Lwemiyaga county MP Theodore Sekikubo and other NRM who are opposing their party’s move to push a Bill seeking to remove the constitutional Presidential age limit have criticized the party for violating its principles by sidelining them during a caucus meeting.
During an NRM Parliamentary caucus meeting held Friday which President Yoweri Museveni attended, Sekikubo and seven other NRM MPs; Gaffa Mbwatekamwa, Barnabas Tinkasimire, Acidiri James, John Baptist Nambeshe, Patrick Nsamba, Sylvia Rwabwogo and Acidiri James were told to leave because of their dissenting views to the Bill which meeting intended to discuss.
Government chief whip Ruth Nankabirwa had read out their names and accused them of making false statements that the party was bribing its members to support the Bill.
Moments after the ‘rebel MPs’ as they have been called by the NRM held a news conference in which they accused their party of abrogating the NRM constitution. They said that the party laws don’t provide for such dismissal but rather summoning them before the disciplinary committee.
“In the meeting, the chief whip rose up and read our names noting that the members were not comfortable to continue with the discussions with people who have descending views,” Ssekikubo told the press at Parliament on Friday
He further said; “We were accused that we will leak their secrets on how they are to popularise and the methods they are to use during the consultative meetings over Age limit”
Despite their request to lay out their issues in the presence of the President, Sekikubo said; “The President insisted that those of us with opposing views should get out of the meeting.”
“This is an act of abrogating the NRM constitution by sumariry dismissing us out of NRM without any summons to the disciplinary committee.”
On his part, Kasambya county MP Gaffa Mbwatekamwa said that Friday’s events were a betrayal from their NRM party.
Others present during the press conference were MPs James Kaberuka, Silivia Rwabwogo, James Acidiri, Nambeshe, Ssekikubo, Patrick Nsamba and Barnabas Tinkasimire