In a parliamentary session held on June 19, 2024, and chaired by the Rt. Hon. Speaker Anita Among Annet, a vote was cast against the re-designation of Abed Bwanika and Joyce Bagaala from their roles as Chairperson and Deputy of the Government Assurances and Implementation Committee.
Both Bwanika and Bagaala are Members of Parliament from the National Unity Platform (NUP) but have recently clashed with their party leadership over the censure of Hon. Mathias Mpuuga.
The NUP leadership accused Mpuuga of corruption for accepting a service award of Shs500M while serving as Leader of the Opposition and subsequently demanded his resignation from his current position as Commissioner.
The Leader of the Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, introduced a motion to the floor of Parliament seeking to re-designate Bwanika and Bagaala. However, when the matter was put to a vote, the Speaker declared that the motion had failed, despite strong objections from NUP MPs.
In response to the vote, Ssenyonyi accused the Speaker of abusing her power, claiming that she was overstepping the authority of political parties to nominate committee members.
