct. Above all, the clerk did not technically the council on the decision of the speaker on his emotional suspension which was not in good faith.
Ms Angweri now wants the speaker to explain and bring proof before the court if the sergeant at arms is officially appointed with a letter from the city clerk.
“The Hon speaker should remember and note that a rule of procedure can only be suspended if there is something special happening in the council,” she concluded, before noting that her “life was being threatened and therefore, she was not safe in that council”
Background
The clerk to council Okello Robert Ayoo on the 4th April 2023 wrote and signed a suspension letter to Hon Sarah Awor Angweri the councillor representing workers in the Lira city council informing of her suspension from the committee meeting and two subsequent council sittings quoting rule 53[7]of the Standard Rule Of Procedure of the Local Government council in Uganda.
The copy of the suspension letter which the media saw, was copied to the Lira city Speaker, Mayor Lira city, Resident City Commissioner, the town clerk, the principal accountant, and the senior internal auditor.
Speaker Responds
Meanwhile, the Lira city council speaker Hon Okwir told DailyExpress in an exclusive interview that Hon. Awor Angweri Sarah was in conflict with the rule of procedure and that was suspended for behaving in a disorderly manner when she shouted at fellow councillors Hon Haggard and Herbert.
“Our council is guided by the rule of procedure, there are some behaviours which are not allowed. Let Her Check Her behaviour. There is nobody who is threatening her life. If she is threatened let her report to the police. People only have an issue with her indiscipline,” Mr Okwir, the Speaker Lira City noted.
By the time of compiling this report, Hon Sarah Angweri was busy with her two lawyers drafting the letter of intention to sue and told reporters that she is ready with her legal team to pursue the case up to its logical conclusion.
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