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The Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa has said that Parliament cannot involve itself in the internal Affairs of the Democratic Party (DP).
This followed a concern from a member of DP Hon. Lulume Bayigga who presented a statement on the state of affairs in the Democratic Party (DP) during plenary on Thursday, 25 August 2022.
According to Lulume Bayigga, following a memorandum of understanding(MOU) between the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and DP which eventually led to the appointment of Hon. Norbert Mao as Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, ‘DP members are in a conundrum and there have been challenges regarding where to place DP members in the House’.
Hon. Lulume Bayigga sought guidance of the House on where the DP MPs belong.
He said that because of the appointment, the activities of the party have been closed and some members including himself were arrested at their headquarters when they sought to know about the agreement.
He added that the nine DP members of Parliament were not consulted and are not part of the agreement.
Lulume Bayigga said that Mao should present before Parliament a copy of the agreement to enable the office of the Leader of Opposition to make a stand on DP members.
He also called on Parliament to pronounce itself on whether DP MPs will be bound by an agreement made without their consent as far as voting is concerned.
However, Deputy Speaker Tayebwa said that Parliament cannot involve itself in DP’s internal Affairs guiding DP members who are discontented to follow the party constitution to resolve their grievances.
Tayebwa also said that he had not received any complaint or concern from the DP Whip, Hon. Peter Okot regarding their sitting arrangement or even the agreement between NRM and DP.
“This House cannot involve itself into the internal affairs of DP of whom it has appointed or has not been appointed. Otherwise next time it will be NRM then NUP; we shall be setting a very dangerous precedent,” he said.
Hon. Peter Okot said that the issues raised by Lulume Bayigga can be addressed by the organs of the party.