Africa-Press – Uganda. Kira Municipality MP, Mr Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, will, for now, keep his job as parliamentary whip of the troubled Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) after House Speaker Anita Among yesterday said she cannot replace him yet.
Ms Among declined to remove Mr Ssemujju as the opposition party’s whip following a petition lodged by members of his party caucus. Their appeal challenged what they say was his unilateral sacking last week by their embattled secretary general, Mr Nathan Nandala Mafabi.
The decision pushes the FDC deeper into an ongoing leadership crisis involving alleged financial impropriety and suspected political corruption by Mr Mafabi and party president, Mr Patrick Oboi Amuriat.
In her response, Ms Among advised Mr Mafabi to provide evidence that the necessary FDC organ purportedly reached a consensus to unseat Mr Ssemujju.
“I am unable to implement your communication until the concerns raised by the petitioners have been resolved and communicated, in order to avoid potential legal consequences and disruptions of parliamentary business,” Ms Among stated in her August 16 letter to Mr Mafabi.
On August 7, Mr Mafabi had written to the Speaker replacing the Kira municipality MP with Mr Yusuf Nsibambi, who is MP for Mawokota South. He did not say why, but cited Section 6(J) of the Administration of Parliament (amendment) Act, 2006 as the basis for the change.
It is believed that Mr Mafabi’s action was a retaliation for Mr Ssemujju’s leading role in calls for his resignation over a suspected back-handed deal to “hand over FDC to President Museveni”.
A week after the Mafabi letter, nine FDC legislators wrote a petition to Ms Among, saying the removal of their colleague was not in compliance with internal party processes.
The petitioners noted that Mr Mafabi’s action was therefore unauthorised, and warned that implementing it would perpetuate an illegality.
“The secretary general lacks the constitutional mandate to unilaterally decide on matters of this nature as his role is limited to communicating decisions or positions reached by the NEC (National Executive Committee), National Council, or National Delegates Conference of the party. This was not the case in this matter,” the August 14 petition said.
Daily Monitor has seen a copy of the petition signed by Buhweju MP Francis Mwijukye; Ms Asinansi Nyakato(Hoima Woman); Mr Nicholas Kamara (Kabale Municipality) and Mr Denis Onekalit (Kitgum Municipality).
Others are Mr Harold Muhindo (Bukonzo East)); Mr Atkins Katusabe (Bukonjo West); Mr Naboth Namanya (Rubabo); Mr Moses Kabuusu (Kyamuswa) and Mr Emmanuel Ongiertho (Jonam).
Ms Among pointed out that although Section 6J(1) of the Administration of Parliament Act and Rule 15(7) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure require an opposition party to appoint its whip, the petition she received did not say whether FDC convened to replace Mr Ssemujju.
“Furthermore, unlike past instances, your communication does not mention any party organ meeting that arrived at this decision. This is concerning, considering the significant impact this decision has on the functioning of the Legislature,” Ms Among remarked.
Adding that: “Despite these being internal party matters, they have repercussions for the harmony, cohesion, and operations of Parliament.”
The speaker’s letter comes at a time when FDC is grappling with internal disputes stemming from allegations of improper financial transactions raised by Mr Ssemujju and other senior party colleagues against Mr Amuriat and Mr Mafabi.
The situation has thrown FDC into upheaval, with the Ssemujju faction accusing the Najjanankumbi team of receiving billions of shillings from State House in the run-up to the 2021 general elections, a claim they strongly deny.
At the same time, other party members partly attribute FDC’s troubles to the two power centres; one at Najjanankumbi where the party offices are, and the Katonga Road offices where the influential founding president, Dr Kizza Besigye runs a parallel political operation.
Neither Mr Chris Obore, the Director for Public Affairs at Parliament, nor Mr Joseph Sabiiti, the principal press secretary to the Speaker, answered repeated calls and whatsapp message seeking comment.
Party positions
Mr Mafabi did not answer calls to his phone yesterday, but Mr Amuriat, said he has instructed him to respond to the Speaker’s letter.
“I can confirm that I chaired the management committee, the FDC working committee, and the decision was taken. [Mr]Mafabi should respond to the Speaker with minutes that document the party’s decisions. The same working committee that appointed [Mr] Ssemujju is the one that dismissed him. Ssemujju does not want to work with us, so the Speaker should not impose him on us,” he said.
In an interview with Daily Monitor, Mr Ssemujju, who is also the official party spokesman, said FDC has embarrassed itself because the right procedure is known in the party.
“…[Mr] Nandala thinks FDC can be run the same way he manages Bugisu Cooperative Union [where he is chairman]. I was never appointed by him; it was the NEC that appointed me,” he said, while echoing his earlier willingness to step down as party whip.
Separately, Mr Nsibambi yesterday held onto his appointment, asking colleagues to focus on resolving the internal dispute instead of dragging Parliament into issues between Katonga and Najjanankumbi.
“I’ve been a lawyer for the past 20 years, and I wouldn’t have accepted this appointment if it didn’t comply with the law. The working committee that appointed [Mr] Ssemujju is the same committee that appointed me. The party’s cabinet is the working committee, and it’s the one responsible for appointments,” he said.
His reading of FDC’s rules on such appointments was, however, contested by Mr Mwijukye, who said he was “pleased that the Speaker has requested our leaders to consult the three recognised party organs”.
“The authority does not lie with the working committee but with the NEC, National Council, and the National Delegates Conference,” he said yesterday.
Past interventions
In August 2022, Speaker Among overturned a decision of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party to drop Mr Martin Mapenduzi Ojara (MP for Bardege-Layibi Division, Gulu City) as chair of the Public Accounts Committee for Local Government.
NUP attempted the change in apparent retaliation for Mr Ojara’s motion which ultimately led to the ejection of party firebrand, Mr Francis Zaake (Mityana Municipality), from the Parliamentary Commission. Mr Ojara’s motion had pointed out that Mr Zaake insulted Ms Among on social media, thereby bringing the whole institution of Parliament into disrepute.
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
