Africa-Press – Uganda. The National Unity Platform (NUP) party, has scoffed at Mr Mathias Mpuuga’s decision to defy the party’s request to step down as the Commissioner of Parliament, alleging that his decision is being ill-advised by the Speaker, Ms Anita Among.
Speaking to this Publication on Tuesday, the NUP deputy spokesperson, Mr Waiswa Mufumbiro noted that the embattled Nyendo-Mukungwe legislator is a corrupt official who sat with the ‘dictator’ and compromised the position of the party, making him ineligible to represent them on the Commission.
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“The hand that kept Mr Ojara Mapenduuzi in Parliament when we had sacked him, is the very hand that is supporting Mr Mpuuga. Last Wednesday, he sat with Ms Among and what he has told the country today is a position of Ms Among because he is already a captive of this bribery of Shs500 million by the State,” Mr Mufumbiro said.
“The party has given its position and if he is really a member as he asserts, he must then follow what the party is saying. But I can guarantee that if he doesn’t follow that position, the party will follow other procedures as provided in the law,” he added.
Mr Mufumbiro’s remarks come at a moment when Mr Mpuuga vowed not to leave NUP or step down from the Parliamentary Commission.
“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,” Mr Mpuuga vowed.
“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,” Mr Mpuuga told journalists at Parliament in a press briefing on Tuesday.
Mr Mpuuga also faulted NUP leadership for failing to interest themselves in critical issues like the recent elevation of the First Son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba to the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and the reappointment of the Electoral Commissioners who allegedly got involved in the election malpractices during the 2021 general elections.
“Gen Museveni has been candid on his dynasty agenda, including the latest reshuffles in the UPDF that saw his son ascend at the helm of the country’s military, the largest opposition party looks clueless and unable to guide its bruised cadreship. Even the renewal of the term of the Electoral Commissioners who bungled and fidgeted with the last election did not raise the curiosity of the supposed vanguard opposition party,” Mr Mpuuga said.
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However, Mr Mufumbiro said the party has never mooted any plans to get rid of Mr Mpuuga in NUP, urging him to respond to the critical issues regarding the Shs500m ‘service award’ which he received under unclear circumstances.
“Mpuuga is only naive to reality; nobody has told him that he is not a member of the NUP. We have asked him to take back the Shs500 million he stole from taxpayers, apologize to the public and step down from the Commissioner’s position,” he said.
Relatedly, the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Among has informed NUP that they have no mandate to recall Mr Mpuuga from the Parliamentary Commission.
In a letter dated March 25, 2024, directed to the NUP Secretary General Mr David Lewis Rubongoya, Ms Among states that under the law, political parties are limited to nominating candidates for the election to the office of Commissioner of Parliament.
She was referring to Rubongoya’s letter dated March 18, 2024, in which he was communicating the (NUP) party’s decision to recall Mr Mpuuga as the Commissioner of Parliament and replace him with Mr Francis Zaake.
“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),” Ms Among’s letter reads in part.
“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,” Ms Among responded, adding: “I can, therefore, not implement it.”
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