[UAH] Museveni meets MPs over Aronda - National - monitor.co.ug

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Museveni-meets-MPs-over-Aronda/-/688334/1907124/-/7kijegz/-/index.html

In Summary

Presidential intervention. The move is aimed at wooing lawmakers to approve the ministerial appointment of the former Chief of Defence Forces.

President Museveni on Saturday met a section of MPs at State House Entebbe to discuss the deadlock over the ministerial appointment of former Chief of Defence Forces Aronda Nyakairima.

Gen Nyakairima, who was nominated to head the Internal Affairs ministry in the May 24 mini-Cabinet reshuffle, has apparently not yet resigned from the army as required by the Constitution. 
The General has been silent on whether he will resign or stay in the army.

The MPs on the Parliamentary Appointments Committee, that vets presidential appointments, insist Gen Aronda must first resign before he can take on his ministerial appointment to avoid partisan politics.

The Constitution prohibits serving army officers from engaging in partisan politics. A Cabinet appointment, the MPs insist, is in the realm of partisan politics. 
Despite this constitutional position, the President in 2009 swore-in Lt Gen Jeje Odongo as deputy defence minister even after the 8th Parliament refused to accept him as an ex-officio MP.

Odongo's case
Lt Gen Odongo was only accepted and sworn-in after he retired from the army. Sources who attended last Friday's meeting at State House said the President said Lt Gen Odongo's resignation was a "mistake" and that he shouldn't have resigned from the army.

Mr Museveni, who retired from the army to concentrate on party politics in 2004, is reported to have made it clear to Speaker Rebecca Kadaga in last week's [June 28) meeting that Gen Aronda will not resign from the army.

Yesterday's meeting was a follow up of last week's meeting that ended without a common position on the way forward.
"It is true they went to meet the President this morning (Saturday). The meeting is about Gen Aronda's appointment," said Parliaments spokesperson Hellen Kaweesa.
The MPs left Parliament at around 10am yesterday to attend the meeting whose details were still scanty by press time.
The Appointments Committee wanted confirmation that Gen Nyakairima retired from the army.

The Attorney General insists that Gen Aronda can serve as minister without retiring since "he is not seeking to become a secretary general of a political party, he is not seeking to become Chairman LCV and he is not seeking to become a councillor".

The source also noted that the President told members that he based Gen Nyakairima's appointment on his knowledge of the National Identity Card Project since he was involved in with the project as army head.

The MPs also questioned the nomination of the State Minister for Health, Dr Ellioda Tumwesigye, who also hails from western Uganda just like the former army chief. 
The MPs reportedly told the President last Friday that they cannot vet two more ministers from the same region yet other regions are being marginalised. This, they say, has resulted into regional imbalance where the western region has dominated all the ministerial appointments.

However, President Museveni allegedly said he based the appointment of the duo on their technical experience. 
Some MPs, however, vowed not to attend the meeting saying they cannot be party to a resolution to approve Gen Aronda outside the law.

Mr Mathius Mpuuga, the MP for Masaka Municipality and a member of the Appointments committee, confirmed yesterday's meeting with the President but said he never attended.

"President Museveni wants to have his way. Why should I escort him to break the law? I am not known to perform such rituals. If he is the one to convince me to have two ministers appointed, then such people do not merit being ministers," he said.

He cast doubt on whether the deliberations with Mr Museveni were fruitful. "The resignation of Aronda from the army is not a matter of debate. If the President wants to circumvent the law, I can never be party to such a meeting," Mr Mpuuga said.