Zainab Ali
A section of angry Members of Parliament -Mps have accused the Kasambya county MP Mbwatekamwa Gaffa of being compromised by General Elly Tumwine to withdraw the petition to censure him prior to the stipulated time.
The MPs say they were shocked to learn that Mbwatekamwa was withdrawing the motion without following due process and not consulting MPs who had already appended their signatures to the motion.
The Mps say that he should have waited for the clerk to parliament to officially write to the speaker who would then inform the house of the decision.
During a press conference On Wednesday last week Mbwatekamwa activated the censure document and said that they had garnered 39 signatures which were inadequate.
Parliamentary rules of procedure required that after 10 working days if less than one-third of the MPs have appended their signatures, the notice to censure shall cease.
This means that the MPs had until Thursday this week to collect a total of 153 signatures. However, only 39 MPs had appended their signatures.
While addressing the media on Friday, Mbwatekamwa clarified that he was not bribed by anybody to drop this motion but lost interest when he realized the sluggishness on the part of members of parliament in the process.
He also asked that those interested in continuing with censuring the General to take it on with his total support if they decide.
He assured journalists that MPs shouldn’t come out to claim that they were threatened or influenced by general Tumwine not to sign because that wouldn’t be the truth.
He also revealed the list members of parliament indicating those who signed for this motion.
In the list, Mbwatekemwa showed that only 40 MPs signed out of the required 150 signatures of members that acknowledged the censure motion in the parliament against General Tumwine.
According to the censure motion petition list, mostly rebel NRM members of parliament including Manjiya county mp John Baptist Nambeshe, Lwemiyaga county mp Theodore Ssekikubo, Kumi district mp Monica Amoding, Kasanda north mp Patrick Nsamba, Kasambya county mp Mbwatekamwa Gaffa and Buyaga west mp Barnabus Tinkasiimire.
Mwatekamwa told the media that no member of parliament who did not sign this motion should claim that is against the human rights abuses.
He said that Uganda has no opposition members of parliament because to his disappointment most members who signed on the list most were rebel Mps instead.
On 7th February 2020, parliament unanimously resolved that General Tumwine be censured and three days later the clerk wrote to all MPs informing members that a list had been placed at the south wing for members who wished to append their signatures.
General Tumwine is accused of contempt of parliament and using his office to block the human rights committee of parliament to access safe houses where civilians are allegedly tortured.
