Kampala: Expelled MPs ready for court showdown

By Nelson Wesonga.

MPs recently expelled from the National Resistance Movement say they are ready for a court battle after the ruling party indicated it was moving to the Constitutional Court to challenge their continued stay in Parliament.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Mr Barnabas Tinkasiimire (Buyaga West) said the NRM was right in going to the Constitutional Court “because it is not like the NRM kangaroo court”.

“The NRM is going to a civilised place. The party assumes it will influence cadre judges. But the judges have careers. And they know the public is watching. The court’s role is to interpret the law, not to make it,” Mr Tinkasimiire said yesterday, without elaborating on what he meant by “cadre judges”.

He added: “We hope for the best. But should the Constitutional Court rule in NRM’s favour, we shall go to the Supreme Court.” 

The MP’s remarks come after the NRM announced that it would go to the Constitutional Court to challenge Parliament’s decision not to evict the four legislators.

Mr Tinkasimiire, Mr Wilfred Niwagaba (Ndorwa East), Mr Muhammad Nsereko (Kampala Central) and Mr Theodore Ssekikubo (Lwemiyaga) were last month expelled from the NRM on grounds of indiscipline. Their Rwampara counterpart, Mr Vincent Kyamadidi, was suspended for three months.

The MPs say they were targeted because they spoke out against corrupt party officials.

After the NRM expelled the MPs, it wrote to the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga to push the legislators out of the House. She, however, dismissed the call, saying it was not backed by law.

The battle will now move to the courts after NRM assembled a team of five lawyers to prosecute its case. Among the named lawyers is Mr Severino Twinobusingye, whom court in December awarded Shs12.9 billion in costs for a different case. The award caused a public uproar.

Others on the team are Mr John Mary Mugisha, Mr Chris John Bakiza, Mr Sam Mayanja and Mr Joseph Matsiko.

“The legal team has been instructed by the NRM to file a petition…to challenge the ruling of the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, regarding the expulsion of the NRM rebel MPs,” stated a May 19 press release from State House.

The NRM argues that since the MPs stood for election on the party ticket, they should cease to hold the positions since that mandate has been withdrawn.

Last week, the Attorney General, Mr Peter Nyombi, weighed in the debate, recommending that the MPs leave the House since they do not fit in any category through which one is elected to Parliament.

He concluded that the four should be expelled, a position that Parliament spokesperson Helen Kawesa said would not be implemented.

Ms Kawesa said the Speaker had based her decision on Article 83 of the Constitution, which does not expressly provide for expulsion of a legislator just because the political party on whose ticket he or she made it to Parliament has expelled them.

The shadow attorney general, Mr Abdu Katuntu, said the NRM’s decision to go to court is routine.

“Mr Saleh Kamba (Kibuku MP) was a proxy for the NRM. So there is nothing new. The NRM wants to show that President Museveni is behind the petition,” said Mr Katuntu.

Mr Kamba had also filed a similar petition in court.

This newspaper last week reported that the President had reportedly told Cabinet that he was disappointed by Ms Kadaga’s decision even after he had spelt the grounds on which to expel the four MPs to her.

Source: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Expelled-MPs-ready-for-court-showdown/-/688334/1857508/-/m3ytyvz/-/index.html