Oulanyah rejects chance to right the wrongs in rules of procedure

Observers of the formative stages of the 10th Parliament have been waiting with bated breath for how it would navigate the sensitive issue of amendments to the rules of procedure.
Rules of procedure can either conscript MPs or allow free-flowing, transparent debate and proceedings.
The framers of the rules of procedure did not provide it as a mere formality that they have to be amended at the beginning of every Parliament. Such amendments have to put into consideration the politics of the day and ensure Parliament rhymes with the hopes of the voters.
And so when Parliament’s Committee on Rules, Privileges and Discipline set about gathering proposals on amendments to the current rules, members knew very well that there were some outdated provisions in the rules that had to be dealt with.
The report of the committee on proposals to amendments is fairly progressive. Of particular contention for this round of amendments was a proposal to amend Rule 151 to open up meetings of the Appointments Committee to the public.
Holding of in-camera meetings of the Appointments Committee has been a bone of contention for quite some time.

Cloud of secrecy
The cloud of secrecy that hovers over meetings of the Appointments Committee has been a harbinger of wild speculation about what exactly goes on inside the South Committee room where it usually convenes.
For a committee chaired by the Speaker or Deputy Speaker that conducts work on behalf of Ugandans that elect them, one wonders why and what it has to hide from the people it is doing business for.
During the vetting to renew the contract of Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura in May, there was talk of money exchanging hands to soften the stance of members as Committee proceedings went on for the General’s contract to be approved.
If the sitting had been conducted in the open, such rumours would be avoided.
To resolve this, the Rules Committee chaired by the Kalaki County MP Kenneth Obote-Ongalo had made the progressive proposal to open up the Committee.
“For transparency, it is proper to have committee meetings open to the public like in other committees to avoid speculation of what transpires in these meetings,” proposed the Rules Committee report.
“The names of the persons nominated for appointment by the President shall be published in the newspaper with the widest possible coverage. Since the proceedings will be open, this will be notice to the public.”
Buhweju County MP Francis Mwijukye, a member of the Appointments Committee, argued that opening up the committee would ensure accountability to people who petition over some nominees but never get a response.
“Sometimes we receive petitions about nominees and the petitioners never know what happened to these petitions,” Mr Mwijukye argued.
Such a petition dealt a blow to Works State minister designate Ismael Orot whose appointment was rejected after a voter presented a petition questioning his academic credentials. The petition argued that Mr Orot lacked the minimum academic qualifications, a position the committee agreed with.
But Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah, by all intents and purposes, did not exhibit leadership when it mattered most.
When the matter to vote on the amendment to open up the Appointments Committee first came up, Mr Oulanyah ruled that it be deferred, ostensibly to allow for “consultations” from the different sides of the political aisle.
It’s unlikely that any “consultations” about the matter took place as it’s very rare for the NRM and Opposition MPs to consult on polarising proposals.
But Mr Oulanyah made a rather bizarre ruling when the matter came up again for consideration.
No debate or voting would be conducted on the proposed amendment, Mr Oulanyah ruled, much to the chagrin of MPs. “The status quo remains. It is so directed,” Mr Oulanyah directed.
Busongora North MP William Nzonghu raised a procedural issue over the matter of the Appointments Committee that Mr Oulanyah quickly shot down.
Why didn’t he allow voting to be held on the proposed amendment so that MPs decide whether to open up the Committee or not? Why did he impose it on MPs that the status quo had to be maintained?
Another fundamental amendment was on Rule 148 that proposed a new sub-rule that would have meant that the Committee on Human Rights would be chaired and deputised by Independent MPs designated by the Speaker.
The justification was that: “human rights are inherent and due consideration should not be tagged to the politics of the day.”
Academic as it sounds, the justification made sense.
Butambala County MP Muwanga Kivumbi argued that the Human Rights Committee is, by all intents and purposes, an accountability committee and should therefore be led by Opposition MPs, as is the case with the other accountability committees.
But Mr Oulanyah equally ruled that there would be neither debate nor voting on such a critical amendment and the status be maintained.
The manner in which the NRM’s Jovah Kyamateeka led the inquiry into torture at the Nalufenya detention centre left a bad taste in the mouths of many MPs and further vindicated the proposal to have the committee chaired by a non-NRM MP.
At the last minute, Ms Kyamateeka ruled that journalists would not be allowed on the trip to the dreaded Nalufenya detention centre and MPs would hold in-camera sessions with accused police officers at the facility. Ms Kyamateeka then chose to author a report glossing over the torture at the facility.
A minority report by Kilak County North MP Anthony Akol painted the accurate picture of what happens at Nalufenya and, in effect, provided further credence that such a committee can be better led by either Independent or Opposition MPs.
Asking an NRM MP to audit the human rights credentials of the ruling party the MP subscribes to is akin to asking a monkey to judge a case involving a forest.
With the proposal to open up the Appointments Committee all but defeated, Ugandans will have to endure another five years of a shadowy approvals of nominees that are charged with looking after the affairs of this country.