Joel Ssenyonyi has criticised the 11th Parliament over what he described as widespread corruption and failure to uphold the interests of Ugandans, saying the outgoing August House fell short of its vision of being a “people-centred Parliament.”
Speaking to journalists at Parliament shortly after being sworn in as Nakawa West Member of Parliament on Friday, Ssenyonyi, who retained the seat on the ticket of the National Unity Platform after polling 21,761 votes in the January 15 elections, said the 11th Parliament had consistently failed to meet public expectations despite repeated calls for accountability from the Opposition.
“The 11th Parliament has not been accountable; there has been a lot of corruption in this Parliament,” he said.
“We have been talking about these things. I have spoken in my voice hoarse about these issues until they began to target me. They tried to bring a law targeting Ssenyonyi because I was speaking out.”
Ssenyonyi, who served as Leader of the Opposition in the 11th Parliament, argued that although Parliament publicly embraced the slogan of being “people-centred,” many of its actions contradicted that vision.
“You see, the vision of this Parliament here is to be a people-centred Parliament. As somebody who has been in this House for five years, I admit we have not been people-centred,” he said.
He added that legislative decisions, budgets, and governance practices had often not reflected the needs and expectations of Ugandans.
“There is a lot that has been said about the 11th Parliament. What is for sure is that, because I have been leading one side of the House, it has honestly not lived to the expectations of Ugandans,” he said.
Ssenyonyi also revealed that before being sworn in as Nakawa West MP for his second term, he had formally written to the Clerk to Parliament, Adolf Mwesige, handing over office as Leader of the Opposition following the start of the 12th Parliament.
He said he would also return official government property, including vehicles and security detail attached to the office, noting that all leadership positions linked to the 11th Parliament had ceased upon inauguration of the new House.
“As we speak right now, I am not the Leader of the Opposition. I was the Leader of the Opposition in the 11th Parliament; this now is the 12th Parliament,” he said.
He urged other outgoing parliamentary office holders to relinquish official privileges until new leadership structures are formally established.
