
“On 6th May, 2022 there was a meeting of the Parliamentary Commission attended by Ms. Anitah Among, Hon. Mpuuga and the three NRM Commissioners of Parliament. This was two months after Hon. Zaake was illegally removed from that position. In that meeting, these leaders awarded themselves a collective amount of 1.7 billion shillings. Hon. Mpuuga was allocated 500 million shillings, while the three others were each awarded 400 million shillings. It was not until the minutes of the Parliamentary Commission were ‘leaked’ to the public almost two years later, that we all got to know about this” (Bobi Wine, 02.03.2024)
Today is a special day, as the revelations are taking form and there are coherent discussion about the 500 million shillings called “service award” which was given to former Leader of the Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga.
Mpuuga himself has defended himself as a politician and an individual. Though as a tactician and politician, he rather discussed technicalities and not the modalities of his actions. The legality are maybe there, but the justification for the “service award” is another thing. The MP and the LoP should have known better. That’s why the Party he represents and the ones who gave him a ticket in 2021 are asking for him to resign as Commissioner of Parliament. Alas, that is something he won’t do and trying to twist himself out of.
That’s why the Party President Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine have given his reasons for why Mpuuga should resign. I will only take small fragments of the text. Regardless of that. I can say that the merits of Mpuuga is dwindling and he cannot save face. Especially, being a vocal opposition and talking about corruption like he did for years, and now in recent time been eating himself. That just shows the hypocrisy and what he does behind closed doors. Which is in contrast to the message he been spreading since the A4C days.
I like to first take note of this:
“1. As all former Leaders of the Opposition have confirmed, none of them ever received a ‘Service Award’. What was special about the service of Hon. Mpuuga to warrant a Service Award that was never given to his predecessors? Secondly, even if Hon. Mpuuga and the three NRM Parliamentary Commissioners had done anything exceptional, would it be up to them to sit and award themselves for a job well done? I mean, it defeats basic logic for anyone to say they are awarding themselves- moreover with hundreds of millions of tax payers’ money. Does that mean that every public servant should now sit in his office and allocate some money to themselves for feeling good about themselves and the work they do?” (Bobi Wine, 03.02.2024)
Let us all bow down for the greatness of Mpuuga. The one and only, the one of a kind, the one that created his own Handshake and abided by it. A man who fought in the trenches against corruption and became alike the people he fought for years. That’s who he became and that’s why he was the worthy one of a “service award”.
We continue…
Second:
“6. The LOP like all MPs earns a salary and allowances. However, on top of that, the LOP also earns extra allowances and gets facilitated by Parliament to enable him or her fulfill the duties of that office. What therefore justifies an extra Service Award for an office which is duly facilitated with a budget for its operations, over and above what ordinary MPs earn?” (Bobi Wine, 03.02.2024).
You know you are privileged and has vast funds when it is described like this. The LoP has advantages that other citizens can only dream off. Still, that wasn’t enough for Mpuuga who asked for and was able to get more. He used his office to enlarge his coffers and pockets. That’s why Bobi Wine calls him out and says his wrong, which he should. Bobi Wine is being responsible as a leader and as guardian of the principles, which the NUP party is founded upon. Therefore, Mpuuga has betrayed those and should act accordingly.
Third:
“9. We believed that as a Party that nominated Hon. Mpuuga to the position of Leader of the Opposition, we should have been consulted on a matter of this magnitude. Indeed, I regularly speak with Hon. Mpuuga on most major issues. But I also learnt about this matter on social media and initially dismissed it as fake propaganda. I couldn’t believe that my Deputy President would get involved in a matter of this gravity and not say anything about it- not least, to me. When asked why he didn’t discuss this with the Party (or at least the President), he said it was a matter of personal finance! Really?” (Bobi Wine, 02.03.2024).
This reveals a side of Mpuuga that we have no access too. That he could say such a thing about government funds becoming accessible to Mpuuga. It was a way of him of vindicating himself and take away the “problematic” nature of the transaction. Mpuuga knows deep down it is wrong and that’s why it became a “personal finance”. When does a “service award” given without merits or proper justification become personal? It is public funds given to a representative and a part of national legislature. That isn’t a private matter, but a public one from the onset. Which shows how conning Mpuuga have become and what lengths his willing to go for his own interests.
Last point from Bobi Wine:
“For these reasons, we believe that this was an extreme act of corruption which Hon. Mpuuga admitted initially and apologized for! It is on record. It was both illegal and immoral, no matter how many heavy words are used to justify it.The moral thing for him to do would be to apologize to the nation and step down from the Parliamentary Commission. That remains his choice” (Bobi Wine, 02.03.2024).
We know now after the interview earlier in the day that Mpuuga will not step down, apologize or follow the recommended way forward. Mpuuga will defiantly stand in the way of the Party and act like his above it. He will only act or says he would if the representatives from the Kingdom of Baganda says so. Meaning the Katikkiro Charles Mayiga or the Kabaka says he should resign. Therefore, absolving himself from the party and only being a citizens under the banner of the King.
It is really telling that his not willing to adhere or follow instructions from the National Unity Platform. Just showing that he used it as a tool to elected and that he doesn’t value the party itself. It was just a necessary device to get him into Parliament in 2021. That’s all that it was worth for Mpuuga. Because, now that times are hard and his shady actions are revealed.
He goes under the skirt of Mengo, thinking it is the saving grace. Alas, his reputation and legacy is soiled. It is destroyed and the Party President further proves it. There is no justification for the “service award” and he should do the right thing. However, it is now proven that Mpuuga cannot do that and is a self-serving individual who only cares about his “personal finances”. Peace.