PARLIAMENT | MPs | MENTAL HEALTH 

KAMPALA - The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Forum on Mental Health, Geoffrey Macho, has appealed to government to start vetting members of Parliament before they are recommended to contest as MPs.

Macho said research had shown that in Uganda, there are 14 million Ugandans with mental health issues and some MPs could be among them.

“I propose that for better maturing, the political leadership of this country should begin vetting mental health of leaders before they are recommended to contest as MPs,” he said.

Speaking in Plenary, Macho wondered how some MPs could return sh40m “even if they picked it on the road” when their people back in the constituency lack water, drugs, food, good roads and so on.

This was after MPs criticized Bukoto South MP, Twaha Kagabo for returning sh40m allegedly received from Parliament.

Kagabo returned the money to the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among who denied knowledge of the money and referred him to the Parliamentary Disciplinary Committee for questioning.

Among said Kagabo should explain who gave him the money and for what. She said what he did was an abuse of Parliament as an institution.

“We cannot allow this kind of behaviour, in this 11th Parliament. I, therefore, refer the member to the Rules and Disciplinary Committee and a report should be given back within one month. This House is not for playing politics. He has to show us who gave him the money, and what the money was meant for,” she said.

MP Solomon Siliwany requested the IGG to investigate him for failure to declare the money on time. He however did not mention his name.

This forced MP Maurice Kibalya to challenge him to name the MP. But before he could, MP Macho stood to give information.

“I want to agree as the chairman Forum on Mental Health, I thought it was a joke. Parliament is a temple of legislation and that is why the people in that House are called Honorable. The Speaker is not a cashier or a businesswoman. Why did Hon. Twaha allege that he got the money from you?” he asked.

“I suspect that this member has mental issues and in addition to being investigated, he should be referred for medical examination. He is a doctor but I don’t know whether medical or a traditional doctor. Surely you cannot in a situation where even if he picked money on the road, you have people dying due to lack of food, cows are dying and hospitals have no drugs, the constituency has no water and you return money to wherever you allege to have picked it,” Macho complained.

Addressing a joint press briefing at Parliament, Kagabo said, “Some time ago, I received money to a tune of Sh40m on my account and shortly after that, I was also invited to pick sh40m which I was told was an arrangement internally from parliament. And I received this money,”

“After receiving the money, we were summoned at the NUP party headquarters a few days later and we were advised to return the money,” he said.

Kagabo said that he had taken long to return the money since he need to carry out soul searching and also get feedback from his Constituency.

“I had pressure from my voters who have continuously blamed me why I had accepted receiving the sh40m bloody money,” he said.