Govt moves to block Zaake’s return as commissioner
Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake (centre) is led away by fellow MPs on October 12, 2023 after he was attacked by female legislators at Parliament for allegedly making defamatory statements against Rakaid Woman MP Juliet Kinyamatama during one of his recent visits to her constituency. PHOTO/ DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- The Attorney General, who is the chief government legal adviser, says he is dissatisfied with sections of the ruling of the court, for which he wants the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the land, to have a final say.
The government through the Attorney General has appealed against the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court that cleared the return of MP Francis Zaake as a commissioner of Parliament.
The Attorney General, who is the chief government legal adviser, says he is dissatisfied with sections of the ruling of the court, for which he wants the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the land, to have a final say.
“Take notice that the Attorney General being dissatisfied with parts of the majority judgment and orders of the Constitutional Court by Hon Lady Justice Irene Mulyagonja, Muzamiru Mutangula Kibeedi, Eva K Luswata and Oscar John Kihika delivered on September 28, 2023, intends to appeal to the Supreme Court of Uganda…,” reads in part the notice of appeal by the AG dated October 5.
The Mityana Municipality legislator was early this year controversially impeached by his fellow MPs for allegedly insulting then Deputy Speaker of Parliament Anita Among on social media.
But on September 28, the justices quashed MP Zaake’s impeachment.
In a majority decision of 4:1, they reasoned that there was no requisite quorum of one-third of all the MPs in the House that passed the resolution to relieve him of his position as commissioner.
Looking back
The justices observed that there were only 161 MPs present in the House at the time of passing the resolution to impeach MP Zaake instead of the required 264 members.
Further in their decision, the justices observed that Ms Among had a conflict of interest when she continued to chair the parliamentary proceedings leading to the questioned removal of MP Zaake from office.
“The then Deputy Speaker acted as a judge in her own cause when she continued chairing Parliament in a matter in which she had a personal interest; the resultant proceedings contravened or were inconsistent with Articles 2 (1) and (2), 8A, 28, 42 and 44 (c) of the Constitution and were null and void,” held Justice Irene Mulyagonja in the lead judgment.
But in his appeal, the chief government legal adviser says he is against the ruling of the court that held that the members present during the passing of the resolution to remove Zaake was less than one-third, that Parliament disregarded rules of procedure during the debate and also that Ms Among acted as a judge in her own cause.
The filing of the appeal notice came at the time when Mr Zaake’s lawyers of Lukwago and Co Advocates had written to Clerk to Parliament, demanding that he be reinstated to his position following the court ruling.
