Ssenyonyi Demands Corruption Probe into Parliamentary Commission

Leader of Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi has lashed out at Speaker Anita Among for sidelining him from Parliamentary Commission meetings.

Ssenyonyi made this revelation as he addressed the press at Parliament yesterday. In the address, the LOP demanded that corruption investigations in Parliament are widened to include members of the Parliament Commission.

“If the people investigating Parliament are serious, they need to start with the Parliamentary Commission,” Ssenyonyi said.

Ssenyonyi says the Commission should be looked at because it is doing a lot of things without the involvement of all members.

The NUP spokesperson also wondered if the Speaker had amended the constitution to remove the LOP from the Commission.

This is because he hasn’t been invited to any Commission meeting since his appointment in January 2024.

He also chest-thumped about the tough questions he always asks, citing them as the reason behind his exclusion.Ssenyonyi’s address comes at a time when Parliament’s image has been tainted by allegations of corruption.

On Wednesday, three MPs, including the Lwengo woman MP, Cissy Donanzio Namujju, Busiki County MP, Paul Akamba, and Yusuf Mutembuli, Bunyole East, were remanded to prison for corruption.

Parliamentary Commission woes

Since the beginning of the year, Parliament’s top decision-making body, the Commission, has been marred by allegations of misuse of taxpayers’ money.

These were sparked by revelations that four backbench Commissioners had reportedly allocated themselves up to 1.7 billion shillings.

Under this arrangement, Esther Afoyochan (Zombo District Woman – NRM), Prossy Akampulira (Rubanda District Woman – NRM), and Solomon Silwany (Bukooli Central – NRM) got shs 400 million each.

Ssenyonyi’s predecessor Mathias Mpuuga (Nyendo-Mukungwe – NUP) was awarded shs 500 million for his service.

Mpuuga has since been relieved of his role as NUP’s Deputy President for Buganda igniting a fued with his party president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine.

Over the last couple of weeks, Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo has been collecting signatures needed to table a censure motion against the four Commissioners.