The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala,, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | In the silence of the sunny Friday morning, the body of the former Kampala Mayor Alhajji Nasser Ntege Sebaggala entered the gates of City Hall, a place he knew as his office for several years.
A black A-Plus limousine led by an ambulance and escorted by tens of other vehicles gently drove through the entrance. In there was a man known to all as ‘Seya’, for his geniality, and humility. The sounds of the police band humming in the background, followed as he was wheeled through a parade of the youth brigade, in a casket, covered in black garb with Arabic inscriptions.
Several mourners including lower cadre employees of KCCA who served during his term could not control their emotions upon the sight of the body. The reality was setting in that the calm, collected, amiable, and ever smart Sebaggala was motionless.
KCCA Speaker Abubakar Kawalya, Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and his Deputy Doreen Nyanjura stood at the entrance to receive the remains, before leading mourners to the gardens for a special council sitting. Here, Ssebaggala was described as a loving man and a mentor who helped many young men get into politics.
Kawalya said Sebaggala was a courageous politician who spotted potential in young people. He also remembered him for lobbying for the City Authority to get money for the construction of the China Uganda Friendship Hospital in Naguru, introducing evening markets in the city and fighting for the right for working space for street vendors among others.
Former City Mayor Christopher Iga told the mourners that Sebaggala played mature politics, which was based on persuading the electorate rather than blackmailing opponents. He urged the young people in active politics to emulate him and engage in peaceful politics.
The former Minister in Charge of Kampala Beti Olive Kamya says Sebaggala leaves a legacy of elevating the common man and the less educated. She recalls the elevating moment when a song was coined out of his instruction for his supporters to rally behind Col. Kiiza Besigye when he stood for the presidency.
Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago said that Sebaggala proved to the public that the common man has a stake in the City and removed the exclusion of the Urban Poor from the affairs of City Hall. He expressed dismay that while Sebaggala fought for the urban poor, the current KCCA has treated them unjustly chasing them out of the city centre.
Kyambogo University Councillor Bruhan Byaruhanga, says Sebaggala left a legacy of a man who encouraged hard work. He recollected the story of the young but courageous eight-year-old Sebaggala who started working in Nakasero Market while accompanying his father, and how he encouraged city-dwellers never to return home empty-handed.
Nasser Ntege Sebaggala was Mayor for Kampala for two separate terms. His first term in 1998 was interrupted after he was arrested in the US over allegations of forgery. He later served a second term from 2006 to 2011. He will be buried on Sunday, at his ancestral home in Kikulu zone, Kisaasi.
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