Aruu county law maker Samuel Odonga Otto says the director of public prosecutions and the police should take interest in the lives of female Members of Parliament saying many of them are stalked by their husbands
Commenting on the much publicized case involving a student of YMCA and Kabarole woman MP Sylvia Rwabwogo, Otto insisted parliament needs to first deal with instances of stalking within its inner cycles before prosecuting outsiders.
“Stalking is an offence under the penal code where women are supposed to be free ,in fact it’s even criminal for you to stalk your own wife, even me I’m married to my wife Julie and I’m not supposed to stalk her.“
Otto however says over the years he has been in parliament, he has seen many female MPs stalked by their husbands
“We have MPs husbands who have become drivers, to me that is stalking, they want to be everywhere their wives are. I think we should first pick the log in our own eyes before blaming the common citizens. We have women who cannot do legislative work because their husbands can’t let them , it’s been there in the 7th and 8th parliaments and its even worse in this parliament “
Otto says the police and DPP should take interest in the matter and find out whether it is by consent that these female mps are followed everywhere by their spouses
This as the debate on whether the kabarole woman mp was right to drag the 20 year old student to court takes centre stage in parliament
Some of the mps we spoke to had this to say
ODONGA OTTO –ARUU COUNTY
“I think the action of court was harsh to this young man, it is normal to admire a woman when we where growing up we even had pictures of women we admired including Celine Dione and Beyonce on our walls ,it is just a stage of growth this woman is fairly beautiful and I don’t think its an offence for her to be admired .
“It would have been an offence if there was sexual harassment , but where would this young man get the mp ? I think court should have addressed itself to the proximity between the accused and the mp actually there are women who are so ugly that no one stalks them ,they go home and cry all day that no one has told them you are beautiful”
MUBARAK MUNYAGWA –KAWEMPE SOUTH
“I spoke to Rwabwogo and in her assessment this boy was set up to scandalize her and get her killed like Nebanda. Let me assume the boy was honestly in love I think its time for the youth to stop being over ambitious if your are looking for a love affair ,why do you start with an MP or a minister? You see you can start with the youth counsellor of your place”
MARIAM NAIGAGA –WOMAN MP, NAMUTUMBA
“With stalkers you can block them or ignore them honestly if some one sends you messages for weeks and months and you don’t respond they eventually give up
We get stalkers all the time even on Facebook and we just block or ignore them, I don’t know what exactly happened between Isiko and the honorable colleague but my role as Isiko’s MP is to do all I can to rescue him from prison because the mother is really broken and affected by the developments.”
