High Court Upholds Controversial UGX 1.7 Billion Service Awards to Former LOP and Parliamentary Commissioners

By Alen Nafuna On Aug 13, 2024 136

The High Court in Kampala has delivered a landmark ruling concerning a controversial service award granted to former Leader of Opposition (LOP) Mathias Mpuuga and three backbench parliamentary commissioners.

In a ruling by Justice Douglas Karekona Singiza, the court upheld the decision made on May 6, 2022, which granted UGX 500 million to Mpuuga and UGX 400 million each to commissioners Solomon Silwany, Prossy Mbabazi, and Esther Afoyochan.

Justice Singiza clarified that the allowances for members of the Parliamentary Commission are determined by the Commission with Parliament’s approval, as outlined in Section 42 of the Administration of Parliament Act (AOPA).

He noted that the service award had been approved by Parliament under the Appropriation Bill, listed as “Ex-gratia for Political Leaders.”

“The decision, dated May 6, 2022, to award the Leader of Opposition in Parliament (Hon. Mathias Mpuuga) UGX 500,000,000, and three other Commissioners UGX 400,000,000 each, as a service award was approved by Parliament and formed part of the budget presented by the executive as required by the Public Finance Management Act,” he stated.

The judge emphasized that the payment was legally included in the Appropriation Act, indicating that the Ministry of Finance had the opportunity to review and scrutinize the allocation before it was approved by Parliament.

Despite upholding the service awards, the court directed the Secretary to the Treasury to investigate and potentially discipline the Clerk to Parliament, Adolf Mwesigwa, for his involvement in the disputed payments.

The service awards, totaling UGX 1.7 billion, sparked controversy both within Parliament and among the public, leading to calls for the censure of the recipients.

MP Theodore Ssekikubo, who led the censure motion, submitted it to Clerk Mwesigwa, supported by 189 MPs who signed the motion seeking to remove Mpuuga and the three commissioners from their positions.