UPC accuse MPs of double standards

By Franko Olong and Umaru Kashaka
                     
The Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) has accused MPs on the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments of  double standards by approving the former army commander as minister of internal affairs despite having “refused” to resign from the army.

Addressing the press at the party headquarters in Kampala, UPC's vice president, Joseph Bossa, wondered why the committee in 2009 forcibly ordered Gen. Jeje Odong to resign from the army before he could be cleared to become minister of state for defence.

“Why did they (MPs) forcibly order Gen. Odong to resign before approving him as a minister and yet they recently accepted to approve Gen. Aronda Nyakairima? Why did the law work on Gen. Odong and not work on Gen Nyakairima?” This is a breach of the constitution,” he said.

Opposition MPs last week agreed to seek legal redress in the Constitutional Court following the appointment and approval of Gen. Nyakairima as internal affairs minister.

“As the principal legal adviser of the opposition, I have instructions to file a petition in the Constitutional Court this week,” Abdu Katuntu, the FDC MP and shadow attorney general, said on Sunday.
“We are seeking an interpretation from the Constitutional Court in regard to the approval,” Katuntu added during a telephone interview.

Kasule Lumumba, the Government Chief Whip, said if the opposition does not agree with the decision taken by the appointments committee, going to court is the right decision.

On Thursday, the appointments committee of Parliament finally approved Aronda as minister, something which did not go down well with the opposition MPs, who later that day stormed out of plenary.

As a sign of dissatisfaction, the MPs said they were going to skip three plenary sittings. Katuntu explained that all the political parties represented in Parliament had agreed on the way forward.

He said the appointment and approval of Aronda is contrary to Article 1 of the Constitution as well as Article 208 on non-partisanship of the army.

He also cited Article 113 on functions of the Executive and Article 209 on functions of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces.

In earlier sittings of the appointments committee to vet Aronda, some members had insisted that he first resigns before he can take on a ministerial appointment.

They said a ministerial job is a political one, which the law bars serving soldiers from holdings.