Speaker Among orders probe into corruption at Parliament

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has directed all party whips to support an investigation she has ordered into allegations of bribe-taking by MPs to reportedly influence parliamentary oversight activities.

Fresh from her private visit with the Pope at the Vatican in Rome, Ms Among did not disclose the names of the suspected culprits but revealed that members who have been implicated sit on the House Committee on Trade.

Party whips are now expected to combine efforts with the committee to look into the alleged scandalous behaviour and report back to the House.

“I am going to ask the Committee of Trade to do an investigation on what is being alleged. Do an investigation because it is in your committee. What is being reported belongs to your committee. Investigate that issue and report back to this House,” Ms Among directed.

The Speaker’s ultimatum comes after Sunday Monitor this past weekend exclusively broke the story of looming arrests of MPs suspected of abusing their positions to solicit and pocket bribes from under-pressure government officials. 

Sources told this newspaper that Ms Among has been left with no option but to act after the State House Anti-Corruption Unit reportedly made her aware of evidence of extortion by her members. 

It is alleged that an unknown number of MPs, some of whom sit on influential accountability committees, have been demanding bribes from public accounting officers to suppress evidence of their abuse of office. 

Her directive to the party whips was issued at the start of yesterday’s plenary sitting and came on the heels of her August 18 letter about the same matter. 

“I will not be shy to say this; when you are in this seat, you use both stick and carrot for the good of the institution. And I know you will be proud to have an institution that everybody looks at and is proud of,” Ms Among said.

She informed the House that “it has come to my knowledge that some members are reportedly engaged in dubious acts which breach the code of conduct. I had to write to all the whips to ensure that they instill some discipline in some of the members that are mentioned”.

Ms Among was particularly dismayed that this is a growing vice amongst MPs, saying investigations were urgently needed because “this would destroy the reputation of the 11th Parliament”.

In her August 18 letter, the Speaker had told the party whips that “this alleged misconduct includes financial impropriety and solicitation”, and notified them that her leadership, “will not allow the Legislature to be entangled in disrepute.” 

She also directed the Clerk to Parliament to establish a desk to handle complaints from members of the public”.

Initially, Speaker Among had declined to dive into the details of the matter but was prompted to reveal more after the Chief Opposition Whip, Mr John Baptist Nambeshe, reacted to her communication.

He, however, indicated that whereas his office would back the probe, care must be taken.
“Madam Speaker, you are spot-on because at this level we ought to be men and women of proven integrity and of impeccable character. But the truth of the matter is that this institution incidentally in Uganda is much more hated than loved by the public,” Mr Nambeshe said.

He added: “We ought to be on the alert. They (the public) use this opportunity to get at members by concocting all manner of stories, although it does not rule out the fact that this House comes with all manner of temptations, especially in accountability committees. As whips, we have all manner of roles but we are limited in sanctioning a member.”

Before Ms Among could respond to Mr Nambeshe, the Aringa South MP, Mr Alioni Odria, asked that the matter be handled quietly by the Speaker.

“I think this is a very serious issue which I feel deserves special treatment. Wouldn’t it be procedurally right for this matter to be handled by your office with utmost urgency, and also in line with the Legal Affairs committee? Wouldn’t it be procedurally right for your office to handle this matter privately than raising it on the floor of Parliament?” he said.

In response, Ms Among said: “I wrote to the whips, it is the whip who has opted to discuss it and I want the whips to take action as the leaders of political parties [in Parliament].”
She said all claims against lawmakers must be backed by hard evidence.

“Don’t just say that the public does not like us, no! We will only take action if there is evidence. It should be evidence-based. As whips, you need to take keen interest in your members and that is not going to be [up] for discussion in this House,” Ms Among ruled.