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The Shadow Cabinet in parliament has this morning resolved to continue with the Opposition boycott of Parliament sittings until when the government is ready to comprehensively respond to the Opposition demands on safeguarding human rights in the country.
The cabinet chaired by the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament (LOP) Mathias Mpuuga also urged Opposition MPs to continue attending Parliamentary Committee meetings and defy an chairpersons who attempt to chase them out of the Committees.
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Mpuuga also cautioned political party leaders against issuing directives to their respective MPs that are intended to undermine the Opposition cause. This follows a directive by FDC and DP to its members to end the boycott and return to the House. Mpuuga said that the danger in such moves is the possibility of causing internal rifts.
The DP whip, Peter Okot informed the Shadow Cabinet that the DP caucus is already in disagreement with the majority of its members opting to move against the guidance from the DP headquarters. The Forum for Democratic Change through it’s mouthpiece John Kikonyogo slammed the boycott and urged the opposition to explore other measures.
Following a stay away boycott from the plenary by opposition legislators who want government to come out and explain the whereabouts of opposition supporters picked by drones and are nowhere to be seen, not even in known prisons three years later. The opposition is also exerting more pressure to the Museveni government to come clean on the human rights violations meted on Ugandans mostly by security organs.
The very powerful speaker Anita Among would later issue threats to the MPs banning them from any foreign travel or attending committee sittings if they’re not ready to resume attending plenary. But seems the legislators are not ready to succumb to he threats as they have resolved to continue staying away from parliamentary sittings.
During their boycott, parliament passed the Petroleum Supply Amendment Act 2023 which aims at giving government through the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) a monopoly of supply petroleum products destined for the Ugandan market.
Government has since supply agreements with a foreign company Vitol to be the only one to supply petroleum products to Uganda as UNOC opens branch in Kenya to enable the deal. The president has already assented to the bill and it’s already a law. It sailed through from parliament without any querries or questioning from the opposition wing who were home doing the boycott.
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