MP Zaake’s Impeachment Was Unfair!! Court Blames Speaker Among For Acting With Biasness & ‘Hatred’

The Constitutional Court has invalidated the parliamentary resolution to remove Francis Zaake, the Mityana Municipality Member of Parliament from his position as a Parliamentary Commissioner.

The Constitutional Court has invalidated the parliamentary resolution to remove Francis Zaake, the Mityana Municipality Member of Parliament from his position as a Parliamentary Commissioner.

In a majority decision with four Justices in favor and one in opposition, the Court ruled that the then Deputy Speaker Anita Among, who presided over the matter, had violated the principles of natural justice by not recusing herself as the complainant.

Justice Irene Mulyagonja, who delivered the lead judgment, stated, “The Deputy Speaker/Among ought to have resolved the question of her interest in the matter as soon as possible in the public interest as it is required by the Code of Conduct of Members of Parliament in the Rules. When she did not do so, she acted in conflict of interest and reflected that she was biased.”

The other members of the panel are Justices Eva Luswata, Oscar Kihika, Muzamiru Mutangula Kibeedi, and Catherine Bamugemereire, who dissented. The case originated from a successful petition by Zaake challenging the March 10, 2022, parliamentary resolution that removed him from the parliamentary commission for alleged indiscipline based on a report by the Rules, Discipline, and Privileges Committee chaired by Abdu Katuntu.

The committee had found Zaake in breach of public trust and parliamentary decorum. Zaake’s troubles began when he criticized the Speaker on social media for her comments during a plenary session honoring legislators and parliamentary staff who had participated in the East African Legislative Assembly Games in Tanzania.

During the plenary, Anita joked that despite allegedly sustaining a broken leg following torture by security, Zaake had won a gold medal for Parliament in the 100-meter race. Anita’s comments came at a time when legislators were complaining about the increasing cases of torture perpetrated by security agencies.

Among directed the Committee to investigate Zaake following a motion by the Gulu City Barledge Division Member of parliament, Ojara Mapenduzi for his removal on allegations of abusing the Speaker using his social media handle. Dissatisfied with the impeachment resolution, Zaake petitioned the Constitutional Court, arguing that Parliament had not followed proper procedures and that members of the Rules Committee had received improper payments worth Shillings 6 million.

The Constitutional Court agreed with Zaake, stating that there was no quorum present when the resolution was passed, and the motion had been irregularly added to the order paper. Besides this, the Justices also noted Parliament breached its own rules of procedure, and more so, Among acted as a Judge in her own case.

“The question then remains whether waiting for the Speaker who was at the time indisposed to return would have caused the Deputy Speaker or Parliament any prejudice. Definitely not, because the matter had already been investigated by the Committee on Privileges. Implementation of the recommendations as well as debate on the Motion ought to have been postponed until a person who had no personal interest in the matter was available to preside,” said the Justices.

The Court also criticized Deputy Speaker Among for not heeding advice from the Leader of the Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga, to postpone the proceedings until the Speaker, who had been indisposed, could return to preside over the matter.

“The Deputy Speaker acted as a judge in her own cause when she continued chairing Parliament in a matter in which she had a personal interest; the resultant proceedings contravened or were consistent with Articles 2 (ll and (21, 8A, 28, 42 and 44 (c) of the Constitution and were null and void…” Court Said

However, the Court upheld the Privileges Committee’s report and recommended that Parliament proceed with its implementation. The Court clarified that there was no need for an injunction to halt the implementation of the resolution because it had already been invalidated. The court awarded Zaake part of the costs for the case.

Dissenting Justice Catherine Bamugemereire disagreed with the majority, asserting that Zaake lacked sufficient evidence to support his claims and that Parliament had validly suspended its own rules for the proceedings. Bamugemereire, who is the most Senior Judge on the panel went ahead to dismiss the application.