{UAH} EALA Speaker faces vote of 'no confidence'
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EALA Speaker faces vote of ‘no confidence’
The Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, Margaret Zziwa, could soon be kicked out of office after the majority of regional members of parliament agreed to table a motion to censure her. TEA Graphic
Posted Saturday, March 29 2014 at 18:29
In Summary
- The motion, moved by a Kenyan MP and seconded by Rwandan and Burundi MPs, gives the grounds of seeking Ms Zziwa’s removal as misconduct, poor governance, poor leadership skills, abuse of office, disrespect and intimidation of members and staff, and loss of confidence and trust.
- Ms Zziwa’s fate appeared nearly sealed by the end of the week when the motion had been signed by all representatives from Burundi and Rwanda, six from Uganda, five from Tanzania and five from Kenya. Ms Zziwa is Ugandan.
- Ms Zziwa told The EastAfrican, that she, along with other female EALA representatives, would discuss the issue of gender. The Speaker says her censure motion has to do with her gender and not anything she has done.
The Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, Margaret Zziwa, could soon be kicked out of office after the majority of regional members of parliament agreed to table a motion to censure her.
The motion, moved by a Kenyan MP and seconded by Rwandan and Burundi MPs, gives the grounds of seeking Ms Zziwa’s removal as misconduct, poor governance, poor leadership skills, abuse of office, disrespect and intimidation of members and staff, and loss of confidence and trust.
The MPs also accuse her of being poor at time management and having a laissez-faire attitude to Assembly responsibility, which they say is causing delays and postponement of meetings.
They also cite her failure to reside in Arusha as required by the EAC Treaty. Article 53(3) of the treaty states that the Speaker may be removed by a resolution supported by not less than two thirds majority of the elected MPs for inability to perform the functions of his or her office, whether arising from infirmity of mind or body, or for misconduct.
Ms Zziwa’s fate appeared nearly sealed by the end of the week when the motion had been signed by all representatives from Burundi and Rwanda, six from Uganda, five from Tanzania and five from Kenya. Ms Zziwa is Ugandan.
On Thursday, the parliament’s clerk read the motion to the Assembly and issued a notice to the MPs to table the motion within seven days, according to the rules of procedure of the Assembly.
During the tabling of the motion, expected to take place on Tuesday, the Speaker will not be allowed to chair the proceedings as per Rule 9 of the Assembly. Members will instead appoint an acting Speaker.
Removal of the Speaker would temporarily stall the business of the Assembly. This could affect operations of the EAC secretariat which anticipates EALA’s approval of its budget in three months.
The rules of procedure do not have a system of electing an acting Speaker.
“In the circumstances, it would therefore be prudent to borrow the procedure employed in Rule 7 for the election of the Speaker at any time that office is vacant,” said the source.
Ms Zziwa is counting on two developments to save her from censure.
The first is that Uganda EALA representative Fred Mbidde has filed a case at the East African Court of Justice, through his law foundation, against the move to oust the Speaker claiming that the procedure the MPs are using is illegal as per the treaty.
“Since the matter is with the court, at no point will the motion be debated before the ruling by the EACJ,” said Mr Mbidde. He said he has applied for certificate of urgency so that the ruling can be made as soon as possible.
“Although the grounds for removal of the Speaker of the Assembly are set down in the treaty, the rules of procedure of EALA are silent on both the grounds and procedure for proof of existence thereof,” said Mr Mbidde.
“The EAC treaty does not provide grounds for censure against the Speaker as it’s not conclusive enough on rotation after the censure.”
Article 53(1) of the treaty provides that a Speaker of the Assembly shall be elected on rotational basis by the elected members of the Assembly from among themselves.
The second factor Ms Zziwa is counting on is Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s intervention.
Reports from Arusha indicate that Ms Zziwa tried to lobby fellow women MPs to withdraw their signatures. She reportedly asked them to accompany her to Kampala to meet President Museveni on the matter.
“Although six women MPs had agreed to fly to Kampala to meet President Yoweri Museveni on the evening the motion was tabled, four later turned her down and only two (one Kenyan and one Ugandan) accompanied her to Kampala,” said the source.
President Museveni could appeal to the Ugandan EALA MPs to withdraw their signatures before the motion is tabled, or ask them not to vote in favour of the motion.
According to sources, before the motion was presented to the floor of the House on Thursday, two Tanzanian MPs withdrew their signatures saying they had not been briefed about the motion.
“After the motion was presented to the House and the notice was given, the two MPs later agreed to append their signatures again,” said the source. The motion is now awaiting debate.
EALA’s senior public relations officer Bobi Odiko said that the clerk had forwarded the notice to the House, but confirmed there was no motion tabled as at close of business on Thursday.
Ms Zziwa told The EastAfrican, that she, along with other female EALA representatives, would discuss the issue of gender. The Speaker says her censure motion has to do with her gender and not anything she has done.
“Do you think the two men before me were angels that they didn’t do anything wrong? What is it that I have done to warrant this censure?” she asked.
Ms Zziwa said that other than being a woman, her opponents are punishing her for refusing them opportunities to make money.
She says that leaders of the different country chapters had wanted her to approve $200,000 to be given to each of them for sensitisation of the electorate. She however says that she could not reallocate money since that was beyond her mandate.
Another reason that has been blamed for the censure motion is the acrimonious circumstances that preceded Ms Zziwa’s election. “It is the losers of that election that are creating a disturbance,” she said.
Ms Zziwa was elected Speaker in June 2012. Controversially, another Ugandan, Dora Byamukama, had allegedly been appointed by the National Resistance Movement as their official candidate. The election had some tribal undertones from the Uganda as all her allies are from Buganda.
Reported by Christabel Ligami and Dicta Asiimwe
Democracy is two Wolves and a Lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed Lamb contesting the results.
Benjamin Franklin
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