Speaker Kadaga suspends six MPs over age limit debate

Speaker Rebecca Kadaga interprets parliamentary rules as if she stopped in nursery school, suspended Kira Municipality MP Ssemujju Nganda has said. 

Six MPs were today suspended from Parliament sittings for masterminding chaos as the House resumed debate on the proposal to amend the presidential age limit.

The MPs suspended by the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, are: Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, Allan Ssewanyana, Gerald Karuhanga, Jonathan Odur, Anthony Akol and Mubarak Manyangwa.

Ssemujju accused the speaker of flouting parliamentary rules when she severally ignored points of procedure raised by opposition MPs, including some MPs allegedly sitting on multiple parliamentary committees yet the House rules say that an MP can only be a member of one committee.

The issue of subjudice was also raised because Parliament had been sued in the East African Court of Justice. 

Speaker Rebecca Kadaga interprets parliamentary rules as if she stopped in a nursery school - suspended MP Ssemujju Nganda #AgeLimit #Uganda ? @bamulanzeki pic.twitter.com/plDVRP5usG

— The Observer (@observerug) December 18, 2017

This is the second time in less than three months that Ssewanyana and Odur are suspended from the House. They were last suspended in September as part of a group of 25 legislators accused of paralyzing parliamentary business, on the day Igara West MP Raphael Magyezi was expected to table a motion for a private members bill seeking to, among others, amend the presidential age limit.

The September 27, suspension resulted in chaos when plain-clothed security personnel raided the Chambers to eject them forcefully.

Sewanyana and Odur will stay away from parliament for seven sittings. The others, Ssemujju, Karuhanga, Akol and Munyagwa, who are suspended for the first time, will miss the next three sittings of Parliament, according to the Rules of Procedure. 

Earlier, Kadaga had warned that members who breach rules of Procedure would face tougher sanctions. However, her caution fell on deaf ears when those opposed to lifting the presidential age limit started singing the National anthem continuously, bringing the House to a standstill akin to the September sessions.

Members of the Opposition alleged that they had seen unfamiliar faces in Parliament who they believe were part of security personnel who ejected them from the House in September.

They were earlier seen among a group of opposition legislators who were standing on the floor of Parliament persistently raising points of procedure and order even when the speaker directed them to sit.

Ssewanyana at a particular point attempted to grab a report that was being read out by the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee chairperson Jacob Oboth-Oboth.

This prompted a 15-minute consultation between the Speaker, Sergeant-at-Arms and Parliamentary Police before debate resumed. Later, Kadaga read out their names for suspension without giving any reason to justify the decision. 

Kadaga last week communicated that MP's would be receiving the report on the controversial 'Age Limit' Bill from the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee today. The announcement ended speculation surrounding the delays in presentation of the committee report, a prerequisite for the second reading of the bill.

Suspended MPs, Mubaraka Munyagwa, Ssemujju Nganda accuse Speaker Rebecca Kadaga of  flouting Parliamentary rules during the #AgeLimit bill debate ? @bamulanzeki #Uganda pic.twitter.com/tgvXr5MbhV

— The Observer (@observerug) December 18, 2017