In his communication to the House on Wednesday, Oulanyah said that he had held a meeting with the Government Chief Whip, the Minister of Security, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs and the Leader of the Opposition over the matter and that they came to some agreement of how they will handle the situation he described as difficult.
During the heated debate, Mpuuga led his members out of Parliament in protest and the team has for the second day boycotted Sittings of Parliament until the two MPs are released.
State Minister for
Internal Affairs Gen. David Muhoozi, has apologized to parliament for not following due processes of re-arresting MPs Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana.
Ssegirinya was re-arrested from Kigo Prison on Monday, shortly after being granted bail by the High court in Kampala. He had been remanded on September 8, on six counts of murder attempted murder and
aiding and abetting terrorism. Police Spokesperson, Fred Enanga later issued a
statement, saying that the MP had been re-arrested on fresh charges of treason
and inciting violence.
Before this, the joint security
team had re-arrested Allan Ssewanyana and driven him to the Special
Investigations Division, Kireka. The two are being accused of their alleged
involvement in machete killings in Greater Masaka sub-region, which have
claimed close to 30 people.
But Speaker
of Parliament, Jacob Oulannyah and a section of legislators led by the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Mathias Mpuuga faulted the government for enforcing the re-arrests without duly
informing the Speaker’s office with a summons. On Tuesday, Mpuuga led the opposition out of Parliament in protest and announced that they would boycott the sittings of Parliament until the two MPs are released.
In his communication
to the House on Wednesday, Oulanyah said that he had held a meeting with
the Government Chief Whip, the Minister of Security, the Minister of State for Internal
Affairs and the Leader of the Opposition over the matter and that they came to
some agreement of how they will handle the situation he described as difficult.
//Cue in; “and we had…
Cue out…in court
there.”//
Regarding the
summons, Oulanyah said that he later got information that these had been
received by the Office of the Deputy Speaker of Parliament but they were not
brought to his attention.
//Cue in; “at the
time…
Cue out;…kind of
delayed.”//
Gen. David Muhoozi told Parliament that the two MPs
had been produced before the Masaka Court today and that the medical concerns
of MP Ssegirinya were raised and that arrangements to have him accessed by his
doctors have been put in place. He committed to a speedy and fair trial of the accused.
//Cue in; “we shall exert…
Cue out…through due process.”//
However, Theodore
Ssekikubo, the Lwemiyaga County MP questioned the Minister’s
statement and asked him to explain why security operatives did not follow the full process
before re-arresting the two MPs.
//Cue in; “and right honourable…
Cue out…of the Speaker.”//
In response, Gen. Muhoozi said that transmission of the
summons delayed and he apologized to the House.
//Cue in; “the issue was…
Cue out…right honourable Speaker.”//
Luuka Woman MP Esther Mbayo said that Members of Parliament need to be respected and recounted how she
was summoned through a phone call a week ago to appear at the Criminal
Investigations Department at Kibuli.
//Cue in; “summoning me to…
Cue out…rule of law.”//
The Speaker said that provisions of the law are not
just decorations but are made for a purpose and that there is a need to respect systems. “The way this one was handled Gen. Muhoozi it was
not right…I have watched the video clips, it was not right. I was very very
upset. It shouldn’t be happening,” Oulanyahsaid.
He added that MPs are not special but they need to
be accorded the respect that they deserve.
//Cue in; “you know, I…
Cue out…shouldn’t be happening.”//
MPs Ssegirinya
and Ssewanyana have been remanded up to October 13.
