By Ambrose Mwesigye
The manner in which business is running at the Ugandan legislation Temple can only be equated with the time of the pharasies and scribes during the days of the son of God’s ministry on earth.
Each time a matter of national importance comes up, there are contending parties and a price is set for which ever side that claims victory no matter the effects of the outcome to public good.
In only the month of May 2020, the house has been clouded in a smoke of several monetary scandles but most prominent are the 20 million covid 19 Bonanza and now the energy sector mafia cartel schemes.
As I tried to play with the screen of my phone today, my eyes got tormented with redpepper bitterness actually tearing at the view of a letter written by an honorable Member of the 10th house claiming his signature was forged to second a motion seeking the house to adopt Presidential directives on two senior officials in the Rural Electrification Agency(REA), Ugandas rural electricity distribution arm under the Ministry of Energy.
If you are not privy to the directives, recently the President directed that two senior officials at the Rural Electrification Agency namely; Eng. Godfrey Khaukha Werikhe the deputy ED and Eng. John Turyomurugyendo the head of project design be out of office to give way for criminal investigations against to be conducted.
However, as the communication was getting implemented, a petition from Eastern uganda (on probably tribal undertones) arose in advocacy for Eng.Werikhe. I will not go far into this petition but note that for our country to attain the middle income status, electricity must be affordable and universally accessible!
Now, with the efforts of some patriotic house members who include Woman MP Sheema Jacklet Atuhaire Rwabukurukuru, Hon Odonga Otto of Aruu county, Hon. Nelson Lufafa of Butembe Jinja, the matter got hot in the house an a motion was was moved by Onyango Gedeon of Samia Bugwe North Busia District.
Hardly before it could be tabled for deliberation the mafia schemes sprung. One of the members who had allegedly appended a signature in support of the motion in turn of events on the 26th May wrote to the house Chief Priest claiming his signature had been forged,distancing himself from the motion and going on to urge the house clerk to strike the motion off the order of service( see order paper).
Yet in another development, an urgly ungodly one, fresh allegations of bribery have emerged alluding to the possibility that the mafia cartel sent in some attractive kilograms of dinaries ( empiiha in Runyankore, esiriginyi in Ateso) for house members to shoot down the motion.
In a May 27th 2020 letter by the motion author Hon. Onyango Gedeon to the House Chief Priest Rt.Hon Rebecca Kadaga, it is alleged that Hon. Akamba Paul of Busiki county received 20 million shillings to backtrack and many others got gifts to frustrate the motion in case it finds its way to the floor.
Whether this is true or false and the source of the alleged money remain a matter of investigation but the old time wisdom of smoke without fire, or the neighborhood dog excreting calf hair when one of my calves is missing here applies I bet!
In this letter, prominent Hon Anita Among of Bukedia is among others having her name carry a big stone with inscriptions of nothing but Esiriginyi ( cash)!
These allegations if true, make it clear that the house is nolonger as sacred. It was four years ago invaded by robbers, tax collectors, money lenders, smugglers, dealers and therefore no more a sanctuary of appropriation, legislation and legitimacy.
A number of questions arise especially on the Ideological and moral sanctity of our house members, together with the Chief Priest who presides over this kind of defilement of the legislation Temple.
Their motive I both the short-term and long-term Political strategy, their ideal goals for the electorate that bestowed on them the trust and custody of public good.
Their courage to armtwist twist the fountain of honour in his exhibition of commitment to fight graft and impunity.
Ugandans must arise by their constitutional power , turn tables down, put the house in order, and declare; ” this is a temple of legislation, sacred arm and sanctuary of appropriation and legitimacy but you have turned it into a den of corruption, bribery and misappropriation”, as they vote out most of the members come 2021.
Just like in the days of the pharasies, when Jesus Christ got enraged at the defilement of the temple and declared, ” it is written, “mine house is a house of Prayer but thou hast turneth it into a den of robbers”, Mathew 21:13!
