Politics
Jinja district council meeting flops as councillors disappear after registering
Kibombo said 16 councillors registered, but later disappeared. For the meeting to proceed, Kibombo said he needed a quorum of 12 councillors, but only 10 councillors were present. This prompted him to suspend the session until further notice.
Kibombo blamed Batwala for always diverting councillors whenever they turn up for council meetings. (Credit: Jackie Nambogga)
By: Jackie Nambogga, Journalist @New Vision
JINJA - The Jinja district council meeting, which had been invited by Speaker Simon Kibombo, flopped when a cross-section of councillors disappeared after signing in the attendance register.
The meeting was slated for Tuesday (August 18) at 10:00am, and as Kibombo was led to the district council hall by the sergeant-at-arms, he found only four people, including the Jinja district chairperson, Moses Batwala. The district has 24 councillors.
Whereas the standard rules of procedure allow the speaker to adjourn a session for 15 minutes, Kibombo was forced to adjourn for 30 minutes, but no one returned.
“The invitations were sent on August 7, 2026, stipulating the time. We must shift from the previous term, when we would be invited at 10:00am, and start the council at 2:00pm,” Kibombo charged.
Kibombo said 16 councillors registered, but later disappeared. For the meeting to proceed, Kibombo said he needed a quorum of 12 councillors, but only 10 councillors were present. This prompted him to suspend the session until further notice.
He appealed to the councilLors to always mind the time, as council business was affected by time.
“The invitations were sent on August 7, 2026, stipulating the time. We must shift from the previous term, when we would be invited at 10:00am, and start the council at 2:00pm,” Kibombo charged.
Kibombo said 16 councillors registered, but later disappeared. For the meeting to proceed, Kibombo said he needed a quorum of 12 councillors, but only 10 councillors were present. This prompted him to suspend the session until further notice.
He appealed to the councilLors to always mind the time, as council business was affected by time.
He attributed the development to lack of induction, saying majority of the councillors were new and ignorant of how the council operates. He urged government to speed up its plan of organising induction training.
Kibombo blamed Batwala for always diverting councillors whenever they turn up for council meetings.
“The chairperson is fond of dragging councillors into his office during the time of council meetings and his executive. I am not against this, but it should be done early enough without antagonising our schedule,” he said.
However, Batwala said the speaker rushed to suspend the meeting, noting that he (Kibombo) was not aware of how each of them had spent their nights and what they were going through, adding that “the councillors have not yet received their allowances.”
Kibombo blamed Batwala for always diverting councillors whenever they turn up for council meetings.
“The chairperson is fond of dragging councillors into his office during the time of council meetings and his executive. I am not against this, but it should be done early enough without antagonising our schedule,” he said.
However, Batwala said the speaker rushed to suspend the meeting, noting that he (Kibombo) was not aware of how each of them had spent their nights and what they were going through, adding that “the councillors have not yet received their allowances.”