UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | State Minister for Housing, Land, and Urban Development, and Member of Parliament for Bukono constituency, Persis Namuganza, has taken the Attorney General to Kampala High Court to contest her censure.
Namuganza claims that she was treated unfairly by Parliament, and wants the court to question why the Attorney General allowed the Parliament to violate its rules of procedure and laws of natural justice.
On January 23, 2023, 348 Members of Parliament voted to censure Namuganza after a seven-member select committee found her guilty of insulting the House and its leadership. The committee presented a report, stating that there was prima facie evidence to support the allegations made against her.
Namuganza argues that the report is illegal and procedurally improper because she was not given a fair hearing or an opportunity to defend herself. Additionally, she claims that she was not provided with a copy of the report or any evidence five days before it was presented in Parliament, denying her sufficient time to prepare a response. As a result of this misconduct, Namuganza is seeking compensation for mental anguish and has asked the court to quash the report.
The trouble for Namuganza started in May 2022 when an ad-hoc committee implicated her in the unlawful allocation of a 142-acre Nakawa-Naguru Housing Estate land to investors on the directive of President Yoweri Museveni for the development of a satellite city. Namuganza allegedly walked out of the committee meeting and made public comments questioning the authority of Parliament to investigate her and the integrity of its presiding officers.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, then constituted a committee led by MP Mpaka Mwine to investigate Namuganza’s conduct. Namuganza is now challenging the findings of this committee and the report presented in Parliament. She believes that she was not given a fair hearing and is seeking court orders to quash the report.
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