MP Lyomoki, union boss in row
A ROW has erupted between the top leadership of the Uganda Medical Workers Union, with the chairman, Apollo Nyangasi, suspending the general secretary, Dr. Sam Lyomoki.
By Charles Ariko
A ROW has erupted between the top leadership of the Uganda Medical Workers Union, with the chairman, Apollo Nyangasi, suspending the general secretary, Dr. Sam Lyomoki.
In a March 3 letter to Lyomoki, who is also a Workers MP, Nyangasi said: “Colleague, you have pushed me so hard to the wall that I am now compelled to invoke my constitutional powers as national chairman to suspend you from the office of the union as general secretary with immediate effect.â€
Nyangasi said Lyomoki should be recalled from Parliament for reportedly breaching the workers constitution.
“When we elected you to Parliament to represent us, we did not elect you on the grounds of any political party but to our surprise and dismay, we only read in the media about your scandals in the NRM Caucus, which I think is an executive role putting you in a conflict of interest when you have to defend workers and at the same time speak for the Government.â€
In another letter to the Minister of Labour, Nyangasi said Lyomoki was holding three posts, which was contrary to the Labour Unions Act 2006.
He said Lyomoki was the Workers MP, secretary general of the Central Organisation of Free Trade Unions and general secretary of the Uganda Workers Union.
“His wife, Mrs. Margaret Kamondi Lyomoki, is the secretary women affairs yet she is also a member of the national executive committee.
“This is a subject of conflict of interest in the governance of the union. Given that women constitute 60% of the union members, she influences members towards her husband’s interests,†Nyangasi wrote.
However, Lyomoki scoffed at Nyangasi, saying he had no powers to suspend him because he was no longer chairman of the union.
In a February 11 letter to the commissioner of labour, Lyomoki said: “In a meeting held on February 9, the national executive committee suspended Apollo Nyangasi from the office of chairman.â€
He added that the vice-chairman, Aggrey Sanya, had been appointed acting chairman of the Uganda Medical Workers Union.
A ROW has erupted between the top leadership of the Uganda Medical Workers Union, with the chairman, Apollo Nyangasi, suspending the general secretary, Dr. Sam Lyomoki.
In a March 3 letter to Lyomoki, who is also a Workers MP, Nyangasi said: “Colleague, you have pushed me so hard to the wall that I am now compelled to invoke my constitutional powers as national chairman to suspend you from the office of the union as general secretary with immediate effect.â€
Nyangasi said Lyomoki should be recalled from Parliament for reportedly breaching the workers constitution.
“When we elected you to Parliament to represent us, we did not elect you on the grounds of any political party but to our surprise and dismay, we only read in the media about your scandals in the NRM Caucus, which I think is an executive role putting you in a conflict of interest when you have to defend workers and at the same time speak for the Government.â€
In another letter to the Minister of Labour, Nyangasi said Lyomoki was holding three posts, which was contrary to the Labour Unions Act 2006.
He said Lyomoki was the Workers MP, secretary general of the Central Organisation of Free Trade Unions and general secretary of the Uganda Workers Union.
“His wife, Mrs. Margaret Kamondi Lyomoki, is the secretary women affairs yet she is also a member of the national executive committee.
“This is a subject of conflict of interest in the governance of the union. Given that women constitute 60% of the union members, she influences members towards her husband’s interests,†Nyangasi wrote.
However, Lyomoki scoffed at Nyangasi, saying he had no powers to suspend him because he was no longer chairman of the union.
In a February 11 letter to the commissioner of labour, Lyomoki said: “In a meeting held on February 9, the national executive committee suspended Apollo Nyangasi from the office of chairman.â€
He added that the vice-chairman, Aggrey Sanya, had been appointed acting chairman of the Uganda Medical Workers Union.