BREAKING: Parliament Censures Minister Namuganza

The State Minister for Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, Persis Namuganza, has been censured by the parliament during a plenary session held on January 23^rd, 2023, and presided over by the deputy speaker, Thomas Tayebwa.

A total of 348 legislators voted in favor of the motion to censor the minister, three MPs abstained from the voting process, and five voted against the motion, according to Deputy Speaker Tayebwa.

The minister is accused of contempt of Parliament, a charge including misconduct, and making statements believed to dent the integrity of the House and Speaker Anita Among, among others.

While declaring the result, deputy Speaker Tayebwa said he will notify the President within 24 hours regarding the decision by the parliament to censure Minister Namuganza as stipulated by Rule 109(13) of the Rules of Procedure.

The censorship stemmed from the adoption of the parliamentary select committee report on Namuganza’s censure motion under Rule 99 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament.

The select committee, chaired by MP Mwine Mpaka of Mbarara City South County, found Minister Namuganza culpable of the allegations and proved that her conduct breached the standards of behavior as set in Rule 85 and Appendix F of the Code of Conduct of MPs prescribed in the Rules of Procedure.

MP Mpaka said that Minister Namuganza ought to have used proper channels to challenge the composition of the Ad-hoc Committee that investigated her involvement in the Nakawa-Naguru land allocation.

“Her conduct brought Parliament and its members into disrepute and breached paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct in Appendix 5 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament,” said MP Mwine.

“As an African, a woman is supposed to have all respect and be the image of a home, and she (Persis Namuganza) didn’t show she was the image of that ministry,” MP Obigah Rose, who voted yes, said.

MP Fox Odoi of the NRM, who voted yes, said Minister Namuganza had no regard for her voters, the president who appointed her, no respect for Parliament, and absolutely no regard for processes.

Katali Loy, a Jinja District woman MP who voted against the motion, said the minister should be forgiven.