By CHIMPREPORTS
The opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) has issued a 7-day ultimatum to its Deputy President for Buganda Region and Commissioner of Parliament, Mathias Mpuuga, to provide a response to the party why it should not recall him from the Parliamentary Commission.
Mpuuga is accused of conniving with the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among and three other Parliamentary Commissioners and unlawfully allocating a total of Shs 1.7 billion to themselves as “Service Awards.”
Out of the 1.7 billion, Mpuuga was personally allocated Shs 500 million.
The matter has caused uproar among members of the general public, while NUP has termed it as corruption, abuse of office and mismanagement of public affairs by the leadership of the Parliament.
The party asked Mpuuga to return the money, apologize to the people of Uganda, and step down from his role as Commissioner of Parliament.
The Nyendo Mukungwe lawmaker rejected all the demands.
The NUP Acting President, Dr Lina Zedriga, has written to Mpuuga to explain to the Party why he should not be recalled from the Parliamentary Commission.
In a letter dated March 5, 2024, Zedriga said to Mpuuga that the resolution was adopted during the party’s National Executive Committed meeting which Mpuuga skipped despite being invited.
“At its sitting held on 4th March, 2024 (to which you were invited but did not attend), the National Executive Committee considered the serious accusations against you and resolved to ask you to show cause in writing, why you should not be recalled from the Parliamentary Commission, to which the Party seconded you as member. You are requested to respond within seven (7) days from the date of receipt of this notice, to enable the National Executive Committee to take an appropriate decision,” the letter reads in part.
NUP has considered Mpuuga’s receipt of Shs. 500 million as “illegal, immoral and a clear departure from the values and objectives of the National Unity Platform.”
“It goes against Section 9(1) of the Leadership Code Act (2002), which bars leaders from taking part in deliberations where matters of personal interest to them are to be discussed. Importantly, it goes against our commitment to the people of Uganda to handle public affairs diligently and public resources with care.”
DOES NUP HAVE AUTHORITY TO RECALL MPUUGA FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION?
There has been public debate on whether or not NUP has the powers to recall Mpuga from the Commission of Parliament.
Under the parliamentary rules of procedure, a Parliamentary Commissioner (other than the Speaker, Leader of Government Business, Leader of Opposition, or Minister of Finance) can be removed from office for the following reasons: incompetence, insanity, misconduct, inability to perform the functions of their office due to physical or mental reasons.
The rules provide that a Motion for a resolution for the removal of a Commissioner shall be initiated by a notice in writing to the Clerk, signed by not less than one third of all the voting Members of Parliament, indicating their intention for moving the Motion for the removal. The Notice shall indicate the grounds for the Motion and all particulars supporting the grounds.
It is further required that a Motion for the resolution under this rule shall be placed on the Order Paper, fourteen days from the date, on which notice to remove the Commissioner shall be communicated to the Clerk, and a Commissioner shall be removed upon the vote of at least half of all voting Members of Parliament.
Meanwhile, NUP has not asked Mpuuga to step down as Deputy President for Buganda region.
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