The office of the clerk to Parliament of Uganda has dismissed reports that 40m shillings cash handouts were given to Mps under unclear circumstances.
This follows reports from the opposition National Unity Platform(NUP) that MPs received the said cash on Saturday and Sunday from Parliament and at the residence of the Speaker Anita Among.
NUP boss Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine on Tuesday asked MPs subscribing to his party to return the cash over reports that it was unclean.
Kyagulanyi has demanded that the money be taken back through the Leader of Opposition Mathias Mpuuga .
Now in a fresh communication,Parliament has distanced itself from the allegations by NUP, claiming all legislators have never been handed hard cash from parliament except through their respective accounts.
Chris Obore the Public Relations Director explains that the procedure for money to get to a legislator is through the consolidated account which is in turn remitted to an individual account.
Obore questions why the party has decided to drag the name of Parliament in the mud instead of using the right channels to address the matter.
“If indeed there has been such payment to Mps outside the known procedure as the NUP claims couldn't it have been right for the party to interest the accountability committees chaired by its members in the matter with evidence for action” he questioned
Obore says NUPMPs who allege receipt of the money are bound by section 10 of the penal code act 2002 to report the matter to the Inspectorate of Government for a thorough investigation.
He has also asked the media to be objective in reporting the matter because it affects an institution that represents the entire nation.
“It is unfortunate that a section of the media has picked up and published yet they ought to interrogate these claims with professional fairness and rigor,the image of parliament should not be sacrificed at the altar of the internal party . Parliament belongs to the citizens and not individual political parties. Respect to Parliament is respect to citizens” he said
Joel Ssenyonyi, the spokesperson of NUP confirmed that three MPs confessed in a crisis meeting to receiving the cash.
“We learned that indeed MPs got money and we called our members for a meeting. We were extremely furious with them. We gave them a chance to explain and some say that they were hoodwinked. But we told them there is everything wrong with this money. MPs receive their salary through their bank accounts. For you to be called to go to Anita Among’s home in the middle of the night to pick money, there is everything wrong with it,” Ssenyonyi said.
