Age Limit: MP Odonga Otto drags Kadaga to Inter-Parliamentary Union, wants speaker suspended

By Watchdog reporter

Aruu County Member of Parliament Odonga Otto has filed a petition to the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) over the recent arrest and torture of MPs opposed to the contentious age limit bill.

IPU is the governing council for all parliamentarians around the globe and its headquarters are found in Geneva, Switzerland.

On 27 September, 2017, 24 legislators opposed to age limit bill were suspended by Speaker Rebecca Kadaga and they were forcefully evicted from parliament by armed security operatives.

In a letter dated 12 October, 2017, Otto accuses Kadaga of occasioning, permitting and presided over the disgraceful of the legislators who were bundled onto waiting police vehicle at the gate of parliament and driven to various detention centers.

He says most of the MPs sustained serious and grave injuries and some are still in hospital seeking medical attention.

Otto has requested IPU to bar the speaker from presenting a paper in Geneva which is due to take place on 15^th October, 2017.

“We are aware that Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament Hon. Rebecca Kadaga is supposed to present a paper on Sunday 15^th October, 2017 entitled “Promoting cultural pluralism through interfaith and interethnic dialogue” which we pray does not see the light of day,” letter reads in part.

The professional lawyer further has tasked the governing body to urgently consider suspending Kadaga from IPU and other International Parliamentary forum activities since he believes she does not deserve to sit in the league of democrats.

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