Masaka Municipality Mayor Godfrey Kayemba Afaayo, is a man of his luck. The flamboyant Kayemba narrowly survived being lynched by angry Lorry drivers protesting an eviction from the Mayor's garden.
The development started early this year, when Masaka municipality allocated the Mayor's Gardens to Moses Kaliisa Muto, a local businessman for redevelopment, to construct a modern shopping mall in the Mayor's garden, which seats in the heart of Masaka town.
However, on Tuesday morning, the Mayor, led Kaliisa's workers to the lorry park and asked the truck drivers to relocate to the main taxi park to pave way for the construction work to start.
Kayemba's directive didn't go down well with the lorry drivers, who immediately surrounded him like in an action movie and attempted to rough him up prompting the Mayor to flee for dear life. He was escorted by some residents who pleaded with the drivers not to hurt him. The lorry drivers accused Kayemba of pocketing millions of Shillings from the land transaction and failure to find them alternative space to operate from.
Shortly after the mayor's escape, the lorry drivers turned their anger against Kaliisa's workers and confiscated the construction materials before ordering them to leave the Lorry Park immediately. The confiscated items include hoes, machetes, barbed wires, poles and iron sheets among others.
About ten muscular lorry drivers stationed at each corner of the Mayor's gardens while another group stormed the Mayor's office demanding for answers on the status of the lorry business in the municipality. This forced Kayemba to convene a meeting with the Town Clerk, Paul Omoko, his deputy, Edward Gwavu Kiwanuka and other stakeholders to resolve the matter.
Later, the Town Clerk and Mayor took the lorry drivers to a piece of land belonging to the municipality between Buddu Street, Ssenyange and Speke road and told them to operate from there. However, this incensed the lorry drivers more, since part of the land is a cassava plantation.
The Masaka Town Clerk, Paul Omoko asked the lorry drivers to relocate their trucks to the new site, which is next to the Sewerage Treatment center. Kayemba told the lorry drivers they either relocate to the new site or be forced out of the mayor's garden.
Julius Ssemaganda, one of the leaders of the lorry drivers, says they can't relocate to the new site because of security concerns.
Kaliisa's lawyer, Andrew Tusingwire, says they want the lorry drivers out of the mayor's garden to pave way for construction.
