NRM MPs have warned opposition legislators to stop riding on Parliamentary immunity to blackmail them.
This is after NRM ‘rebel’ MPs alleged that 317 NRM MPs had received a shs40m ‘bribe’ each to pass a motion of appreciation to President Yoweri Museveni for decisively curbing the spread of COVID-19 Pandemic in the country.
The opposition MPs led by Gerald Karuhanga (Ntungamo Municipality) allege that the NRM MPs received the 40m bribe on Saturday. Karuhanga and his colleagues have vowed to go to Court just like they did when Parliament gave each MP Shs20m to facilitate them in the fight against COVID19.
While addressing the media on Tuesday, NRM MPs led by Margaret Muhanga, who is the Spokesperson of the NRM caucus, denied giving out or receiving a bribe of shs40m to appreciate the President. “It beats logic that MPs passed the motion of appreciation on Tuesday (last week) then the bribe allegations came on Saturday. You can’t bribe members for work they have already done.
We need to make them (opposition leaders) stop hiding under Parliamentary immunity to blackmail us.
Muhanga Kole North MP Bonny Okello Desales dared the opposition MPs to repeat the same bribery allegations outside the precincts of Parliament.
She said that the same group especially Hon Karuhanga is on record of presenting fake records before Parliament accusing Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa and others of picking oil bribes. Government invested a lot of money to investigate the allegations which turned out to be baseless.
She said(NRM MPs) have tolerated this blackmail for so long, but this time around we are tired and ready to take action against them.
We dare them to repeat the same allegations outside the precincts of Parliament and we shall sue them. We are also considering to present a petition to the Speaker and send them to the disciplinary committee.
“It is Bonny Okello who presented a motion of appreciation and was seconded by Keefa Kiwanuka (Kiboga East). Kiwanuka has denied receiving any money in regards to the motion.
Solomon Silwanyi, Parliamentary commissioner also refuted allegations that they bribed Parliament journalists not to report about the Shs40m cash bonanza.
