#MuherezaWrites
Op-Ed
An X campaign dubbed #UgandaParliarmentExhibition that started as an activism to check parliamentary conduct revealed certain scandals that put one of the veteran respectable Politician Mathias Mpuuga on the spot over his “Kasiimo” (service award) of 500m that was person to holder. This award was also given to other NRM commissioners including Esther Afoyochan and Solomon Silwanyi.
Whereas one could argue that this money is stipulated in the law, its not clear how much and what it depends on to be awarded to a certain individual. This money brings in moral concerns due to the fact that it was person to holder and was awarded to Mpuuga just 6 months of being in the LOP office. Former LOP’s have testified to not ever receiving such kind of money during their regime. Bone of contention remains, What was this money for?, Why Mpuuga Specifically since it was person to holder?. What was he being being awarded for that he did exceptionally compared to other former LOP’s. Well this remains an Issue of Law Vs Moral Conscious.
Amidst all this, some media houses have narrowed this to a “Mpuuga ‘Bobi Wine Feud. They have committed alot of logical fallacies of lacing the debate with Straw man and red herrings.The narrative has been crippled down to a mere individual feud yet this is a matter of national importance since it involves tax payers money. This sets a wrong precedent and kills health debate. This act of media houses creating and dwelling on hyperbolic sensational reporting even on such critical issues is a shame.
Because democracies rely on an informed citizenry to debate and decide among policy choices, sensationalism may threaten effective involvement by desensitizing the public to information about salient aspects of society.
