Four MPs quit Lango Parliamentary Group

Clockwise: Ms Doreen Amule; Kioga County MP, Mr Anthony Okello; Mr Bonny Okello who represents Kole North and Ms Christine Acen, the Alebtong Woman MP.

Four members of Parliament have quit the Lango Parliamentary Group (LPG), a loose coalition of members of Parliament from Lango sub region.

The four are, Amolatar Woman MP, Ms Doreen Amule; Kioga County MP, Mr Anthony Okello; Ms Christine Acen, the Alebtong Woman MP and Mr Bonny Okello who represents Kole North county.

The four were among the group of legislators from the region who supported the scrapping of the presidential age limit from the Constitution.

Their decision to leave LPG has stirred anger from their colleagues who voted against the amendment as well as sections of people from their constituents.

Kioga County MP, Mr Anthony Okello was attacked by a group of residents while holding consultations on the scrapping of the presidential age limit at Muntu Sub-county headquarters on November 3, 2017. They accused him of betrayal.

But Mr Okello accuses the leadership of LPG of intrigue saying that the voters were mobilised to attack members who supported the constitutional amendment.

He said he could no longer be part of a group that does not respect divergent views.

However, Mr Felix Okot Ogong, the chairman LPG rubbished the claims saying the four legislators are being haunted by the “guilt of betraying their constituents when they supported the lifting of presidential age limit.”

He said their decision to leave the LPG could be as a result of the pressure being mounted on them by voters in their respective constituencies.

Ms Amule says LPG lost focus and vision and does not have accountability. She said that since its inception, members of the group have been contributing 300, 000 Shillings on monthly basis but have received no accountability for their contributions.

She says she has stopped contributing the money unless the leadership gives them accountability.
Mr Bonny Okello said he has officially informed Parliament's Finance Department to stop deducting and remitting part of his salary to the account of Lango Parliamentary Group.

"It's better to use the 300, 000 Shillings to pay school fees for poor children in my constituency instead of wasting it on useless activities of Lango Parliamentary Group," he said.