Lumumba to rebel MPs: You are not yet NRM members

By David Lumu and Mary Karugaba

The NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) has directed President Yoweri Museveni, the party chairman, to again meet the four rebel MPs so that a final decision regarding their fate can be reached.

According to Justine Kasule Lumumba, CEC tasked Museveni to give a final report about the rebel MPs next week.

Lumumba said that the decision was reached on Tuesday during a CEC meeting, chaired by Museveni at State House, Entebbe.

“This (the decision by CEC) means that although some rebel MPs have already picked nomination forms to participate in the party primaries, their issues regarding re-joining the party are not yet solved,” Lumumba told journalists at Parliament.

However, Lumumba emphasized that the issues of rebels will be conclusively handled by CEC.

On July 1, Museveni met the rebels MPs at State House, Entebbe. They were accompanied by their lawyers. The NRM party lawyers also attended the above meeting.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed matters surrounding the expulsion of the four lawmakers from NRM and the subsequent court cases surrounding the matter.

In April 2013, CEC on recommendation of the party disciplinary committee expelled MPs Theodore Ssekikubo (Lwemiyaga), Wilfred Niwagaba (Ndorwa East), Muhammad Nsereko (Kampala Central) and Barnabas Tinkasiimire (Buyaga East). They cited indiscipline as the major ground for the expulsion.

Recently Ssekikubo and Tinkasiimire picked nomination forms at the NRM electoral commission offices.

RELATED STORIES: