Legal experts tell Museveni to back off Parliament
Legal experts Peter Walubiri (L) and Benjamin Odoki (R)
In Summary
Standoff. Critics say President’s reproach of the House
shows he considers other government institutions and organs as mere
formalities while actual power resides with him.
Legal experts yesterday asked President Museveni to
apply brakes on his public mockery of Parliament, arguing such abrasive
pronouncements “undermine the constitutional order” in the country.
Within seven weeks since October 12, the President
has on three different occasions – at a press conference at State House
Nakasero, NRM’s caucus retreat in Kyankwanzi and on Sunday in Soroti
District, accused MPs of sabotaging development programmes he initiates.
Offering counsel in an interview with this
newspaper yesterday, Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki, who oversees the
Judiciary that is the custodian of the sanctity of our laws, said anyone
dissatisfied with separation of powers can petition the Constitutional
Court and the Judiciary “will pronounce itself on the matter.”
He said: “That is how institutions work under the
doctrine of constitutionalism. We have kept our hands down; we are
waiting. Let it [matter of power contention] come and we shall deal with
it.”
Odoki’s take
Justice Odoki headed the commission that gathered
views of Ugandans for the draft document later promulgated by the
Constituent Assembly into the (now amended) 1995 Constitution.
Describing the present situation yet as political and a
‘moot point’, a reference to a debatable issue, the Chief Justice said
the Judiciary will, however, not “delve into political matters.”
In his earlier complaints, President Museveni made
clear no one would have dared challenge him during the bush days when he
was commander of the then guerilla outfit, the National Resistance
Army, which has since transformed into UPDF.
Constitutional lawyer Peter Walubiri, who is also
UPC national treasurer, said Mr Museveni’s nostalgic references to his
guerilla days expose his “inner ambition to rule with absolute power”
and that he “abhors democracy, accountability and sharing of power.”
“The idea of checks and balances is that one arm of
government cannot take decisions without being scrutinised or called to
account,” Mr Walubiri said.
“The President wants to rule by his own whims yet,
like any citizen, he can make mistakes. The idea that he wants to govern
Uganda as if it was a rebel army or organisation is archaic and
undermines the established constitutional order.”
The script of Mr Museveni’s complaint is that the
6th Parliament is responsible for electricity deficit in the country
because it blocked construction of Bujagali Dam while lawmakers in the
8th Parliament, led by Kitgum Woman MP Beatrice Anywar and former Chwa
County MP Livingstone Okello-Okello, rallied against his decision to
dole out part of Mabira Forest and land in Acholi for sugarcane growing,
resulting in sugar shortage.
The President has outlined that he was unhappy that the NRM-dominated 9th Parliament, in October, debated allegations that three senior ministers pocketed bribes from foreign oil companies, and the legislators without consulting him as party chairman, passed 10 resolutions, one of which imposed moratorium on all oil transactions until substantive laws regarding the sector are in place.
The President has outlined that he was unhappy that the NRM-dominated 9th Parliament, in October, debated allegations that three senior ministers pocketed bribes from foreign oil companies, and the legislators without consulting him as party chairman, passed 10 resolutions, one of which imposed moratorium on all oil transactions until substantive laws regarding the sector are in place.
Yesterday, Parliament Spokesperson Helen Kawesa
said the House was simply performing its three constitutional functions
of oversight, representation and legislation. “May be it is being
misunderstood as sabotage,” she said by telephone.
Dr Jean Barya, the Makerere University Law don,
earlier said Parliament is to blame for the gathering stand-off because
for long, it pandered to the Executive’s wishes, and as such, its
attempt to “regain the lost teeth” is viewed by the President as
insubordination.
No comments:
Post a Comment