The shadow Internal Affairs ministers who also doubles as the Mukono North legislator Abudallah Kiwanuka has warned his boss the speaker of parliament Annet Anita Among to prepare the worst after the Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka on behalf of the parliament lost the Constitutional petition against maverick Mityana Municipality Member of Parliament (MP) Francis Butebi Zaake.
In a majority judgment of 4-1, the Constitutional Court allowed Zaake’s petition and declared the actions of Speaker Among to dismiss him from the parliamentary commission illegal.
Court ordered the Attorney General to pay half of the costs of the petition.
In her leading judgement, Justice Irene Mulyagonja supported by the judgment of other justices who include; Justice Eva Luswata, Justice Muzamir Kibedi and Justice Oscar Kihika declared that the then deputy speaker Among acted as a judge in her own case when she continued chairing the parliament in a matter which she had personal interest which resulted into contravening with Article 2(2),(2), 8A, 28, 42, 44(c) of the constitution.
They added that parliament violated rule 111(5) of the Rules of Procedure of the parliament during the debate of the motion to remove Zaake from the office of the Commissioner.
The amendment of the recommendations in the report of the Committee on Rules, Privileges and Discipline to include a recommendation that Zaake be removed from the office of the commissioner had no legal basis and was illegal.
However, Justice Catherine Bamugemereire disagreed with other members of the panel and dismissed the application but her judgment was defeated by the majority judgment.
The entire legal battled started in 2022 when speaker Among made statements while presiding over plenary concerning legislator Zaake’s gold medal win in the East African parliamentary games even though he claimed he was still nursing torture wounds as a result of State operatives torture which did not went well the youthful legislator.
Zaake took his anger to social media and blasted Among which resulted into his dismissal from the parliamentary commission.
However, Kiwanuka insists that Zaake’s win in the Constitutional Court is a vote of no confidence from President Museveni explaining that if he wanted Among to win, she would have won.
He insisted that Museveni wanted to show that she doesn’t have the powers she thinks she is exhibiting and she should be very careful because very soon, she could be impeached from her office.
Kiwanuka explained that Museveni has been sending serious warning signals to Among that she is nothing.
That’s why he refused to respond to her when parliament impeached junior Lands, Housing and Urban Development minister Persis Namuganza.
Namuganza is still sitting on the front benches at parliament where ministers sat even after her impeachment.
Kiwanuka’s warning comes hours after Zaake boasted that he is going back to the parliamentary Commission in high gear and he will start with asking for a special audit on the funds which were okayed by the parliamentary commission to be used by parliament.
He insisted that one of the reasons why he was illegally dismissed from the parliamentary Commission was because he questioned the manner in which the money was released and sabotaged some of the deals in the commission.
Zaake asked fellow legislators like; Dr. Twaha Kagabo, Jim Lukwago to believe in themselves and stop taking looking at Among as goddess because she can also be defeated.
However, Kira Municipality legislator Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda warned Zaake that even if he has won the court case, he might fail to perform as a Commissioner as a result of being frustrated by fellow commissioners.
He pleaded with the Leader of Opposition in Parliament Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba to talk to the speaker so that she mends her relationship with Zaake to create a good working relationship.
The Attorney General has already filed a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court against Justice Mulyagonja’s leading judgment.
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