Theodore Ssekikubo, the Member of Parliament for Rwemiyaga County, has set up camp in Jinja City at City Hall, seeking signatures to support his censure motion. He is accompanied by Hon. Alioni Yorke Odria, who represents Aringa constituency in Yumbe District. They are waiting for Busoga legislators to sign the motion.
“We have come to Jinja to look for Busoga MPs who have not signed this motion. We decided to come closer to them since Parliament is in recess. We believe these MPs are in their villages, so we had to come to them for signatures,” Ssekikubo told the media at City Hall on Monday.
Ssekikubo’s censure motion aims to challenge the four parliamentary commissioners who received UGX 1.7 billion as a “service award.” These commissioners are Nyendo-Mukungwe MP Mathias Mpuuga, Bukooli Central’s Solomon Silwanyi, Rubanda District Woman MP Prossy Akampulira Mbabazi, and Zombo District Woman MP Esther Afoyochan.
Mpuuga, who is also the former Leader of the Opposition, is accused of receiving UGX 500 million, while Silwany and the others each received UGX 400 million. This scandal has drawn significant attention from Ugandans, with Ssekikubo and other MPs strongly opposing the deal.
Ssekikubo has launched a campaign to gather signatures from MPs, with many opposition members supporting the motion. He needs 177 signatures, a quarter of the total number of parliamentarians, to make the motion effective. Ssekikubo is optimistic despite challenges, stating that they are close to reaching their goal.
“I believe we will get all the signatures we need. In fact, we will exceed expectations. We started with one signature, then ten, thirty, sixty, and now we are under ten,” he said. He emphasized that they are not trying to remove the commissioners from Parliament but to have them step down as commissioners for exploiting taxpayers.
So far, 11 Busoga lawmakers have signed the censure motion. These include Jinja City’s Manjeri Kyebakutiika, Isabirye David Aga (Jinja North), Timothy Batuwa of Jinja South West, Martin Muzaale Mugabi, and Stephen Kisa representing Luuka South constituency, among others.
However, Ssekikubo questions the motives of the other 33 Busoga MPs who have not supported the motion. “If you can’t support this motion, what will you support? Why do we put limits on others but not on ourselves?” he asked.
Hon. Odria, sitting with Ssekikubo at Jinja City Hall, reminded Busoga representatives of the impeachment of Lands State Minister Persis Namuganza, who represents Bukono constituency in Namtumba District. He described the impeachment as baseless and questioned the Busoga MPs’ current lack of support for the censure motion.
“I come from West Nile. Out of all the MPs, I was the first to say no to Namuganza’s impeachment because the reasons were baseless. But you, the Busogas, were the majority who signed and voted for her impeachment. Now, we are fighting for a national cause, so where are you?” Hon. Odria wondered.
President Yoweri Museveni has also treated the matter as a corrupt deal, directing Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka to investigate. In a letter dated May 3, 2024, and made public on May 12, 2024, the President asked if the Attorney General was aware of the “service award” the four MPs received during a May 6, 2022, meeting chaired by House Speaker Anita Among.
Recently, Hon. Ssekikubo wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, asking for fuel and vehicles to help him travel to different regions to gather signatures. When asked about the letter, Ssekikubo said the Speaker had not yet responded, but he remains hopeful that she will provide positive feedback since he is doing parliamentary work.
