Observers yesterday cautioned that the bid to unseat the Leader of Opposition in Parliament would run into legal headwinds, even as members of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) remained upbeat, insisting they would find a way through the legal thicket.
The Buyaga West MP (NRM), Mr Dennis Namara, yesterday set the ball rolling on a bid to oust the LoP, only days after the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and head of the PLU, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, warned the current office holder, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, that ‘he would lose his seat very soon.’
Political experts and constitutional lawyers have separately slammed the move as ill conceived and in bad faith, a poisoned chalice aimed at weakening the Opposition.
Mr Peter Walubiri, a constitutional lawyer, said: ‘The country is already suffering from the worsening rule of law and the only hope we had was strong Opposition which they want to weaken by choosing the Leader of Opposition.
As a country we are doomed… .’ Dr Juma Kakuba Sultan, a lecturer of Political Science at Kyambogo University, wondered why it is the NRM spearheading a Bill that directly concerns the Opposition.
‘Ordinarily complaints would have come from the Opposition but what we are seeing is the Opposition being weakened because the NRM will have an influence on the person who shall become the Leader of Opposition and this weaken democracy. There is no good intention in this entire Bill because after weakening the Opposition, nothing good will come from that House,’ he said.
As Mr Namara formally notified the Clerk to Parliament of his intention to seek leave to introduce a Private Member’s Bill amending the Administration of Parliament Act, a move aimed at rewriting the rulebook on how the LoP is chosen, the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Jacob Oboth Oboth, was presiding over the handover of PLU General Secretary position.
Tingey County MP Fadil Twalla (NRM) took the reins of the PLU office from Daudi Kabanda, the Kasambya County representative (NRM). What began as a war of words on the X-platform between Gen Muhoozi and Mr Ssenyonyi has now snowballed into a looming amendment that could upend the long-standing tradition of selecting the LoP.
At present, the Opposition party with the largest parliamentary caucus nominates the LoP, and the Speaker merely informs the House.
In his June 24 Notice of Motion to the Speaker, copied to deputy Speaker and the Clerk to Parliament, Mr Namara said: ‘In accordance with Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament, I hereby give notice of my intention to move a motion for leave of the House to introduce a Private Member’s Bill entitled ‘The Administration of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2026.”
The Clerk to Parliament, Mr Adolf Mwesige, confirmed receipt of the Notice, saying he had already passed it on to the Speaker for ‘further management.’
‘I have forwarded it to the Speaker who has the powers to put it on the Parliament Order Paper for further management,’ he explained.
Last week, Gen Muhoozi authorised Mr Kabanda to spearhead efforts to unseat Mr Ssenyonyi, insisting that a PLU-affiliated member should take up the mantle.
The NRM commands a lion’s share of the 12th Parliament, with 372 members. The leading Opposition, National Unity Platform (NUP), to which Mr Ssenyonyi belongs, holds 49 seats.
Uganda Peoples Congress has 12, Forum for Democratic Change has 9, Democratic Party has 6, People’s Front for Freedom (2), and Alliance for National Transformation has 1. Of the 68 Independents, 42 are known to lean toward the NRM, cementing its dominance.
Any Bill requires the support of at least three-quarters of the House at its second reading to pass. Mr Namara and his colleagues are reviving a Bill that had once been laid to rest, after suffering a natural death in the previous Parliament when Mityana South MP David Lumu attempted to introduce it.
Like Mr Namara, Mr Lumu was on August 29, 2024, granted leave by Parliament to table the Administration of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which sought to change the mode of selecting the LoP and other positions reserved for the Opposition in Parliament.
He later tabled the Bill to amend the Administration of Parliament Act, Cap 272, which provides for the election of the LoP by the Opposition party with the greatest numerical strength in Parliament.
But when the Bill came under committee scrutiny, several political parties – including FDC, UPC, and ANT – rejected its proposals, arguing it was brought ‘in bad faith,’ and would undermine multiparty democracy, and sought to weaken the Opposition. On March 12 this year, Parliament withdrew the Bill following widespread objection.
Moments after Mr Ssenyonyi addressed reporters at Parliament last week – condemning the arrest and detention of former Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, Gen Muhoozi took to X, vowing to oust Ssenyonyi and ensure that ‘their’ candidate takes over.
‘I want a new Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. And I will get him. He will be endorsed by me,’ Gen Muhoozi posted on X, later announcing that he had instructed PLU MPs to study how Ssenyonyi could be removed ‘as soon as possible.’
Mr Kabanda promptly responded, assuring the PLU chairman that ‘two weeks are enough.’
Mr Namara told reporters at Parliament yesterday that the proposals he intends to table would benefit all Opposition parties, including NUP. ‘The current law has a lacuna, because the Parliament, the people who elected him, the Opposition members of Parliament who selected this particular Leader of Opposition cannot remove that member from being a Leader of Opposition,’ he said.
He added: ‘What happens? They provide only four grounds that if he is withdrawn by the political party which sponsored him or number two, if he ceases to be a member of Parliament or if that political party which he represents no longer has membership in Parliament. But is that one enough? The President of Uganda, under the Constitution can be removed by Parliament. You are aware that the Speaker of Parliament, his deputy, Cabinet ministers, and even members of Parliament can be removed. What about the Leader of Opposition? Who is at the level? Because the law provides that he is at the level of Cabinet.’
Article 82A of the Constitution, introduced by the Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2005, formally establishes the Office of the Leader of the Opposition. Its operational framework is provided under the Administration of Parliament (Amendment) Act, 2006, which vests the power to appoint the LoP in the Opposition party with the largest numerical strength in Parliament.
The Speaker’s role is limited to formally announcing that party’s nominee to the House.
Mr Ssenyonyi, the Nakawa West MP, was retained as LoP after serving in the same position during the latter half of the previous Parliament.