The Gulu City Mayor, His Worship Alfred Okwonga, was suspended for two council sessions following allegations of spreading misleading information and making blasphemous remarks about honorable members of the council.
He was also accused of failing to apologize for his alleged social media posts regarding corruption claims involving some council members, including the Speaker’s approval of an investor to proceed with the construction of a petrol station on the Pece stream wetland in the heart of Gulu City.
During a council session, the Gulu City Speaker, Hon. Alima Joyce, made the bold decision to suspend the Mayor. She cited his actions of disclosing internal council matters and making defamatory comments about council members, accusing them of accepting bribes from the investor.
These comments were allegedly made on various social media platforms. Speaker Alima instructed Mayor Okwonga to apologize verbally to the council and submit a written apology later. The Mayor refused, stating that he had done nothing wrong and did not owe the council an apology.
“Your Worship, I ask you to apologize to the house and to the honorable members for your actions. For the last time, I am giving you the chance to apologize, or else I will instruct the sergeant-at-arms to escort you out of the house and suspend you for two council sessions, withdrawing all privileges, including the local government vehicle and fuel, until you tender your written apology to the Speaker,” she announced.
Mr. Okwonga was asked twice by the Speaker to apologize, but he refused, asserting that there was nothing wrong with his actions and that the matter had already been resolved by the Minister for Local Government.
“Hon. Speaker, I have nothing to comment on this. As far as I know, the matter was resolved by the Minister, so I don’t understand why we are still discussing it here,” Okwonga responded to the Speaker’s order.
Speaking to the press immediately after his suspension, Okwonga described the action as political and part of a propaganda campaign by some councilors whose names were publicly linked to corruption. He claimed their intention was to use him as a scapegoat to cleanse their names of the shameful acts they had committed.
“They just wanted to sacrifice me for their sinful and shameful acts. If I had accepted their demand and apologized, they would have used that against me to clear their mess. Besides, the Minister has already responded to their petition, and when I came for the council session, I expected us to discuss more important issues affecting our city. But out of nowhere, they decided to take this course of action. It’s fine, but it doesn’t change anything because I am still the City Mayor,” he said.
Hon. Oduny Samuel, who represents the elderly in the city council, expressed that the Mayor should show remorse by accepting his mistakes and apologizing for the sake of peace and cooperation for the people of Gulu City.
“2025 is the year of peace, and I would love to see peace prevail. I urge the Mayor to be remorseful and apologize for the sake of peace and for working together for the people of Gulu City,” he said.
Hon. Morris Odong, who represents the people of Laroo Pece South in the Gulu City Council, expressed his dismay at the Mayor’s behavior. He stated that the Mayor’s actions had exacerbated the situation.
“To me, I think His Worship has forgotten that he took an oath, a sworn oath of secrecy, and it was unlawful for him to share what was discussed in the council with the public. For this, he should be punished,” he said.
According to the standard rules of procedure for local government councils in Uganda, the Speaker has the power to suspend a member from council and committee sessions.
Quoting from the Local Government Act, Cap 243, Clause 12, which guarantees freedom of speech in proceedings, Speaker Alima stated that Okwonga had not respected the council’s decisions and had gone ahead to question them, spreading them outside the council.
