Hours after Wilson Owere, the Chairman General of National Organisation of Trade Unions(NOTU), was sacked by a section of members representing 24 of 30 unions, he hit back and threatened action.
On Tuesday afternoon some members converged at hotel Africana in Kampala and voted out Owere, immediately replacing him with an interim chairperson. They also voted for a new treasurer and Deputy. During the same meeting the NOTU General Secretary stepped down.
On Wednesday morning, Owere stormed the NOTU head office in Kyaliwajjala alongside armed police officers but found it closed and security guards deployed there were directed not to allow anyone in.
A furious Owere who was accompanied by a section of the union leaders and NOTU board members condemned the act by his subordinates as illegal.
He told journalists that the vote of no confidence in him was a waste of time and that he would organize an official meeting on November 22, to weed out the culprits.He alleges that the concerned members acted illegally and were even bribed to throw him out.
“The issue of manipulation is all done by this section of people and now it's easier to deal with it. The meeting for 22nd is on and we will converge to address issues. But giving people money in a hotel and going to another hotel to vote is illegall.” he said
He has also asked the outgoing secretary general Christoher Werkhe to account for the organization's funds before he leaves office .
A section of NOTU members have accused Owere of inefficiency, dictatorship, sabotage, and mismanaging the workers' federation. Some members have pinned Owere of gross financial mismanagement, engaging in partisan politics and using the unions' body for private gain.
