Bagaya raps Toro constitution

PRINCESS Elizabeth Bagaya has attacked the Toro kingdom’s constitution for usurping the powers of the Omukama (king), reports Emmanuel Mulondo. Speaking during a session of the Orukurato (kingdom Parliament) on Saturday, Bagaya said the vetting of Nyabongo Rwakijuma’s appointment as the Omuhikirwa (premier) by the Orukurato contravened tradition. “Never has it ever been part of our tradition for the Orukurato to appoint the Omuhikirwa. This is usurping the Omukama’s powers,” she said. Mgr. Thomas Kisembo, one of the regents of the child king Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru had just communicated the appointment to the Orukurato for approval. The Speaker, Rev. Clovis Kyalimpa, presided over the session. The constitution drawn under the administration of John Sanyu Katuramu, the former Omuhikirwa now on death row in Luzira, provides for vetting by the Orukurato. The Orukurato cheered Bagaya and later decided that a constitutional review committee be set up to streamline the issue of vetting.