By Henry Mukasa
and Stuart Price

DEMOCRATIC Party (DP) leader Dr Paul Ssemogerere has said the Movement secretariat should be closed and the civil servants there be sent on paid leave or deployed in ministries.

He said no money should be given to the secretariat because the Movement was declared a political organisation different from a ‘system’ envisaged in the constitution.

He said the Parliament debate on the Movement Amendment Bill 2003 was also subjudice because the bill was being challenged in court.

Ssemogerere, Mbarara Municipality MP Winnie Byanyima and Kyaddondo South MP Issa Kikungwe petitioned the Constitutional court on Monday challenging the validity of the Bill and funding to the secretariat.

“The Movement Amendment Bill is in breach of the Parliamentary rules of procedure as the Bill is being challenged in the Constitu-tional court,” Ssemm-ogerere told a press conference yesterday at the DP headquarters.

MPs on the parliamentary legal and parliamentary affairs committee disregarded a letter from the party lawyers, warning them of debating an issue before court.