Lawyers petition constitutional court over appointment of MPs as ministers
Speaking to journalists, Aboneka noted that there are ministers who are also MPs yet they were elected by voters to represent them in Parliament which he said is infusion of the Executive and legislature.
Lawyers Michael Aboneka and George Musisi have January 24, 2024 filed a challenge to the appointment of Members of Parliament (MPs) to concurrently serve as ministers.
Speaking to journalists, Aboneka noted that there are ministers who are also MPs yet they were elected by voters to represent them in Parliament which he said is infusion of the Executive and legislature.
“The overall function of Parliament is legislation, oversight and to check the executive. So when a minister is also an MP, when will you see a minister seat in a committee of Parliament?” he asked.
He said that the ministers receive benefits as ministers and also receive as MP which is wastage of Public resources.
“We are also challenging a Prime Minister being an MP because a PM is primarily a leader of government business so she cannot be MP. When was the last time you saw the Prime Minister represent the people that voted for her on the floor of Parliament?”
Aboneka stated that Ministers not being able to represent their voters in parliament breaks the right to representation.
The lawyers also challenged the vice president being a MP on grounds that the VP is a de facto president.
“When the president dies, resigns or is out of office, the person who becomes president is the VP,” said Aboneka.
He noted that the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General cannot also be Members of Parliament because they become Ministers and are part of the Executive.
“So there is no way we can have the AG represent the people that voted for them on matters to which are contrary to the Executive,” he explained.
Aboneka said that ex officio MPs are also not supposed to be paid by Parliament because they donnot participate in any parliamentary activities.
“They receive salary, allowances from Parliament but they don’t participate in Parliament activities, why are we paying them? Because even the constitution doesn’t stipulate on how they should be remunerated,” he said.
He added that, “So we hope that the court finds substance in our petition and order that it is actually wrong.”
