MUKONO — Former investigative journalist Solomon Serwanjja has drawn praise for mobilising residents of Bamutakudde Village to improve community roads, weeks after he was elected Local Council One chairman by a single vote.
Serwanjja on Monday hosted Mukono District Chief Administrative Officer Henry Ddamba in Bamutakudde, where the CAO commended residents and the village leadership for providing murram to improve roads in the settlement.
Serwanjja said Ddamba pledged district support for the community’s ambition to transform Bamutakudde into a model village.
“Proud day in Bamutakudde. Today we hosted the Chief Administrative Officer of Mukono District, Owek. Henry Ddamba,” Serwanjja said in a post on X. He said Ddamba commended the community and LC1 chairman for providing murram for the road upgrade and pledged support for the village’s development vision.
The visit comes less than a month after Serwanjja, a former NBS Television journalist and investigative reporter, narrowly won the Bamutakudde LC1 election.
He defeated his closest rival by just one vote, securing 106 votes against 105 for National Unity Platform candidate Lule Badru Ssozi Kirwana.
Serwanjja’s campaign centred on transparency, accountability and community-driven development, and his early activities as chairman have now brought attention to the practical role of village leadership.
Beyond the stamp
Television host Douglas Lwanga, reacting to Serwanjja’s account of the road works, said the new chairman had changed perceptions about what Local Council leaders can do.
“Solomon, you have just changed the game for LCs,” Lwanga said, adding that he had previously thought an LC’s responsibility “stops at the stamp.”
The reaction reflects a broader expectation that grassroots leaders should do more than handle administrative matters and instead mobilise communities around problems that affect everyday life.
Uganda’s Local Governments Act provides a statutory basis for that approach. At village level, the executive committee is mandated to initiate, encourage, support and participate in self-help projects and mobilise people, material and technical assistance for such projects. It is also responsible for monitoring government and other projects in the area.
The law specifically gives village leadership responsibility for monitoring administration and serving as a communication channel between government and residents. The village chairperson is the political head of the administrative unit and is responsible for monitoring its general administration.
Community roads also fall within Uganda’s decentralised local-government responsibilities. The Local Governments Act provides for the maintenance of community roads, commonly referred to as Bulungi Bwansi roads, alongside maintenance of community infrastructure.
From journalism to local leadership
Serwanjja’s move from journalism into elective grassroots leadership has attracted attention because of the contrast between his previous work exposing governance failures and his new role directly participating in community administration.
His election on July 28 came as Uganda held long-delayed LC1 elections across the country. The Uganda Media Centre described LC1 chairpersons as playing critical roles in communities despite the positions being largely voluntary.
For Bamutakudde residents, the immediate test of the new leadership is likely to be whether such community mobilisation can be sustained beyond individual initiatives and translated into improvements in roads, sanitation, security and other local services.
Ddamba’s visit could provide an important link between that grassroots effort and district government support.
The CAO’s reported commitment to support Bamutakudde’s transformation also illustrates how village initiatives can attract attention from higher levels of local government when residents contribute resources and organise around visible community needs.
Serwanjja now faces the more difficult task of turning the early enthusiasm surrounding his election into sustained results during his term as LC1 chairman.
