The former Senior Presidential Press Secretary, Joseph Tamale Mirundi has warned that if Parliament does not handle well the issues of State Minister for Housing, Persis Namuganza, both the Speaker and her Deputy may find themselves wounded politically than they expect.
During an interview with a local YouTube media channel on Thursday, Mirundi said the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and her Deputy Thomas Tayebwe are being lured into a war which they will end up losing. He added that Namuganza has a big force behind her and the majority of Ugandans support her since Parliament of recent has shown citizens that it is full of selfish and greedy people.
Namuganza’s scandal with the leadership of Parliament roots way back from 1st March 2022 when the Parliament constituted a nine-member ad hoc committee headed by Kazo MP Dan Kimosho that found out that several government officials, including ministers, had participated in the fraudulent allocation of Nakawa-Naguru land. For Namuganza, who was the minister of state for lands at the time, the committee found that she ordered the dubious giveaway of public land.
While appearing before the committee, some members alluded that Namuganza disrespected the committee and called for her censure. When the Minister appeared before the House to defend herself last week, she asked for forgiveness if she disrespected the members of the committee. However, as she was ending her speech, the Bukono County legislator informed the House that she intends to bring a motion against the fraudulent marriage between Speaker Among and Moses Magogo, the Budiope East lawmaker who also serves as President of Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA).
It’s from this point that Mirundi warned the two leaders of Parliament because Namuganza’s issue demands a Constitutional Court to come out and explain the role of parliament over the minister.
“Namuganza has a big force and wants the constitutional court to interpret the role of Parliament over the minister and the committees of Parliament. Parliament can not become a gang of thieves who satisfy their interests. There is something that must be done this is not a Parliament. This woman is very clever, she wants to display the decadence in the Parliament,” he said.
The political analyst added, “If you want to solve a problem in Politics you create a contradiction. Namuganza has a big force, if Parliament is not careful, this Namuganza wave may go with both the Speaker and her Deputy. When Namuganza talks about Speaker Among’s marriage with Magogo, she is asking Among if she has a moral authority to preside over Parliament when her marriage is unclear. Can a Muslim marry in a Church? This is a trap and I’m surprised these people cannot see it.”
It’s alleged that the root cause of this scandal is the Minister’s husband Geoffrey Rwakabale who by the time he was serving as Makindye division Town Clerk rescinded the registration of the marriage between Among and Magogo.
According to Minister, her husband was forced to issue a marriage certificate confirming that the to are officially married.
“They went and attacked my husband because he is a civil servant and forced him to sign papers. They were not there [physically]; they sent their security team, and they made him sign under duress. And after what happened, he reported to security and rescinded the marriage,” she said, adding, “They sent several people intimidating him that he must sign to retract the papers that were rescinding the marriage. We have brought the matter to the attention of the President, and he has directed CID to investigate. My husband has already made a statement, but she [Speaker] has been sending messages intimidating him, saying how I’m going to punish your wife, and we have proof,” Namuganza said.
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