Among blasts NUP, defends Mpuuga

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has rejected the National Unity Platform’s request to recall Mathias Mpuuga as Parliamentary commissioner citing legal and parliamentary procedural limitations. 

In a response to the National Unity Platform, Among cited clauses that provide for removal of a parliamentary commissioner noting that, in Mpuuga’s case none has been met rendering the opposition party’s attempts unlawful and an attempt to restrain powers and authority of Parliament. 

“The commissioners, once elected by Parliament, serve the entire body and can only vacate their position or be removed by the law,” she stated.

Citing the Administration of Parliament Act and the Rules of Procedure, Speaker Among explained the grounds for the removal of a commissioner stressing that parties have no power to recall a commissioner once elected by Parliament. 

“Parties do not possess the necessary legal authority to recall a commissioner once elected by Parliament,” she said.

She added that NUP disregarded the procedure of removing a commissioner as stipulated in rule 110 of the Rules of Procedure.

“The aforementioned letter fails to meet the requirements of rule 110 of the Rules of Procedure and is thus incurably defective,” she said.

“Granting your request would amount to restraining the authority vested in the House, as clearly stated in section 5 of the Administration of Parliament Act”.  

Meanwhile, addressing journalists at Parliament today, Mpuuga also stressed that he’s not leaving NUP despite the pressure from the top leadership to oust him. 

“I am here to state that I am a founder of National Unity Platform as you are aware, I didn’t join NUP but I was part of the founding blocks of NUP” where I serve as a Deputy President in charge of Buganda”, he said before adding . 

“I am also here to reaffirm that I am not leaving NUP, a Party I founded with colleagues consciously and I am not here to do anything to destroy or kill it. At least, I am not invited to do so at this moment, at least, nobody has moved me to the level of even thinking about deserting a Party I founded.”

NUP accuses Mpuuga of corruption after he allocated to himself Shs500m in a meeting reportedly chaired by Speaker Rt Hon Anita Among where three other commissioners also irregularly shared the total sum of Shs1.7bn in 2022. 

After the scandal became public recently, NUP asked Mpuuga to apologize and resign as commissioner then recommended Hon Francis Zaake for the position.

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