Published on 17/06/2024
Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, has assured legislators Cissy Namujju, Lwenogo District Woman Representative, Paul Akamba of Busiki County, and Bunyole East Constituency Yusuf Mutembuli of Parliament’s support following their arrest over corruption allegations. The MPs are accused of soliciting 20% of the Uganda Human Rights Commission budget. Tayebwa emphasized the importance of due process and the presumption of innocence.
Tayebwa addressed this issue during the handover ceremony of the new leadership of the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Youth Affairs (UPFYA) on June 13, 2024, at Parliament. He emphasized that the President is pleased with the 11th Parliament’s performance despite longstanding rumors of corruption since the 9th and 10th Parliaments. Tayebwa urged all MPs to support the ongoing efforts to cleanse the institution of corruption.
“I don’t want you to lose confidence. I want to implore you, none of you should be scared, unless you are involved in wrong things. Of course, we always stand by our colleagues but standing by our colleagues doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be held accountable. As a leadership of Parliament, we shall stand by our colleagues until they are proven guilty,” said Tayebwa.
He also noted that the President had expressed concerns about corruption stemming from previous parliaments. “The President is very happy with the performance of Parliament, but there have been many rumors circulating, and he told us it was from previous Parliaments. Now he is narrowing it down, and we must support efforts aimed at cleaning our institution,” Tayebwa added.
During the State of the Nation Address – SONA on June 6, 2024, President Museveni lamented the corruption in Parliament, which included some officials from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development demanding budget shares from various agencies. Shortly thereafter, the three MPs were arrested and arraigned in court on corruption charges.
“We are working very closely with the President, and we hope that we can continue cleaning up. The message put out suggests that Parliament is rotten and finished. Most of you are hiding your heads in the sand. Please, come out and speak for the good things you are doing for this country,” Tayebwa stated.
The Deputy Speaker also disagreed with the Ministry of Finance’s assertion that MPs have been involved in corrupt budget tampering, explaining that reallocations by the 11th Parliament were within a 1% range, aimed at improving service delivery for Ugandans, which he argued cannot be categorized as corruption.
“At the reallocations in the budget with these things going on, you will find that we have tremendously reduced how much money Parliament reallocates during appropriations. We don’t exceed 1% of the national budget, and most of it is reallocated because MPs want schools, health centers, and tractors in their areas. To me, that isn’t corruption. But if you are making an omelet of 1,000 eggs and you have one spoiled egg, the whole omelette will be late,” Tayebwa explained.
During the ceremony, Phionah Nyamutoro, the Minister of State for Mineral Development and former head of the Youth Forum, reflected on the challenges faced by the Forum, particularly when funders withdrew support following the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023. She thanked the MPs for their continued support during that difficult time.
“The past leadership started on a note of very strong challenges when at the time, Parliament wasn’t a very strong partner for everyone because of the Anti-Homosexuality Act. Fortunately or unfortunately, the majority of our partners outside the Government avenue withdrew their support,” Nyamutoro said.
She urged the new leadership of the Youth Forum to champion causes related to sexual and reproductive health and rights among youths, noting that poor decisions in these areas have cost many young lives.
“Sexual reproductive health and rights is one of the key issues that is making us lose not only very many productive young people, but it is a matter that we continuously need to advocate for to ensure that the livelihoods of the youths out there are at the frontline of being better.” Nyamutoro emphasized.
Eastern Region Youth MP, Bernard Odoi who has taken over the leadership of the Forum, promised to address pending issues left by the previous leadership and called on development partners to support MPs during election campaigns to champion youth issues.
“I want to request that the members present here and the general members of the Forum of your support to ensure that young people and the future of this country are trained and given the opportunity not just to be participants in elections but to be an integral part of the electoral process”. Odoi said.
Meanwhile in his message to youth leaders, Tayebwa raised concerns about the capability of youths to hold Uganda’s leadership, citing the lack of mentors to guide them through challenges like drug addiction and mental illness, which many youths are currently facing.
He added, “Beyond leaders, our youths are dying of addiction, mental issues, and the problem with these issues is that they affect the cleverest of the young people. Rarely do you find a person who isn’t clever being engaged in those activities. But also, as young people, we want mentors, but look around, it is very difficult to find mentors in this country,” Tayebwa illustrated
He also warned politicians against hiding behind invisible enemies in politics to escape accountability. Instead, he encouraged using moments of criticism for self-reflection.
