Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has defended her move where she saved four Members of Parliament who were expelled by National Resistance Movement (NRM) from losing their parliament seats saying her stand was for the good of democracy
“I had to look at the constitution and make a ruling which has no precedent anywhere. It was landmark, I took oath to Uganda and the Constitution, I was defending the Constitution,” she said while appearing on Capital Gang, a popular Radio talk show.
She further said that if she had expelled the MPs, it would trigger off a series of expulsions from parties who wanted some of their MPs out and it would lead to by-elections. “I would receive a letter from Olara Ottunu (former UPC president, Democratic Party expelling members and lead to many by-elections,’ she said.
In April 2013, NRM’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) led by the then Secretary General, Amama Mbabazi requested that the Speaker expelled MPs Theodore Ssekikubo, Wilfred Nuwagaba, Mohammed Nsereko and Barnabas Tinkasimiire from Parliament.
Basing on Article 83 of the constitution, Ms. Kadaga observed that there were no grounds on which she could fire the four MPS from the house.
“Reading of the whole Constitution, there is no specific provision on the expulsion of Members of Parliament by their political parties leading to the declaration of their seats in Parliament vacant,” she said in her ruling.
The NRM later her appealed against her ruling to the Constitutional Court which overturned it, the four MPs appealed to the Supreme Court. And on 30 October 2015, led by Justice Bart Katuureebe, six out of seven judges held that the Constitutional Court was wrong to rule that the MPs leave Parliament.
