Bobi Wine suspends Mpuuga as NUP deputy president
The National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi (L) and Nyendo-Mukungwe MP, Mathias Mpuuga (R) during the last election campaigns.
What you need to know:
- On Monday, the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among also wrote to NUP Secretary General, Mr Lewis Rubongoya, informing him that by law, the party had no powers to remove Mr Mpuuga from the Parliamentary Commission.
The president of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine has, “with immediate effect” suspended the Nyendo-Mukungwe MP, Mr Mathias Mpuuga from his position as the deputy party president for central region.
According the March 27 letter seen by this Publication, Mr Kyagulanyi insists that Mr Mpuuga corruptly received the Shs500 million as ‘service award’ during his term of office as a Leader of Opposition (LoP), something that is against Section 9(1) of the Leadership Code Act (2002) as well as Article 5.3 (b) and (f) of the party constitution and party principles.
“In accordance with Articles 6.3 (h) and 7.1 (e) of the Party Constitution, I hereby suspend you from the position of Deputy President of the National Unity Platform for Central Region with immediate effect, and accordingly refer the matter to the National Executive Committee for further processing,” Mr Kyagulanyi’s letter reads in part.
The suspension was Thursday confirmed by the party leadership.
“The President of the National Unity Platform has suspended Hon Mathias Mpuuga from the position of Deputy President (Central Region) for engaging in actions of corruption and abuse of office — which actions he has failed to give any satisfactory explanation for,” the party posted on its X (formerly Twitter) handle.
Mr Mpuuga’s suspension comes days after he addressed a press conference and vowed not to resign from the Parliamentary Commission as had been advised by the party, despite the growing rift between him and the party principal.
“I am a founder member of NUP where I serve as a Deputy President. I am not leaving the party I founded and I'm not doing anything that destroys a young party I participated in establishing with conscience and conviction,” Mr Mpuuga told journalists at Parliament on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among also wrote to NUP Secretary General, Mr Lewis Rubongoya, informing him that by law, the party had no powers to remove Mr Mpuuga from the Parliamentary Commission.
According to the Speaker, parties can only nominate candidates for election to the office of the commissioner of parliament but cannot recall the already elected commissioners, hence declining to implement NUP’s request to withdraw Mr Mpuuga from the commission and be replaced by Mityana Municipality legislator, Mr Francis Zaake.
