The Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LoP) Mathias Mpuuga has revealed they were not surprised by the Gulu West legislator Ojara Martin Mapenduzi’s decision to move a censure motion against Mityana municipality MP Francis Zaake.
Mapenduzi accused Zaake of insulting the integrity of Parliament after he took to social media and used offensive language to express his dissatisfaction with the Deputy Speaker’s statement regarding his alleged torture.
The legislators argue that Zaake’s conduct when he attacked Deputy Speaker Anita Among on social media did not only denigrate the integrity of Parliament but was also a breach of Rule 84 and 85 and paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct of MPs.
In a secret ballot conducted yesterday out of 161 members of Parliament, 155 MPs voted to remove Zaake from the Parliament Commission while only four MPs voted against the proposal to remove Zaake.
Speaking earlier today, Mpuuga said Mapenduzi is a trapped man. “When a colleague is trapped, you give him time. With time, we shall establish whether he has found his way,” he Said
“Mapenduzi is leading a commission of local government with a lot of work. I am yet to get a report from his committee. We are giving him time to disentangle so that he can deliver on his work, “he said
Mpuuga said being in opposition is not by assumption but by action. Some of the members will crack, but they desire to keep everyone.
He in tandem said that Zaake will be supported all through and he has a right to seek alternative justice.
“Our member did not commit an offence We have said we will stand by our member, Zaake Francis, as he seeks justice. As opposition, we are duty-bound to our member. We have not yet discussed on how to forward a name,” Mpuuga said at parliament.
Being the Chairperson, Local Government Accounts committee, a position he was appointed to by the major opposition party in the parliament, National Unity Platform (NUP), Mapenduzi was not expected to go against fellow opposition members and Zaake in particular.
