The speaker of parliament, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga
She has been dragged to court in a bid to drag her out of parliament. We set out to establish of the new court proceedings against the Kamuli Woman MP-Elect who has represented the district since 1989, should make her worried about her ability to stand and retain the country’s third highest job as Speaker of Parliament.
Apparently, the election petition by Procovia Salaamu Musumba challenging Rebecca Kadaga’s election as Kamuli Woman MP has no bearing on her re-lection as Speaker, the rules committee has said.
Musumba, who is the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) vice president sued the National Resistance Movement (NRM)’s Kadaga for alleged rigging and numerous electoral misdeeds in the Kamuli District Woman parliamentary seat race.
Kadaga was declared winner of the January 14th elections after she garnered 92,388 votes against Musumba’s 26,851. Now with the petition pending, the Parliament’s committee on Rules Discipline and privileges has said that the this has no impact on Kadaga’s bid for Speaker.
Clement Obote Ongalo the chairperson of the committee says that the petition has no bearing at all unless the petition is finalized with Kadaga’s election being nullified.
Ongalo says that now Kadaga like any other MP is entitled to all the benefits and rights accrued to a member including contesting for any position since she has been duly gazetted.
According to Ongalo, although this does not affect her candidature, some of her supporters could mentally be disturbed thinking that it may affected her.
He also adds that this equally applies to someone whose academic certificates or papers used for coming to Parliament has been challenged. He says unless the court disposes of the petition, an MP remains an MP and it is also interesting that a member can appeal the court ruling, and the whole process still takes longer.
Ongalo says that in the 10th Parliament, several members had their elections nullified, but they received all the benefits. He says this is based on the principle of innocent until proven guilty.
In 2019, the Constitutional Court ordered six MPs to vacate Parliament on grounds that they were elected in constituencies that were non-existent, but the MPs completed their term after they appealed the decision.
The MPs are Apac Municipality Member of Parliament, Patrick Ocan, Sheema Municipality MP Dr Elioda Tumwesigye, Ibanda Municipality MP Tarsis Rwaburindore Bishanga, Nebbi Municipality MP Hashim Sulaiman, Kotido Municipality MP Abrahams Lokii and Asuman Basalirwa for Bugiri Municipality.
In 2016, Habib Buwembo, a concerned voter, filed an election petition challenging the election of Paul Kato Lubwama as a Member of Parliament for Rubaga South. Buwembo claimed that Lubwama does not possess the required academic credentials to be in Parliament. However, Lubwama completed his five-year term and the case is yet to be disposed.
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