Expulsion of the 'rebel' NRM MPs is national issue

By Atwine Bahiigi

The expulsion of the rebel National Resistance Movement (NRM) MPs: Is it a party question or a national one? The ‘rebel’ MPs: Wilfred Niwagaba (Ndorwa East), Theodore Ssekikubo (Lwemiyaga), Muhammad Nsereko (Kampala Central) and Barnabas Tinkasiimire (Buyaga West) were expelled by NRM's Central Executive Committee (CEC) for indiscipline. In my opinion, it is a party question to the extent of being expelled from the party but it is a national issue when being expelled from Parliament.

The logical understanding of the matter is that Members of Parliament (MPs) represent constituencies but not parties and, if it was for parties, there would be different MPs representing each party’s interests in each constituency in Parliament.

Democracy as per Aristotle is the government of the people for the people and by the people. Article One provides for the power of the people. Therefore, to evict the MPs from Parliament is to deprive the people of their fundamental authority and right enshrined in the Constitution.

It is an abrogation of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda and replacing it with the party constitution. I request that they carefully read Article 3(2) of the Constitution.

The fundamentality of Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the 1995 Constitution remain relevant. The MPs are elected by the people to represent their interests. If the people chose an MP, they should be asked whether the MP has failed to represent their interests and then recall him/her back from Parliament.

I request that whoever reached the decision to axe the so called ‘rebel’ parliamentarians to re-read Article 1 of the Constitution and place it within the context. At the party level, the NRM has limited mandate because the MPs contested in the primaries on individual merit and won. The people at the constituency have a say! They later contested against other opposition MPs and won to represent the people’s interests first and the party interests as secondary.

If the NRM can show that when these people were voted, only NRM supporters voted them, then we would say the NRM was right to reach the decision. It is trite that the appointing authority has disappointing powers. The MPs are ‘appointed’ by the people, the people should disappoint them.

To the party, discipline is important! However, the party members cannot think in a ‘straight jacket’. People must give varied opinions and should be respected. To be criticised is healthy and the party should welcome that but devise modalities to allow it flourish. I am sure when these MPs criticised the party from within they were not accorded adherence. They realised their concerns are issues of national importance and opted to raise them outside for people to debate them.

Uganda’s multi-party democracy is young and it must be nurtured to the advantage of Ugandans. The interests represented are not only for the party but the constituency in totality.

The writer is a Socio-political Analyst

bahiigi@gmial.com