The corruption at parliament and the endless waste of taxpayers’ money by the leaders of the legislature have tainted Uganda’s image both locally and internationally.
Whereas President Museveni has come out and arrested some Members of Parliament (MPs), it remains unclear why the three NRM parliamentary commissioners, including Prossy Begumisa Mbabazi Akampurira, Esther Afoyochan, and Solomon Silwany, have not been arrested yet. The commissioners in question, along with the then Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LOP), Mathias Mpuuga, participated in a meeting where they awarded themselves around Ugx 1.7 billion.
Akampulira, who is the Woman MP for Rubanda district, has since come out to accept how she received the money but used it in the constituency to look for more votes in the 2026 elections, a confirmation that indeed the commissioners received the money.
The commissioners and the proponents of the service award said that the money was legal since it passed through the budget process, but the leadership code restricts public servants from participating in meetings where they make decisions meant to benefit them as individuals.
The arrested MPs are accused of tampering with the budget, as are the commissioners, but both the president and the NRM party have kept silent about the broad daylight robbery by the commissioners, regardless of the cries by Ugandans.
The NRM party showing the will to fight corruption by arresting legislators who had not received the bribe yet, but leaving those who sat and shared billions amongst themselves with impunity is not a good gesture but will instead look as playing on the minds of the tax payers.
Both the president and the party leadership have not come out to comment about the same issue; the party Chief Whip, Denis Hamson Obua, has instead been seen trying to sabotage the censure motion against the commissioners. This has been seen by the public as a clear sign that the party actually supports the heist and there is no will to fight corruption, which has left every Ugandan worried about their future.
If the president is indeed serious about wiping out corruption expeditiously, the issue of parliamentary commissioners should be addressed. It is public knowledge that Ugandans are more concerned about the money stolen by commissioners than the bribe that was asked by the budget committee members from the Uganda Human Rights boss, something they had even not received. If President Museveni and the NRM party were serious about fighting the vice, they would have started with the commissioners’ issue, whose evidence is glaring.
With the 2026 elections around the corner, the NRM performance will definitely be affected by the issue of parliamentary commissioners, which has become a talking point in the country, but the powers that be decided to keep silent. It is better if President Museveni prevails and addresses the matter; otherwise, the commissioners in question will face the wrath of the voters.
It is time for the NRM party to show that they are pro-people rather than siding with the majority thieves. Short of that, the issue of parliamentary commissioners and the heist at Parliament will bring down the NRM since the actions contravene the party ideology.
