Parliament reprimands Tumwine over assault

KAMPALA-Parliament has found the Minister for Security, Gen. Elly Tumwine culpable of verbally and emotionally assaulting the Dokolo District Woman MP, Cecilia Ogwal during a heated session last month.

The decision to hold Tumwine who doubles as one of Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF) representatives in Parliament, responsible for shouting down and threatening violence against the elderly colleague was reached yesterday evening.

MPs across the political divide, unanimously adopted a report by the parliament committee on rules, privileges, and discipline that has for the last fortnight, been investigating a litany of misconduct accusations levied against Tumwine including contempt of the institution he has served for over three decades and its leadership but he was exonerated on the accusation.

Last month, Bukonzo West MP, Atkins Katusabe brought to the fore a statement vindicating Tumiwne of having made contemptuous utterances against the authority of Parliament and its leadership, prompting the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga to call for an investigation into the matter.

The report tabled by committee chair Kenneth Ongalo-Obote (Kalaki County) said Katusabe accused Tumwine of demeaning the Speaker in a private meeting, when the former had gone to lodge a complaint about the closure and heavy security deployment at the Babughirana and Alisam abattoirs in Kasese, with soldiers given shot to kill orders.

It added that Katusabe claimed that Tumwine said: "Who is speaker? What is parliament? The Speaker rules over parliament, she doesn't rule over Uganda, this country was liberated by the army but not by her parliament, don't tell me about your parliament the army cannot be directed by civilians…"

Obote said whereas his investigation found that Tumwine made the said utterances according to witness submissions made by both Atkins and Tumwine and corroborated by the state minister for health Sarah Opendi who also attended the meeting, it exonerated him (Tumiwne) of contempt of parliament because he made the statements in a private meeting.

"We observed that he made the statements but he considered it a private meeting, he thus expressed his views in an informal way, therefore, they needed to be treated with confidentiality. We thus can't determine whether they were meant to demean parliament and the speaker," said Obote.

On allegations that Tumwine threatened to harm Ogwal for disclosing that in the 7th Parliament, he drew a gun at her for opposing DDT to control mosquitoes, the committee said that whereas the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage was not clear enough to prove there was an attempt to cause physical harm.

Obote said statements from Ogwal and eyewitnesses Lilly Adong (Nwoya district Woman Member of Parliament) and Judith Akello (Agago District Woman) proved that Tumiwne's raised voice against his victim, finger pointing and back and forth movement within the Parliament lobby, "apprehended fear for Ogwal and her family as well as raising her blood pressure."