By Tv10 reporters
After a week of standoff and criticism over the handling of the Mpuuga misuse of office and corruption allegations, the opposition National Unity Platform NUP has finally recalled its deputy president for Buganda region, Mathius Mpuuga, from the position of the Parliamentary Commission.
The party also made a U-turn by re-appointing its diehard from Mityana, Francis Butebi Zzaake, who was illegally removed from the same post, to replace Mpuuga.
The decision to recall Maverick Mpuuga, was taken on Friday March 15 – 2024 at the NUP’s National Executive Committee meeting chaired by the Party’s Acting President, Dr, Lina Zadriga Waru, after the expiry of the 7-day ultimatum the party had given to Mpuuga to show cause as to why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for abuse of office by accepting to take a bribe of shs, 500m under the guise of ‘Service Award’, which his predecessors had never benefited from it.
“Although he responded to NEC’s request to show cause why he should not be recalled from the Parliamentary Commission, he did not provide any satisfactory explanation for engaging in this grave action which goes against the mission, values and objectives of the party. In particular, he did not make any attempt to respond to the specific accusations leveled against him”, reads a statement signed by Dr. Lina Zedriga issued after the NEC meeting.
It is alleged that Mpuuga had at first accepted the wrong acts of abuse of office and taking a bribe of shs. 500m and the party asked him to resign as this violated the values the party vowed to fight for. But in a U-turn, Mpuuga refused to obey the party demand and legalized the money he took saying that that it was given to him legally.
Although NUP has recalled Mpuuga from the Parliamentary Commission, it has no powers to remove him from the office without the the Speaker of Parliament’s consent. One wonders, what will happen if the Speaker declines to accept Mpuuga’s exit.
For a week or so, NUP and its principal, have come under attack and criticisms from individuals on social media including NUP MPs and some pro-Mpuuga media houses over the manner in which Mpuuga’s shs. 500m loot was being handled. Some argued that the shs. 500m is too small to destroy the image and reputation of Mpuuga’s status since in Uganda, abuse of office and corruption has risen to tunes of billion shillings.
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