Court orders MPs to return the shs20M Covid-19 money or hand it over to district task forces
The High Court in Kampala has ordered Members of Parliament to return the shs20 million that each received for fighting the deadly Coronavirus or hand it to the respective district task forces in their constituencies.
Ntungamo Municipality MP, Gerald Karuhanga and Erute South legislator Jonathan Odur recently petitioned court seeking to halt the Parliamentary Commission from paying Shs 10 billion to MPs to fight Covid-19.
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The petitioners argued that Parliament breached the parliamentary rules of procedure in passing the Shs 10 billion that is to be dished out to the legislators.
They told court that the money was just smuggled into the report by the budget committee chairperson Amos Lugoloobi without the consent of the committee members.
On Wednesday, Justice Michael Elubu ordered that each of the legislators returns the shs20 million to the Parliamentary Commission.
“The funds be paid to the district Covid-19 task force in which the Members of Parliament are incorporated through the Chief Administrative Officer and MPs representing special interest groups shall pay the funds to the national task force,” Justice Elubu ordered.
Since the decision to share shs10 billion among themselves, Members of Parliament have been on the receiving end of a backlash from members of the public.
On Tuesday, President Museveni said the MPs laid a trap for themselves for allocating the money to themselves.
“We had planned in another way and you come and change! It is not a good way. It is morally reprehensible for MPs to give themselves money for personal use when the country is in such a crisis; and totally unacceptable to me and to the NRM,” Museveni said.
“I met the speaker and told her they had entered themselves into trap and best way to get out is not spending them money on themselves. We agreed they take the money and donate it to district task force where they come from.”
