KAMPALA- The High Court sitting in Kampala has ruled that the four Commissioners of Parliament who include Hon Mathias Mpuuga, Prosy Akampulira, Solomon Silwany and Esther Afoyocan got the money known as ‘Service Award’ after it was approved by Parliament and has been declared their service award lawful.
This ruling closes a protracted debate that had sparked ridicule of ‘Service Award’ recipients and Parliament as an institution by a section of the citizenry especially those trading as anti-corruption crusaders.
The debate was dramatized to the extent that some Members of Parliament led by Lwemiyaga MP Hon Theodore Ssekikubo had initiated a censure motion against the Commissioners, seeking to gain public praise through what some commenters and the parliamentary Commissioners often described as “cheap politicking.
However, the High Court’s decision to declare the ‘Service Award’ as legal puts the censure motion which is before the Speaker of Parliament awaiting space allocation on the order paper in jeopardy and has been taken by events after Justice Douglas Karekona Singiza ruling.
“The decision, dated 6th May 2022, to award the Leader of Opposition in Parliament Hon Matthias Mpuuga Ugx 500 million and three other Commissioners Ugx 400 million each, as a service award was approved by Parliament and formed part of the budget presented by the executive as required by the Public Finance Management Act” Justice Singiza read out the ruling.
The court dismissed the applicant’s prayers, stating that the argument of conflict of interest was not sustainable and court explained that the allowances of
members of the Parliamentary Commission are determined by the Commission with the approval of Parliament, as prescribed by Section 42 of the Administration of the Parliament Act.
The court further stated, “the impugned payment being questioned was approved by Parliament in the Appropriation Bill under the title ‘Ex-gratia for Political Leader, bearong in mind that the fact that this vote formed part of the Appropriations Act is proof that the Minister of Finance had the opportunity to scrutinize the payment and that Parliament approved the ex-gratia vote.
The Court further established, the first six beneficiaries are named as former Speakers and Deputy speakers of Parliament and the seventh beneficiary is entitled ‘Service Award” to Leader of the Opposition’, and the eighth is the Award to Backbench Parliamentary Commissioners.
The applicant, Daniel Bwete had asked the court to declare the Parliamentary Commission’s decision on service award “ultra vires, illegal, oppressive, arbitrary, biased, high-handed, irrational, unfair, and therefore null and void,” and pecuniary conflict of interest.
He had thus asked the court to quash the decision by the Parliamentary Commission, and he had applied for the cost, of which the Court declined all reliefs after an in-depth scrutiny of all submitted evidence on record.
The ruling is a significant blow to those who had sought to politicize the service award for it upholds its legality and validates the Commissioners’ payment.
