Parliament’s Commissioners have got off the hook after the High Court has ruled that the Shs1.7 billion Service Award given to them was lawfully approved by Parliament and provided for in the institution’s budget . <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However ,Justice Douglas Karekona Singiza of the High Court\u2019s Civil Division who heard the case in his ruling also called for reforms and ordered the Secretary to Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, to take disciplinary action against Clerk to Parliament, Adolf Mwesige, over the controversial payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court dismissed the applicant\u2019s prayers, stating that the argument of conflict of interest was not sustainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court explained, \u201cthe allowances of members of the Parliamentary Commission are determined by the Commission with the approval of Parliament,\u201d as prescribed by Section 42 of the Administration of the Parliament Act (AOPA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court further stated, \u201cthe impugned [questioned] payment was approved by Parliament in the Appropriation Bill under the title \u2018Ex-gratia for Political Leaders\u2026 the fact that this vote formed part of the Appropriations Act is proof that the Minister of Finance had the opportunity to scrutinize the payment and that Parliament approved the ex-gratia vote.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn scrutinizing the Parliamentary Commission Recurrent and Development Budget, one sees that, under \u2018ITEM 2-1-1-1-05: Ex-Gratia Payment for Political Leaders and there is a there is a sub-heading, \u2018Retirement Benefits for Former Speakers and Deputy Speakers\u2019, and under this, a list of eight beneficiaries.\u201d the Judge noted in his decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Court further noted that, \u201cthe first six beneficiaries are named former speakers and deputy speakers of Parliament. The seventh beneficiary is entitled \u2018Service Award to Leader of the Opposition\u2019, and the eighth is the \u2018Service Award to Backbench Parliamentary Commissioners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel Bwete, the applicant had asked the court to declare the parliamentary Commission\u2019s decision on service award \u201cultra vires, illegal, oppressive, arbitrary, biased, high-handed, irrational, unfair, and therefore null and void,\u201d and pecuniary interest {conflict of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had asked the court to quash the decision by the Parliamentary Commission to award themselves over a billion shillings of tax payers money . He had also applied for costs of arguing the matter but the Court declined all the reliefs sought after a careful study of all the submitted evidence on the record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Editor:msserwanga@gmail.com<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Editor:msserwanga@gmail.com<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Parliament’s Commissioners have got off the hook after the High Court has ruled that the Shs1.7 billion Service Award given<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[216],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-court"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/OIP-3.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15301,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/parliament-vets-nominees-for-principal-judge-and-leadership-code-tribunal\/","url_meta":{"origin":12630,"position":0},"title":"Parliament Vets Nominees for Principal Judge and Leadership Code Tribunal","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"September 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Parliamentary Appointments Committee has today vetted nominees for two key judicial and governance positions \u2014 the Principal Judge and the Leadership Code Tribunal. The Committee, chaired by the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Anita Annet Among, considered the nomination of Lady Justice Jane Frances Abodo for the position of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20250902-WA0386-4.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20250902-WA0386-4.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20250902-WA0386-4.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20250902-WA0386-4.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20250902-WA0386-4.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11656,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/money-heist-in-parliament-and-mpuugas-fight-for-political-life-ofwono-opondo\/","url_meta":{"origin":12630,"position":1},"title":"Money heist in parliament and Mpuuga\u2019s fight for political life- Ofwono Opondo","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"March 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Uganda\u2019s mainstream media houses with nearly 100 journalists accredited to cover Parliament all couldn\u2019t sniff the stench from what appears to be fictitious expenses payouts until volunteer digital warriors exposed it in the ongoing #UgandaParliamentExhibition. Out of embarrassment they\u2019re now diverting debate to the little fight of Robert Kyagulanyi a.k.a.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "OPINION"","block_context":{"text":"OPINION","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/opinion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ofwono.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ofwono.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ofwono.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ofwono.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13748,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/uganda-supreme-court-bans-military-trials-of-civilians\/","url_meta":{"origin":12630,"position":2},"title":"Uganda: Supreme Court Bans Military Trials of Civilians","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"February 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Immediately Halt Ongoing Trials of Civilians; Review Past Convictions Uganda\u2019s Supreme Court ruling declaring military trials of civilians unconstitutional. in a landmark decision the court further ruled that in its current formation , the General Court Martial and other military units should not hear criminal cases that carry custodial senstences\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/supreme-Court-.webp","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/supreme-Court-.webp 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/supreme-Court-.webp 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9228,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/supreme-court-judge-stella-arach-amoko-dead-at-69\/","url_meta":{"origin":12630,"position":3},"title":"Supreme Court judge, Stella Arach-Amoko dead at 69","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"June 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Celebrated Supreme Court Judge, Stella Arach Amoko is dead. She was 69 years old . She \u00a0passed on at 4.00 am at \u00a0Nakasero hospital where she was being treated of cancer. A distinguished jurist, Hon. Lady\u00a0Justice Stella Arach- Amoko wrote many landmark decisions and precedents. She has been widely hailed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Judiciary"","block_context":{"text":"Judiciary","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/judiciary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/OIP.jpeg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8756,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/electoral-commission-asks-parliament-for-ug-shs-80bn-to-conduct-women-and-lc-elections\/","url_meta":{"origin":12630,"position":4},"title":"Electoral Commission asks Parliament for Ug.Shs.80bn to conduct women and LC elections","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"April 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"As the current term of the LC s 1 and 2 comes to an end on July 14th 2023, the Electoral Commission Chairman , Justice Simon Byabakama, has asked Parliament to appropriate an additional 60.88 billion shillings to conduct elections for the lower councils throughout the country . Byabakama also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Elections"","block_context":{"text":"Elections","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/elections\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/EC2-640x375-1.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/EC2-640x375-1.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/EC2-640x375-1.jpg 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7296,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/museveni-appoints-madrama-musoke-musota-as-supreme-court-judges-kihika-as-court-of-appeal-judge\/","url_meta":{"origin":12630,"position":5},"title":"Museveni appoints Madrama, Musoke, Musota as Supreme Court judges, Kihika as Court of Appeal Judge","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"November 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"President Museveni has appointed Justices Christopher Madrama Izama, Stephen Musota and Elizabeth Musoke to the Supreme Court bench according to a release from State House .The Supreme Court will now have 13 justices and only seven are needed to determine constitutional petitions. Mr Museveni had also appointed his lawyer and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Court"","block_context":{"text":"Court","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/court\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/latest04pix.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/latest04pix.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/latest04pix.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/latest04pix.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0aOV-3hI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12630"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12632,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12630\/revisions\/12632"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}