By Our Reporters
Renowned for her combative approach, Minister Parcis Namuganza has now picked on Kitagwenda MP Agaba Abbas turning him into a punching bag of sorts. Appearing on Dunstan Busulwa’s weekend popular political talk show on 89.6fm Top Radio, Namuganza discussed why she wasn’t bothered by the report of the Parliamentary Committee on Rules and Privileges of MPs which found her guilty of improper conduct including behaving provocatively towards Speaker Kadaga. The report contents became public earlier in the week through media reports quoting Agaba who is the vice chair for the Rules Committee. “He is an indisciplined case himself because he publicly discussed the report which I haven’t got a copy of myself and most importantly which hasn’t yet been tabled before Parliament in a manner the rules prescribe. So instead of wasting time on an innocent person like myself, trying to implicate me to appease the Speaker, Agaba is the one who should be reprimanded for disrespecting Parliamentary procedure and practice,” said a fire-spitting Namuganza whose radio talk show was on and off. “I know those are people who don’t the truth to go to the public. It’s them who keep directing for me to be switched off,” Namuganza said in reference to frequent interruptions through what was meant to be a 2 hour show.
She claimed that Agaba Abbas, who has greatly benefited from Parliamentary trips, showed bias and partiality from day one in order to appease the leadership of Parliament. “I appeared before them obediently and testified. They demanded for more evidence corroborating on the things I had said before them. I complied and sent my sister to deliver all the information some of which was video and audio-recorded. When she reached there, they refused to acknowledge receipt. My sister called me and it was a Monday and I was in Cabinet. I wrote a chit to the President who allowed me to rush to Kampala for the Parliamentary assignment. I went straight to Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah who referred this matter to the committee. He was appalled that they would refuse service of the evidence. He directed them to receive it and that’s how Agaba’s hostility was overcome,” she said wondering why Agaba took center stage and overshadowed the committee chairman Hon. Obote. In their report, the committee members recommended that Namuganza apologizes to the Speaker or else gets expelled from Parliament. “This all shows total bias. The speaker was never interviewed and they are here ganging up on me who obeyed and appeared before them. They didn’t travel to Bukono to speak to people yet the other day another committee went up to Arua to investigate the violence there as directed by the Speaker. Where did they get their conclusions from without going to the ground? I’m tempted to think this report was written for them by someone else and Hon Agaba just undertook to go to the public popularizing the report. Why do you ponder reducing my entitlements in order to cripple me financially? How is that related to what you are investigating? They only spoke to two other people including Hon Mariam Naigaga who was on the Speaker’s side on the day the provocation was done in Bukono. What they did was very bad going to incite my family members to disown me. There is a protocol handbook whose contents are well known to the Speaker. It guides on the minimum decorum to be observed at public functions which Hon Kadaga didn’t observe that day and the committee report says nothing about that.” Namuganza also claimed she has since been approached by some dissatisfied committee members who are ready to disown the report because they don’t agree with the way Agaba conducted business. Agaba maintains the report is impeccable and Namuganza is on his way to making record as the first minister to ever be disciplined in the manner the report recommends. “Any other committee can afford messing up but this one is a core committee and it’s the most important committee of Parliament which is why Agaba shouldn’t be allowed to get away with the unseriousness with which he has acted,” Namuganza said. She accused Agaba of taking things personal but never clarified how. Namuganza said she wouldn’t apologize to anybody adding that: “They are free to summon me as many as 10 times if they like but I won’t be intimidated. They have breached their own rules and discredited the committee. They were to deliver the report in 21 days which they failed and now what remains of that committee? But all the same I never expected much because there is no way a group of priests can be expected to conduct an impartial inquiry against the Cardinal. Clearly they were too careful not to antagonize the Speaker.”
DISCUSSES NYOMBI SAGA;
Namuganza also spoke about ex-AG Peter Nyombi’s body not being permitted into the Parliamentary Chambers for fellow MPs to pay tribute. She likened what happened to blatant abuse of power by the Parliamentary leadership. “Many of us were very annoyed but there wasn’t much we could do. My colleague Honorable Adolf Mwesige came and signed as number 53. He was there saying why would they stop us from paying tribute to our colleague? He was annoyed and we told him we are all here,” Namuganza said. “Nyombi was a very calm mature leader whose character the leaders of Parliament should emulate. He never fought with the young ones or nursed vendetta against them. We wanted to Speaker about the Hon. Peter Nyombi we knew and were inspired by but an opportunity was denied to us.” She said this is why there is need to revise the relevant laws and create office of Assistant Speakers like it is in South Africa so that such emergency sessions can be conducted without bothering or diverting the substantive two speakers from more important House business. “However, when Hon Monica Amoding proposed it, she was gagged and the proposal was blocked. Some people are just selfish. They said such new office will weaken the office of the Speakership which isn’t true,” Namuganza concluded. For comments, reach us on 0703164755.
