By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
The deputy speaker of parliament Rt Hon. Thomas Bangirana Tayebwa on Tuesday suspended from parliament five legislators of the National Unity Platform (NUP) under unclear reasons.
The MPs were suspended from attending plenary session for three days excluding the day on which they were suspended. They are Hon. Betty Bakireke Nambooze (Mukono municipality), Francis Zaake Butebi (Mityana municipality), Frank Kabuye (Kassanda south), Nyeko Derrick (Makindye East) and Mityana district woman MP, Joyce Bagala Ntwatwa.
This followed dramatic scenes in house when the parliamentary ICT team failed to play a video submitted by the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba appended to his submission in response to government report on security manhandling of opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu aka Bobi Wine at Entebbe Airport recently and the alleged human rights abuse in the country.
According to Mpuuga, the person responsible for playing the video allegedly disappeared. This caused unnecessary drama in the house as some members of parliament from the NRM questioned the authenticity of the said video while the opposition bitterly exchanged words demanding for the video to play.
Deputy Speaker Tayebwa then suspended the plenary for 10minutes and thereafter the video was played.
When parliament resumed, Tayebwa without any reasons used his powers as granted in Article 89(4) of the rules and procedures of Parliament to suspend the MPs.
Rule 89(4) states that, “If a member is suspended, his or her suspension in the first occasion in a session shall be for the next three sittings, excluding the sitting in which he or she was suspended; on the 2nd occasion in a session, for the next seven sittings excluding the sitting in which he or she was suspended, and on the third and any subsequent occasion during the same session for the next 28 sittings of the house, excluding the sitting in which the member was suspended.”
The deputy speaker then adjourned the house to Wednesday, October 18, at 2pm.
“We had made a compilation of videos to back up our case against the violation of the rights of Opposition supporters and leaders but the regime, ashamed of its brutality and other rights abuses ran away with the system that was meant to play the videos.” Said LoP
