The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, has fiercely defended Parliament, claiming the recent war on graft that reached a crescendo after a number of lawmakers were detained on graft allegations, must be based on evidence.
Ms Among, who remains in the crosshairs after the United Kingdom and United States sanctioned her on allegations of corruption, relied on the common-law golden thread to defend the MPs, arguing that they cannot say that members are corrupt as there is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
Among was responding to concerns by a section of MPs, who took exception with the contents of President Museveni’s recent letter citing corruption allegations against Parliament.
In a June 22 letter addressed to Ms Among, in which he returned the Appropriation Bill 2024, Mr Museveni highlighted the allegations of corruption as an indictment against the House, and one of the reasons he declined to assent to the Bill.
A trio of lawmakers, particularly those who sit on Parliament’s Budget Committee, have been arrested, and others summoned for interrogation on allegations of abusing the budgeting process, and seeking kickbacks to influence allocations, which is tantamount to corruption.
During yesterday’s plenary, the debate on graft was polarizing, with some MPs denouncing the President’s comments, while other lawmakers accused their colleagues of not being entirely clean.
