By Spy Uganda
Kampala: The Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Anita Among, has told off National Unity Platform (NUP) party leadership that they have no right to recall Mathias Mpuuga as the Commissioner of Parliament.
According to Among, under the law, political parties are only limited to nominating candidates for the election to the office of Commissioner of Parliament.
Among was responding to NUP Secretary General, Lewis Rubongoya’s letter dated March 18, 2024 notifying her of the NUP’s decision to recall Mpuuga as the Commissioner of Parliament and replace him with Mityana Municipality MP, Hon Francis Zaake who was removed from the same position over indiscipline.
“Parliamentary Commissioners are elected by Parliament by virtue of section 2 of the Administration of Parliament, Cap 257 and rule 11 (4) of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda. The role of the parties under the law is limited to nominating candidates for election to the office of the commissioner of parliament as stipulated in sub-section 2(2b),” Speaker Among said in her letter.
“To do so as you (NUP) request would amount to fettering the authority vested in the House by the clear and unambiguous section 5 of the Administration of Parliament Act resulting in undesirable legal consequences in line with the decision of the Constitutional Court of Uganda in Fox Odoi-Oywelowo and James Akampumuza Versus Attorney General, Constitutional petition number 8 of 2003. I can, therefore, not implement it” she added.
Among’s response came shortly after Mpuuga vowed not to step down from the parliamentary commission or even leave NUP noting that he was among the founders.
“I will not respond to that letter, save to restate my position as communicated earlier to the Party and nation that I affirm the fact that I confess no wrongdoing whether in law or elementary common sense. The position of the law has been clarified to whoever wishes to understand but not to deliberately slander me or gain short-term political capital out of the current situation. So I do state my position, it is the position of the law and common sense. I wish to reassure all comrades in the struggle for a fair Uganda that my commitment has never waned and I will not and shall never be part of any form of corruption. I have never been indicted of corruption, I am never corrupt and nobody will invite me into corruption,” said while addressing journalists at Parliament on Tuesday.
“I am a founder of NUP, I did not just join from nowhere but I was part of the founding blocks – where I serve as the deputy president in charge of Buganda. I am also here to reaffirm that I am not leaving NUP, I am not here to do anything to destroy or kill it. So, whoever thought they were hounding me out… I am here for keeps,” he added.
Mpuuga’s trouble began earlier this month, when NUP accused him of engaging in acts of “corruption and abuse of office” after he allocated himself Shs500m of the 1.7 billion shillings categorized as “service awards” when he was still the Leader of the Opposition.
Following the allegations, NUP asked Mpuuga to return the money he received, apologize to Ugandans, and step down voluntarily from his role as Parliament Commissioner, a decision he declined to honor up to date.
