Stop using homosexuality as an excuse, LOP Ssenyonyi confronts Speaker Among

Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi has asked Speaker Anitah Among to stop using homosexuality as an excuse to avoid responding to the corruption and abuse of office allegations that have been brought against Parliament.

Ssenyonyi’s was responding to Speaker Among claims that the current social media exhibition, is revenge campaign targeting Parliament for passing the Anti-Homosexuality Act.

He said the people demanding for accountability aren’t homosexuals but Ugandan taxpayers, who want answers on how their money is being spent.

“Give us a break Madam Speaker, Stop hiding under the issue of homosexuality. Are you saying that Ugandans who are demanding for accountability for their money are homosexuals? Come on, let’s be serious. Stop scapegoating, no one is talking about homosexuality here,” he stated.

“Ugandans are saying, account for this money, so stop pretending around that you see they don’t like me. No, it doesn’t matter whether people like you or not. What matters is that you are occupying a public office and you are misusing their money,” added Ssenyonyi.

Meanwhile Jonathan Jona Odur (Erute South MP) rejected the directive by Speaker Among, demanding that he writes a formal letter, addressing all his concerns around the corruption and abuse of office leveled against Parliament.

He said such a letter would be illegal since the matter he intends to raise isn’t a love affair for it to be handled in secrecy.

“It isn’t a private affair, I am not writing a love letter, I am not writing request for a loan, I am not writing a request to be helped or to be supported, I am raising issues that concern Uganda and those issues must be raised in public. I am quite convinced that all the issues that have been raised by the public are matters that deserve attention by Parliament,”

Odur added, “I am surprised that the leadership of this House, the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and members of the Parliamentary Commission have all chosen to be silent. By extension, it appears they are acknowledging and admitting all those material allegations that have been made in the public.”

When Odur first expressed interest in having the Parliamentary Commission answerable to the allegations of corruption leveled against Parliament recently, he claimed some members of the Commission rebuffed his demands for accountability, saying that they aren’t answerable MPs, which prompted Speaker to ask him to write to her formally about his grievances.

However, Odur said that he has no plans of writing such a letter, but rather wants all these allegations responded to in public.

“I didn’t write to the Speaker and I will not write because the space where I am supposed to raise the issue is in Plenary. First to be accountable to all Ugandans just like we do with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Parliament isn’t exception and I hate told her that at that moment, she misdirected her mind to the interpretation of Rule 43(2) to the extent she though she is the Commission. The Speaker of Parliament isn’t the Commission, the Commission is constituted by a number of people including the four back bench commissioners,” He noted.