I wont sign censure petition- Basalirwa

Bugiri Municipality MP, Asuman Basalirwa has said he will not be signing the petition to censure former Leader of Opposition Mathias Mpuuga and three other parliamentary commissioners implicated in the controversial ‘service reward’.

The reason behind his decision is quite personal- he will be representing Mpuuga and Solomon Silwany as their lawyer in a corruption case.

During an interview on Sanyuka Television, Basalirwa made it known that he could not sign the petition due to this conflict of interest.

Explaining his position further, Basalirwa mentioned that when lawyer Male Mabirizi filed a case against the commissioners, in the Anti-Corruption court, Mpuuga and Silwany asked him to be their legal representative.

He went to say that it would not be fair or ethical for him to sign the petition while simultaneously serving as their lawyer.

“I have not signed the petition and I won’t over three reasons. The first reason, when Male Mabirizi sued the commissioners, he went to the anti-corruption court and filed a case. The colleagues Mathias Mpuuga and Silver Silwany approached me to be one of their lawyers in that court case,” Basalirwa said.

“So, I will be one of their lawyers at the hearing of the case. So, I can’t be the lawyer and at the same time sign the petition. That’s like scoring an own goal.” he added.

The motion for censure brought forth by legislators led by Lwemiyaga County MP, Theodore Ssekikubo accuses Mpuuga and three backbench commissioners of corruption and misusing their positions when they received unexplained millions of money in the guise of ‘service rewards’.

The three backbench commissioners are; Silwany, Esther Afoyochan, and Prossy Mbabazi, all members of the ruling, National Resistance Movement (NRM).

The three are said to have received Shs400 each as a service reward while Mpuuga received Shs500m, just a year into their tenures.

Since last week, MPs led by Lwemiyaga County MP, Theodore Ssekikubo have been spearheading the censure motion.

Despite the alleged pressure and intimidation faced by some MPs not to sign the motion, Ssekikubo has emphasized the importance of holding individuals accountable and bringing transparency to the August House.

"We hear there are some people calling MPs stopping them not to sign the censure motion, but we want to tell our MPs that don't be intimidated because this is the time we bring sanity in this August House,"  Ssekikubo said.