Kadaga, Museveni fight

Clipping Kadaga’s power

As Speaker of Parliament, Kadaga currently holds the third most powerful position in the government of Uganda after the President and Vice President. She has held positions of power for over 30 years, having been in President Museveni’s government since 1986. She has headed parliament since 2001 as deputy speaker until 2011 and as speaker since then. And she likes to use her power; especially in defense of her turf. Attorney General William Byaruhanga got a taste of the Kadaga sting on April 22 when he attempted to explain to the MPs that they had no choice but to obey the court order. Kadaga accused him of supporting the Judiciary “in scandalising the legislature”.

“Don’t encourage the courts to overrun Parliament,” she warned him as MPs cheered her. Sometimes Kadaga gets bruised in the fights as is happening now.

But during a thanksgiving prayer breakfast for the 10th parliament in 2016, Kadaga urged MPs to have courage to keep the executive in check.

“When the president was sworn in, he took two oaths, the one of allegiance and that of guaranteeing the welfare of Ugandans…the instrument of the welfare of Ugandans is this parliament because we pass the budgets, policies and laws,” she said.

“You need to have courage because we are going to be taking some decisions. You need courage in taking some decisions and rejecting others.”

She said that much as some decisions may bring Parliament into conflict with the executive, the MPs need to pray to remain focused and to also have wisdom to promote the welfare of Ugandans.

In most countries, public verbal exchanges between the head of state and the head of parliament and threats of disregarding orders of the courts would create fear of a constitutional crisis. Most commentators who have spoken to The Independent say that cannot be the case here.

Fighting over loot

Some of them see this as a clear cut fight over sharing of loot. In the past, Museveni and Kadaga would meet privately and cut a deal. Sometimes they would summon MPs from their party, the NRM caucus, and rubberstamp the deal. Part of the problem, commentators say, COVID-19 regulations banning large meetings mean Museveni does not have a chance to browbeat MPs in State House while Kadaga routinely meets them and cuts deals. Without the NRM parliament caucus, Museveni is weakened. Kadaga holds the aces.

That is why, although Museveni ordered MPs to return the Shs20 million each to the COVID-19 Taskforce, he cannot enforce it. Kadaga says the MPs got the money to carry out ‘supervision and advocacy’ against the spread of coronavirus. She says they are like the Resident District Commission (RDCs) who bagged Shs55 million in the same deal. But critics argue that MPs are regularly paid to do exactly that and, unlike RDCs, cannot be asked to account for the money.

Other commentators say it’s not unusual or serious for Museveni and Kadaga to bicker and fight. Kadaga as head of the legislature often gives orders that Museveni either ignores or overturns. Kadaga also often overrules the President. Her aggressiveness and clashes with the executive have earned her both admiration and hatred in equal measure.

In just one month, April, Kadaga clashed with the executive over a proposal to distribute food to COVID-19 lockdown distressed residents in Kampala and Wakiso and not across the country. Kadaga ordered that food is not distributed until a countrywide programme is agreed. However, government moved ahead with the programme ignoring parliament advice.

In February this year, she clashed with the Minister for Education and Sports, who is also the First Lady, Janet Museveni, over plans to roll out the new curriculum for the lower secondary schools.

Parliament had on Feb. 04 passed a motion halting the exercise citing non-preparedness stemming from training of teachers, no sensitisation and consultations.  However, the curriculum was rollout.

During the same period,   she blocked the a government proposal to borrow US$119million from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China  towards the upgrade of three oil roads until an alternative funding arrangement was reached for the 95 km Kampala-Jinja Expressway.

She insisted that she would not accept a Public Private Partnership to be experimented on a road that is of critical importance heading to the East. True to her stand, she only allowed parliament to approve the loan two weeks later after government abandoned a PPP arrangement and included the expressway loan for the planned borrowing.

Past incidents include Kadaga’s 2018 suspension of parliament after the executive failed to explain army’s brutality on Lake Victoria over fishing. She said although the matter had on several occasions been tabled before the House, no line minister had come up with the answers to the queries.

Parliament and the executive had also earlier during the year clashed  following the Arua violence in which some MPs including Bobi Wine aka Robert Ssentamu Kyagulangi of the Kyadondo East were arrested and tortured by the army.

Similarly in December that year, Kadaga wrote to President Museveni wondering how security officers could sneak into parliament which prompted a fight on the floor.

The fight happened as MPs debated the bill on lifting the Presidential age limit. The fight saw MPs battered by army inside Parliament.

And whilst most of the minister’s blamed Bobi Wines group for instigating the chaos during which President Yoweri Museveni’s motorcade was allegedly stoned and windscreen smashed, resulting into mayhem, parliament denounced the torture and arrest of MPs and civilians.

As a result, Kadaga sent a letter to President Museveni asking him to punish security officers; especially the military who participated in the alleged torture during the Arua Municipality by-election.

However, Museveni responded to Kadaga, saying that security forces are allowed to use reasonable force in handling certain situations and in execution of their mandate to protect civilians.

Similarly, in 2016, when the National Resistance Movement Central Executive Committee (CEC) resolved to expel four of its Members of Parliament for what officials called indiscipline and opposing party positions, Kadaga did not abide by the NRM ruling.