PURGE AT KCCA: Chaos as Ag ED Russa’s babe targets Kisaka, Luyimbazi allies
There is chaos at KCCA following the exit of Kisaka and deputy Luyimbazi.
We are told several staff there who were friendly to the outgoing bosses are in fear of losing their jobs or being rendered redundant.
Similarly, those who silently endured suffering under the Kisaka and Luyimbazi regime are also reportedly out for revenge.
Information obtained indicates that the acting KCCA executive director Frank Russa Nyakana has started on high note by literally cleansing the ED office where his predecessor Dorothy Kisaka used to sit on the 1st floor of city hall.
Russa was never on good terms with Kisaka because of rumours that he was being favored and prepared by certain powerful people in the country to take over from her.
On the first day, Russa reportedly got rid of the office staff who were working for Kisaka (some relatives) and brought in his own team led by Prossy Nakate. We are told she’s determined to cause change and turn everything upside down inside the ED office.
Sources say that even the throwing away of furniture which was still new in the ED’s office, was advised by Nakate who reportedly wants revenge on workmates like Annet Akom who have been mistreating her under Kisaka and Luyimbazi.
Some KCCA workers are now described as orphaned or widowed because of the exit of the three top bosses who were their protectors and guarantors.
KCCA workers are scared that Nakate, who has a lot of influence on Russa because she has been his chief of staff in the directorate of legal, is going to make sure those who didn’t treat her well in the past like Akom the supervisor suffer terrible revenge.
This same situation happened during the days of Andrew Kitaka who was promoted to become acting ED after Musisi left. Kitaka had been director of engineering and Nakate came along as his chief of staff. Russa now is busy in the field with waste management, leaving Nakate to run the show in the ED office.
Those Kitaka days female KCCA engineers suffered a lot because Nakate was always protecting Kitaka from seeing them yet had official matters to discuss. Kitaka’s own wife doctor Sabrina had to intervene for the shield Nakate had put around Eng Kitaka to be relaxed.
Time came when enemies came together and reported to the public service commission that Nakate wasn’t even qualified to be the chief of staff in the director’s office because she didn’t study administration at the university but library studies.
Public service directed then ED Jennifer Musisi to transfer her to the library or fire her totally. When she was transferred, Nakate refused to sit in the library and started working from her car in the parking lot and this went on for months.
When Musisi left KCCA and Kitaka was made acting ED, Nakate became powerful again and continued blocking female KCCA engineers from meeting Kitaka to discuss work related matters. This caused trouble and some of the mistakes Kitaka made are blamed on the bad advice he kept getting from Nakate.
She is now back very powerful under Russa and staff fear that Russa is going to be led into making mistakes, starting with the unnecessary purchase of furniture to replace the one for Kisaka which was still new and excellent.
When he was the director human resource at KCCA even Lule used to fear Nakate because he knew she was powerful especially under Kitaka and nobody fought her and didn’t end badly.
Workers inside city hall are now scared that with Nakate heading the administration in the ED’s office, it’s going to be very hard to access Russa.
“She has created a strong relationship with him exactly like was the case under Kitaka who was blocked from good advice and information from other managers at KCCA,” says an insider.
When public service became tough and stuck to their guns that she gets fired from KCCA for insubordination and lack of qualifications to serve as an administrative staff, Nakate (who lives in Mbuya) reportedly blackmailed them by exposing the fact that there are many other KCCA workers at city hall who similarly didn’t have qualifications for the jobs they were holding.
Administrative officer Brenda Tusubira was given as an example and public service reversed its appointment and removed her from her position because of pressure from Nakate. The public service bosses then backed off and left Nakate to do her job.
She has also severally clashed with Anita Kusiima from the Directorate of Physical Planning.
In fact Nakate is among those silently praying hard that Kusiima is not appointed Manager for Development Planning and Control in the same department.
Kusiima’s haters feel she doesn’t deserve this position because to them she is ‘unfit’.
Recently, a whistleblower ran to the Inspector General of Government (IGG), questioning why the Public Service Commission was in hurry to substantively hand over this ‘Manager’ position to one Kusiima who has been holding the same in acting capacity.
Allegations are that Kusiima is not suitable for this senior position with the whistleblower insisting that her qualifications and competences only merit that of a Supervisor NOT Manager.
The Public Service now stands accused of “procedural impropriety in the conduct of promotional interviews for the position of Manager for Development Planning and Control at the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).”
First, the whistleblower alleges that the position was never advertised as the norm to ensure transparency and equal opportunity for all qualified candidates.
Secondly and ironically, the short-listing of candidates was done without the participation of a technical representative from KCCA to guarantee that the selection criteria meet the specific needs and standards of the Authority.
Neither KCCA was reportedly involved in conducting interviews to objectively assess the qualifications, experience, and suitability of the candidates.
“The technical representative from KCCA was deliberately excluded from the shortlisting process. This is a direct violation of established guidelines that require technical input to ensure that only the most qualified candidates are considered,” it is alleged.
For promotional interviews, according to the whistleblower, criteria for shortlisting must primarily focus on the candidate’s years of experience in a position equivalent to that of a Supervisor and their performance appraisals.
“The only candidate who was shortlisted and interviewed did not possess the necessary performance appraisals that are fundamental for evaluating the candidate’s competency and suitability for the role. This omission is a gross deviation from the expected standard of recruitment,” the whistleblower report points out.
The whistleblower further told the ombudsman that in line with the Planners Act, the candidate must be a member of the Society of Professional Physical Planners of Uganda which is not the case with Kusiima.
“The candidate in question is not a member of the Society of Professional Physical Planners of Uganda, a mandatory requirement under the Planners Act. This fact alone should have disqualified the candidate from being considered for the position.”
For the petitioner, such glaring procedural violations suggest a deliberate attempt to subvert the recruitment process, raising serious concerns about potential corruption, nepotism, and favoritism.
“This misconduct not only undermines the credibility of KCCA’s recruitment processes but also perpetuates a culture of incompetence by filling critical positions with individuals who are selected through shadowy and questionable practices,” the petition dated August 29, 2024 further reads.
Now this recruitment saga for a key-senior-position in the crucial directorate of Physical Planning comes on the heels of several accusations of negligence and incompetency leveled against KCCA that have seen several buildings under construction collapsing in Kampala.
“I implore your office to urgently investigate these irregularities to uphold the integrity and transparency of the recruitment process within KCCA. The abuse of due process must be addressed to prevent future occurrences of such malpractices and to ensure that KCCA positions are filled by competent, qualified, and duly vetted individuals.
“Your prompt intervention in this matter is crucial to safeguard the principles of fairness and justice in public service recruitment. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter,” concludes the whistleblower who claims to be a concerned professional physical planner.