Hyenas eat up their prey painfully alive, and they have come to Parliament

From seeking that the LoP be elected, Mityana South MP Lumu introduced provisions for the removal of the LoP through a resolution passed by opposition party members in Parliament.
When a cackle of hyenas get their prey, they tear into its flesh alive. The prey kicks, screams, wails and groans before it finally whimpers as it dies the most painful death imaginable.
In Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi is currently at the stage of screaming. The Leader of the Opposition is in a fight for his office life after the Administration of Parliament Amendment Bill, 2024 jumped gears to rev in a manner that has unsettled several MPs.
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The architect of the Bill that is now being called the "Anti-Ssenyonyi Bill", Richard Lumu, on Wednesday raised the ante in his controversial amendments.
From seeking that the LoP be elected, Mityana South MP Lumu introduced provisions for the removal of the LoP through a resolution passed by opposition party members in Parliament.
Mr Ssenyonyi's time as LoP has largely been spent whining about being sidelined by the authorities in Parliament but the new Bill, he says, is out to get him immediately.
The amendment allows for the LoP to be removed by a resolution of the opposition members, citing grounds such as inability to perform due to physical or mental infirmity, incompetence, or misbehavior.
"They are speeing it up and after they pass it [the Bill], they will want it to take immediate effect," he said.
"They will want Ssenyonyi to vacate office so that we hold elections immediately."
Mr Ssenyonyi, like many other legislators, are bemused by how fast the Bill is being fast-tracked.
The LoP's deeply rhetoric question will thud in the minds of all right thinking Ugandans for at least a few weeks.
"Could it be that the direction the bill is to take has already been determined and the very quick stakeholders engagements are simply ritualistic to create an impression that consultations have been made regarding the bill?" Ssenyonyi posed.
He also highlighted the committee's neglect of other critical private members' bills, saying, "You are aware that there are other critical private members' bills which touch issues that are relevant to the people of Uganda, that have been pending for such a long time and have not been given space on the order paper. Doesn't that concern you as chairperson of our esteemed legal and Parliamentary affairs committee?"
It speaks to the hyena anecdote. Unfortunately, those predators whose meat smell so bad even lions cannot eat them, do not care about the pain of their preys. In fact, they take a lot of joy in the pain, like the meat becomes more succulent the louder the prey screams when the devour a chunk of its flesh.
Lumu's Bill also seeks to shift the budgetary control of the LoP to the opposition commissioner, enabling party whips to access the budget without prior approval from the LoP.
The introduction of these amendments has prompted heated discussions among committee members, particularly regarding their potential financial implications. Despite having previously received a Certificate of Financial Implication for the original bill, the new amendments appear to introduce additional financial responsibilities, raising concerns over whether proper procedures were followed.
As the committee begins to scrutinise the controversial bill, questions linger about the motivations behind Lumu's amendments and their impact on parliamentary operations. Critics argue that the proposed changes could undermine the role of the LoP and shift power dynamics within opposition parties.
But Mr Lumu is presently enjoying political camaraderie of his life. An opposition legislator from the Democratic Party fold, the amendments he is pushing is believed to be on strings held by the Speaker and her Deputy.
It is not like Speaker Anita Among has ever failed to get her way through in the Eleventh Parliament and the Administration of Parliament Amendment Bill, 2024 is looking like what Ssenyonyi and many others fear it is: a process.
But for the legislators, game rangers in Uganda have spoken of sighting hyenas turn on fellow hyenas and devour them. It is probably the only consolation the nation can take from what is happening in Parliament - that at the right time, the revolution of amendments targeting certain persons will eat its own children.
But where would that leave the nation? It is the question a leader asks.