Mpuuga: “Zaake is still our commissioner of Parliament, period”
The Leader of Opposition Mathias Mpuuga has described as illegal the parliamentary proceedings that led to the expulsion of Mityana Municipality MP, Francis Zaake from his position as commissioner.
Zaake ceased being a parliamentary commissioner following a vote on a motion to have him out on grounds of misconduct.
In a secret ballot conducted out of 161 members of Parliament, 155 MPs voted to remove Zaake from the commission while only four MPs voted against the motion.
Zaake’s removal comes after Parliament also adopted the report of the Committee of Rules, Discipline and Privileges with amendments presented by Chairperson, Abdu Katuntu.
The vote followed debate of the report of the committee that found Zaake in breach of public trust and confidence.
Zaake was probed for statements he allegedly made on social media disparaging the Deputy Speaker, Anita Among.
Speaking to the media, Mpuuga claimed the parliamentary rules of procedure were breached.
“They jump to amend the resolutions of the committee and recommendations to include matters not envisaged and without the member being given hearing rest on critical illegality. I am very sure when the time comes to officially raise these issues, they will be able to be laid bare,”he said.
Mpuuga said they are not about to nominate another person for the job.
“We didn’t succeed in getting a settlement to the conflict because we feared that what started as altercation would descend into conflict in Parliament, and therefore will serve to curtail the job for which we were elected. Hon Zaake Francis is still a Parliament Commissioner, we shall not forward another name as Speaker Anita Among said,” he noted.
