Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has ‘rejected’ part of the new Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) changes saying that some of the appointments are capped with term limits and that the affected FDC members whose term of office has not expired should be allowed to complete their term. A fortnight ago, FDC President Patrick Amuriat Oboi made major changes in the FDC cabinet at Parliament where he among others dropped Winfred Kiiza (Kasese district) and replaced her with Gulu Woman MP Betty Aol Ochan.
He also dropped Abdu Katuntu as COSASE chair and replaced him with Kawempe South MP Mubarak Munyagwa. Other appointments included; William Nzoghu as member of Pan African Parliament, Francis Mwijukye as Parliamentary commissioner and others.
While chairing the House on Tuesday, Kadaga said that appointment of Nzoghu and Mwijukye replacing Prof. Ogenga Latigo and Cecilia Ogwal as member of Pan African Parliament andParliamentary commissioner respectively cannot take immediate effect until their tenure expires as stipulated by the law.
Last week while approving the FDC appointments, Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah hinted on the same and promised that guidance will be given after legal interpretation on when the appointments will take effect. He however approved the appointment of new Leader of Opposition saying that the law is silent on its tenure.
The constitution of the Parliamentary Commission is provided for in Rule 11 (5) of the Parliament Rules of Procedure which states that, “the Constitution of the Commission under this rule shall be done during the first session of a new Parliament and tenure of service of the four backbench Members (Commissioners) shall be for two and a half years subject to re-designation.”
Ogwal’s tenure as a commissioner expires in December this year.
On the other hand, Rules 13(3) states that, “the election to the Pan African Parliament shall take place in the first session of each Parliament” implying that Nzoghu cannot take on his new position since the term of five years of the current representative has not yet elapsed as provided in the Rules.
