Court petition challenging independent MPs hits snag

NATIONAL NEWS
NEW VISION, Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Court petition challenging
independent MPs hits snag
PICTURE BY ROGERS OKWANY
By Edward Anyoli
Justice Yorokamu Bamwine yesterday declined to hear a petition
filed by Oyam South MP Isha Otto
(UPC), seeking to compel the
independent Members of Parliament who contested in primaries of
different political parties to vacate
their parliamentary seats.
Bamwine said he could not hear
the petition because he had been
transferred to the Institute of Judicial Studies.
Justice Eldad Mwangusya will
take over the case in November.
“The incoming judge will hear
this petition because I am going to
another division,” Bamwine told a
team of lawyers who represented
the MPs being sued.
Isha Otto was represented by Juliet
Oyulu Otto, the wife of MP Odonga
Otto, who also attended the proceedings. Last week, Odonga Otto
said he was lawyer for Isha Otto.
Otto sued 22 independent MPs
for failing to vacate their seats in
Parliament after they contested in
primaries to represent other political parties in next year’s general
election. The Constitution requires
an independent candidate to resign
his seat before joining a political
party.
The MPs who were sued include
land minister Daniel Omara Atubo,
Isaac Ssejjoba, Mariam Nalubega,
Alex Onzima, Rebecca Lukwago,
Betty Amongi, Beatrice Rushaniya,
Trace Buchanayandi, David Ebong
and Anne Auru.
Others are Erasmus Magulumaali,
Rebecca Olengo, Charles Olweny,
William Okecho, Grace Namara,
Norman Muwuulize, Charles Angiro and Peter Nyombi.
MPs Otto and Okupa at Parliament after appearing at the High Court in Kampala
5
EA legislators to be assessed
By Barbara Among
The parliamentary scorecard
run by the African Leadership
Institute has rolled out to two
other East African countries,
Kenya and Tanzania.
The scorecard measures
performance
of
Members
of Parliament in plenary
and committee attendance
and contribution, as well as
programmes executed in their
constituencies
The institute opened its
chapters in Kenya and Tanzania
last week after signing a
memorandum of understanding
with the speakers of the two
parliaments. The survey will
start next month.
The
body’s
executive
secretary, David Okwere, said
the institute’s objective is to
empower East African citizens
to monitor the performances of
their legislators and parliament.
He noted that they provide
citizens in the region with
accurate and comprehensive
information
about
the
performance of their MPs on
annual basis.
The institute handed over
the latest report on Uganda’s
Parliament to Kenyan Prime
Minister Raila Odinga and
Speaker of Parliament Kenneth
Marende in Nairobi on Tuesday
and Tanzanian Speaker of
Parliament, Samuel Sitta, in
Dar-el-Salaam on Wednesday.
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Bududa survivors sue govt
By Andante Okanya
A group of Bududa
landslide survivors,
currently living in the
Bulucheke internally
displaced persons camp,
have filed a suit at the
Kampala High Court
against the Government,
challenging their continued
stay there.
Suit
n Accusing the Government of failing to provide
decent shelter for them
The devastating landslide
that occurred on March
1 claimed hundreds of
human lives plus those of
animals and left thousands
displaced.
Houses and property were
also buried under the mud.
Over 5,000 survivors live in
the camp.
The survivors argue
that the delay by the
Government to relocate
them to a decent place
has worsened their living
conditions. Their camp is
situated in Bududa.
The suit was filed on
Friday against the Attorney
General on behalf of
the survivors by the
Centre for Public Interest
Law Limited, a local nongovernmental organisation
(NGO), which provides free
legal services to the people.
The NGO accuses the
Government of failure to
protect the constitutional
rights of the survivors,
arguing that they are
being denied privacy.
The survivors further
contend that being housed
in makeshift tents, have
exposed them to diseases,
starvation, and even death.
The suit is supported
by an affidavit sworn by
Michael Makayi, who claims
to be one of the survivors.
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