‘Punches thrown and violence breaks out in Ugandan parliament’ is a headline from Sky News Agency, a London (UK)-based news company. The bizarre story comes after chaos erupted in parliament over a debate on the Coffee Bill. Is it the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end to the degeneration of Uganda’s opposition in Parliament?
The Ugandan parliament has increasingly become a laughing stock due to declining quality of debates where most of the debates and bills passed often end up unfruitful to the citizens, endemic corruption involving both opposition and ruling party legislators, for example, the unpopular service awards (unheard of in any developing country), the recently bailed legislators on counts of corruption, etc., routine violence with the examples of rackets between Prime Minister Robinah Nabanja and Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, etc.
The recent development and chaos that resulted in the violence against Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zake by fellow opposition MP Anthony Akol is an elaborate confirmation of theater politics by opposition legislators.
The opposition parties are supposed to hold together the fabrics of the nation when the nation is crumbling, but these are seemingly playing popularity games to the nation and to the citizens to the extent of becoming hooligans on the floor of parliament in order to win headlines and front pages in the media. What a betrayal the nation is going through!
When mediocrity and hooliganism keep the order of the day for opposition legislators, there will always be no one to advocate and foster accountability, and no wonder corruption has kept progressive at parliament because the key fabrics of accountability are always playing hide and seek games to win headlines. A good example is when these MPs walk out of parliament or mark themselves absent from plenary when crucial issues are being debated.
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A strong and sounding opposition parliament forms a basis for productive and quality debates at a time when the executive or government legislators are degenerating, and this helps save nations in terms of policies and budgets, for example, limiting government extravagances in budget debates, among others. The best example of this can be formulated by a mere look at the Labour Party and the Conservative Party of the UK.
I am not saying that government-leaning legislators should degenerate because they are duty-bound to be patriotic and honorable to the citizens, not to governments, and neither am I excluding them from the current degeneration, but these at times may have biased arguments due to variations in government stands and interests.
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As a result, the re-direction powers supersede the speaker of the house and rest on the actual actors, who are the opposition legislators. What a shame they have caused to the country!
If we can’t have a strong opposition in parliament, and if mediocrity and comedy remain the formation of opposition legislators, then the country is being robbed of good quality debates, productive policies, and accountability, among others.
Uganda, together with the citizens, has been betrayed at all fronts by the opposition and their legislators. I am that worried that the future of this country will fall at the betrayal of the opposition, who are the same people supposed to safeguard it. Is it the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end to the degeneration of Uganda’s opposition in Parliament?
Richard Bard Byamukama is a lawyer and also a security studies expert.
