Opposition legislators in Uganda are contemplating a move to impeach President Yoweri Museveni, over allegations that he breached constitutional provisions on delegation of authority.
Though ‘to impeach’ seems impractical in Uganda’s politics, opposition MPs have to nevertheless keep their hopes alive and try to axe wrongdoers from office. This time around, President Yoweri Museveni is in their firing line.
This followed his revelation on June 8th, that he was taking a forced leave, on top of delegating his work to Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, a day after testing positive for Covid-19.
President Museveni’s assertion on his health status indicated that he might have been responsible for his health woes, having said that he had to give up on facemasks because they were causing him allergic reactions in the eyes and the throat.
The President’s actions, right from when he revealed that he tested positive for Covid-19 attracted attention from opposition politicians, who want him to resign or face a political axe.
This website caught up with Hon. Muwada Nkunyingi, a professional lawyer and Kyadondo East MP in a phone interview about the matter. He clarified that the president was caught in the mire of disrespect for law chronology with delegation of his authority to the Prime Minister, as opposed to the Vice President or the Speaker of Parliament.
“When you look at the constitution and I think Article 109, when the president is unwell, or unfit, or not in office, the chronology of the law is that he must hand over to the Vice President, or the Speaker of Parliament…We are questioning the rationale of jumping the Vice President and the law is very elaborate that if the Vice President is not well, then he delegates to the speaker,” said Hon. Nkunyingi.
The legislators are also angry with the President’s appearance in public, yet according to them he knew he was Covid-19 positive, during his state of the nation address at Kololo independence grounds on June 7th, which could have exposed the public to the danger of contracting Covid-19.
“He knew he had Covid, but appeared a day before with the speaker and deputy speaker, no one had a mask, probably he would have advised them to put on a mask, that is responsible living, he came and appeard before the public, but the only protection he had was an umbrella, exposing the public to Covid-19,” added Hon. Nkunyingi.
“From his revelation, he said he had two results. Positive or negative. So we are trying to establish how then could he surrender and appear to the Public when it has been his argument and he had been at the frontline of saying, when you have Covid, you disassociate with the public, or if you associate, you have a mask”
After careful scrutiny and analysis, of the circumstances surrounding HE. Museveni’s approach to the state of affairs in this case according to Hon. Nkunyingi, the opposition side will start gathering signatures to sweep the President under a political carpet.
“Article 107 it provides for willful misbehavior by the president, its the ground for impeachment and the procedure is elaborate that when you collect one third of the signatures, you petition the Speaker.”
Pheona Hall Nabasa, the President for Uganda Law Society told 88.8 CBS FM in an interview said that they are closely monitoring the developments, evaluating the available evidence, assessing how the President acted and that this will help them determine their next course of action.
“The law which gives him a greenlight to delegate his power is very clear, it clearly lays down the hierarchical procedure on what the president should do, if he is not feeling well, unfit or not in office,” said Hall Nabasa.
She supplied a ray of hope to the opposition side that it is possible to impeach the President due to constitutional breach and inability to perform his presidential tasks because of incapacitation by illness, but the petitioners have to supply irrevocable evidence to prove that he is unable to execute his duties, given that someone can be with Covid, self isolate and still work.
On his part, city lawyer and human rights defender Elias Luyimbazi Nalukoola seemed to toe Hon. Nkunyingi’s line. He said that the President’s act of delegating his duties to the Prime Minister, skipping other officials as stipulated by the constitution shows his contempt of the law.
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