I found a way to tame Lord Mayor Lukwago - Kisaka

• Working relationship between Kampala Lord Mayor and KCCA Executive Director has improved in recent years
• Current ED, Dorothy Kisaka, describes her relationship with Mr Lukwago as much less contentious
• Dorothy Kisaka focused on changing the working environment and building a better relationship with the Lord Mayor

Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, who heads the city authority’s political wing, has since 2012 worked with two different Executive Directors, with considerable differences in the working relations with either one.

Dorothy Kisaka, the current ED describes her relationship with Mr Lukwago as “much less contentious," and the Lord Mayor himself as rather friendly.

This is very different from the tenure of her predecessor, Mrs Jennifer Musisi, who resigned from office in December 2018.

Kisaka says she was deliberate in changing the working environment right from when she took office.

“When I was appointed, everybody feared for my life because of the Lord Mayor,” she said in a recent interview with UBC.

“They thought I would not survive a day because of his reputation of bombarding people and being loud in the media.”

Making friends

Kisaka says, however, that she was keen on making friends with the Lord Mayor and believes she succeeded to an extent.

Currently, she notes that there are no more frequent outbursts from Lukwago about the executive wing and that most of the squabbles between them are handled internally.

“I made it a point very early in my tenure to meet with him; in fact, three days after I was sworn in,” she said.

“If found him to be cordial, he was even cracking jokes, which reduced the tension and my apprehension of him.”

“I proceeded to draw up a structure on how I could continue working with him and to a great extent it has assisted. We often argue but not in public,” he added.