MPs BLAST COLLEAGUES FOR WITHDRAWING SIGNATURES FROM CENSURE MOTION
A group of Parliament members is facing backlash for attempting to withdraw their signatures from a censure motion against four Parliamentary Commissioners, following a court ruling that declared the service award they were accused of mismanaging as legal.
Soi County MP Abdi Fadhil Chemaswet Kisos and T’oo County MP Chelangat Solomon Aling’a both submitted letters to the Speaker of Parliament and the motion’s mover earlier this week, requesting to withdraw their support for the motion.
Their actions have been criticised by other members of parliament, including Bugiri Municipality MP Asuman Basalirwa and Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda.
Both MPs reminded their colleagues that, according to parliamentary rules of procedure, once a signature is appended to a motion, it cannot be withdrawn.
Basalirwa further noted that if MPs felt their signatures were misused, they should raise their concerns during the debate on the floor of Parliament and vote against the motion at that time.
“The Rules of Procedure of parliament have no provision of withdrawal of signatures. Once you have appended your signature to a motion, you cannot withdraw it. So legally, any action of withdrawing signatures is void, untenable, and not provided for under our Rules of Procedure”.
On the other hand, Ssemujju suggests that MPs should undergo mental health evaluations to prevent such erratic behaviour.
“Maybe in future, we need to consider subjecting MPs to a mental check. Because, if you have a head on your shoulder, you signed, you are not drunk, and then the following day… Because I saw Chemaswet here, he said the reason he was signing, they had removed him from being a vice chairperson of a committee. Now the same Chemaswet says, I am withdrawing. The trouble is that some MPs here, our heads are not checked when we are coming here. If you read the constitution both the president and a member of parliament, someone must be mentally stable. That’s what the constitution says”.
The censure motion continues to be a contentious issue, with the accused Commissioners maintaining that their actions were legal following the recent court ruling.
