The Arch Bishop of the Church of Uganda Dr Samuel Stephen Kazimba Mugalu has added his voice on the calls to amend article 82 of the constitution which stalls parliamentary activities incase a sitting speaker is not in position to discharge his duties and also disempowers the Deputy speaker to take full charge of the parliamentary leadership the moment the speaker position falls vacant.
He joins others who think it’s not proper for members of parliament to start running and scrambling to replace a speaker who has died even before he is buried. He suggests at least the law should be changed such that the deputy speaker can take over and parliament business doesn’t stall. According to Kazimba, this also helps relatives and the country mourn their fallen speaker with a hasty or confusion.
Archbishop Kazimba has asked MPs to revisit article 82 of the constitution that indicates that no business shall be conducted in Parliament until the position of the Speaker has been filled.
— Parliament of Uganda (@Parliament_Ug) March 23, 2022
However, his call landed on the right person, the Government Chief Thomas Tayebwa who has revealed that government has learnt a lesson from the demise of Jacob Oulanyah and is planning to table amendments to the constitution.
The Government Chief Whip Thomas Tayebwa has announced plans to amend the Constitution to abolish article 82(4), which restricts Parliament from carrying out any business in case the position of the Speaker falls vacant.#NBSLiveAt9 #NBSUpdates pic.twitter.com/jlwjw6sAUK
— NBS Television (@nbstv) March 23, 2022
The NRM CEC has already endorsed Deputy Speaker Anita Among to succeed her fallen boss as Speaker, NRM sits tomorrow to approve CEC’s decision on Among as well as opposition as a whole which also intends to front a candidate for speakership in the elections set for Friday 25th March 2022.
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