Lukwago recounts close calls with death at City Hall, talks next move

Outgoing Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has reflected on his time at City Hall, the personal dangers he faced, and his plans now that he has lost the 2026 mayoral election. 

For the 15 years he served as the City Mayor, the 55 year old says he was constantly in battle with what he terms as vicious cartels that were hell bent on grabbing a number of city properties.

On many occasions, Lukwago says these groups put a target on his life as he posed the biggest challenge to their quests.

He recounted several close calls with death, from an occasion at CBS FM where station management allegedly had to “sneak him out and hide him”, when the station was raided by armed men in the night.

He also recalled violent confrontations at Park Yard and the city abattoir, where armed groups confronted him and guns were drawn. 

In Nakasero, he said, bullets flew and people were killed and others injured while he sought to halt an illegal construction.

“This city is run by mafias. Many markets have been sold, such as Kisekka, Shauri Yako, the city abbatteur, Owino among others. Even the city square was almost sold,” he said.

“Almost my entire tenure was just wars to save our assets. I am happy that I have fought these wars and managed to secure some. The cartels and groups that want to grab everything in the city, with backing from the central government, have tried to kill me. I am grateful to be alive because there was a time I thought I was going to die.”

Lukwago is winding his 15-year run as Lord Mayor following the 2026 Kampala City mayoral election, where he was defeated by Ronald Nsubuga Balimwezo of the National Unity Platform (NUP).

Lukwago, contesting under his People’s Front for Freedom banner, finished third with around 41 900 votes, trailing both Balimwezo and the National Resistance Movement’s Moses Kizito Nsubuga.

Now exiting City Hall, Lukwago looks to a future in legal advocacy, political organising, and human rights work, confident that his convictions will guide the next phase of his career. Kampala, he says, was but one chapter in a lifelong pursuit of justice.

A seasoned lawyer and defender of human rights, Lukwago has always insisted that public perception and reality must align – and he believes in his own case, they do. 

According to him, he is “a lawyer that is grounded and doesn’t back down” and one who will fight to the end for constitutionalism, the rule of law and human rights.

Lukwago explained that while his legal practice once took a meaningful share of his time, the demands of serving as Lord Mayor and, before that, as Kampala’s Member of Parliament, meant that his firm was relegated to about 30 per cent of his focus. 

Now, having conceded defeat, he plans to rebalance his time, giving his law practice more attention while continuing to engage in public life, especially through the Katonga offices of the political movement he leads, the People’s Front for Freedom.