President Museveni has ordered that all parliamentary committee chairpersons who subscribe to the NRM must be set aside, and new ones appointed.
The call came as the president met with the NRM Central Executive Committee at State House Entebbe, ahead of a decision by the house to designate committee chairpersons.
Sources that attended the State House Entebbe meeting on Tuesday chaired by President Museveni said that the members were not convinced by the list submitted by the Chief Whip, Mr Dennis Obua, and resolved to make new appointments. Mr Obua was ordered to nominate new names for the positions. This means that all committee chairpersons and deputies who have served two or more terms will be removed from their positions.
However, the meeting chose to retain only committee chairpersons and vice chairpersons who were nominated last year.
“Only those chairpersons and vice chairpersons nominated last year have been approved. Others will have to apply afresh,” the source said.
Sources said as a result of the heated meeting, which took several hours, the Tuesday Parliament plenary session did not take place since it was meant to approve the committee leaders.
This comes days after CEC last Friday postponed the announcement of the parliamentary leadership committees after members disagreed on the composition of members.
The announcement was deferred to today Tuesday following a heated debate among members, who for the second time failed to agree on who should head the committees as the party contends with allegations of corruption hovering some of their MPs.
CEC, which is the top-most decision-making organ of NRM, on Tuesday last week also deferred the same meeting called to consider and approve new parliamentary committee members and heads.
Sources said it was decided that the decisions on the appointments should be stayed until it is clear where the legislators stand with respect to ongoing corruption investigations.
The postponement comes amidst a scandal involving three NRM MPs – Solomon Silwany (Bukooli Central), Esther Afoyochan (Zombo Woman), and Prossy Mbabazi (Rubanda Woman) – who received a controversial Shs1.7 billion service award in 2022. The trio, along with then Leader of the Opposition Mathias Mpuuga, received Shs400 million each without parliamentary approval.
We have learnt that NRM is considering prematurely ending the terms of office for the implicated commissioners, purportedly to save the party’s image.
Theodore Ssekikubo, the Lwemiyaga County MP, who is also from the ruling party, is leading a censure motion against the three MPs implicated in the service award
CEC will also address the approval of NRM members to different committees and the replacement of committee chairpersons.
Efforts to reach Minister Chris Baryomunsi, a CEC member, for comment have been unsuccessful, as his known calls went unanswered after several attempts.
The development has sparked speculation that the ruling party is seeking to overhaul its committee leadership in the House to remove those heavily influenced by the speakership.