Oulanyah Excuses Self from Chairing Session on Parliament Attack

The Deputy speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah has excused himself from presiding over the presentation by the Opposition regarding the unfortunate attack on Parliament on September 27 that left some MPs brutalized.

He said that the matter would be handled in the presence of Speaker Rebecca Kadaga since she chaired the plenary on the day the incident occurred.

Oulanyah was Wednesday responding to a procedural matter raised by some opposition legislators including the Opposition chief whip Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, Moses Kasibante, and Gilbert Olanya among others on the happenings on the fateful day.

The MPs wanted assurance from the Speaker that their security was guaranteed as they reported back to the chambers from recess.

“As we are speaking now, we are now leaving under fear, extremely scared; I even feared entering the chambers, I don’t know how our security is going to be,” MP Olanya told the House.

The Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LOP), Winnie Kiiza demanded that she be allocated time on the Order Paper to present a detailed statement on the attacks on her fellow legislators.

“We have returned to the house to represent our people, those who were suspended served their suspension but this has come after receiving an assurance from the Deputy Speaker, Jacob Oulanyah that they will ensure that our security at Parliament is guaranteed,” Kiiza said.

To this, Deputy Speaker Oulanyah said he had held a discussion with the Speaker earlier in the day who advised that the Statement by Leader of Opposition should be received in her [Kadaga] presence since she was the one chairing the House that day.

Oulanyah had earlier regretted as unfortunate the events that occurred on September 27.

He said the incident could have been avoided and handled in a better way thus assuring MPs that a similar incident would not occur again.

“The events that happened were not proper and are highly regrettable, how I pray that this house will never experience something of the sort,” the Deputy Speaker said.

He noted that Parliament has the department of Sargent-at-Arms and a Directorate of Security both of which are mandated to deal with the security of members in the House.

He pleaded with opposition MPs to forget the past and resume serving Ugandans.

Other MPs like Francis Mwijukye had recounted the terrible day; “Iam still terrified and very scared after seeing my colleagues being thrown out by people who came through the door behind the Speaker. I do not know if they are coming back”.

Lwemiyaga county MP Theodore Ssekikubo told the House; “I saw some people in the Chamber praying to exorcise the demons here. I think the persons who invaded the House are the demons who should be exorcised”.