In a resolute and assertive statement, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mathias Mpuuga has delivered a firm declaration to the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among asserting their independence and autonomy as legislators.
While addressing the media at Parliament on Thursday, Mpuuga emphasized a stance of unwavering determination telling the Speaker that they they refuse to succumb to intimidation and instead, he asked her to concentrate on the adherence of the Executive to Parliament’s directives.
As the political landscape simmers with tension between the Speaker and the opposition, Mpuuga’s outspoken stance during the address to the Speaker and other key figures serves as a stark reminder of Parliament’s constitutional role and its authority in holding the Executive accountable.
His words echoed a sentiment shared by many within the legislative body, asserting that compliance with Parliament’s instructions by the Executive is not a matter of negotiation but an obligation fundamental to the democratic process.
The unwavering resolve expressed by Mpuuga reverberates beyond mere rhetoric, signalling a significant assertion of parliamentary power and reinforcing the principle of checks and balances within the government.
“Our absence from the House is official because it was officially communicated. It’s the duty of Parliament’s presiding officers to consider how to treat official communication. Our demand of the Speaker is to follow up on Parliament’s instructions to the Executive. We expect her to be neutral; an arbitrator or referee whose duty is to demand that the Executive come and answer. Other matters short of an answer are peripheral and we are not willing to be diverted into that,” he said.
Mpuuga went ahead and informed the Speaker threatening them to be removed from the list of MPs going to travel is just a trivial issue compared to the lives of people who were abducted and killed.
“There is no amount of comparison or a position one can make, let’s say the allowance the people get out of travel, Per DM and so on with the lives of the people. I’m afraid we are not going into that divergence because the matters we demand are extremely important and crucial. In fact, they are not even partisan and we expect our presider the neutral arbitrator to make demands on the other side as the neutral member otherwise we shall wait until the ministers return to the House,” he said.
Mpuuga’s response to the Speaker underscores a crucial moment in the ongoing dynamics between the Speaker and the opposition. It also calls for stressing the insistence on transparent and accountable actions by the Executive in response to Parliament’s directives. The boldness of his statements sets the stage for potential shifts in the power dynamics in the opposition comp.
His statements follow the Speaker’s cautions on Wednesday where she threatened to write off all opposition MPs from the list of those going for East African Parliamentary games.
“They should be gotten off the list because you cannot be in the House Who are you going to represent out there? You should be able to represent your House first from here before you represent it in East Africa. And I want to ask members of the accountability committees where you have a chairman who is missing, I want you to invoke rule 2035 of the rules of procedure for you to continue transacting and also elect a member within you to lead. I’m giving you this power,” she said.
It has been more than a month since opposition legislators initiated a boycott of the plenary sessions, pressing the state for answers regarding the fate of 18 individuals allegedly abducted or killed. Their demand for accountability remains steadfast, marking an ongoing absence from the sessions until satisfactory responses are provided by the state.
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