Embattled former leader of opposition ( Lop), Mathias Mpuuga has vowed to continue with his duties as Parilamentary Commissioner despite demand by his National Unity Platform (NUP) leadership to resign.
Mathias Mpuuga over yesterday,was criticized by his party members for engaging in corruption and abuse of office during his tenure as Commissioner of Parliament.
In a statement released yesterday evening, the party disclosed that in a meeting that was held on Wednesday, Mpuuga, the former Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, admitted that he was allocated 500 million shillings under the pretext that these were service awards and three other parliamentary commissioners and subsequently Mpuuga was asked to step down from his position immediately.
On Wednesday, February 28, NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi convened an urgent meeting comprising senior leaders of party, including all deputy presidents and some of our senior legislators,” NUP said in a statement.
“At the meeting, Mpuuga admitted that he indeed took part in this wrongdoing and apologised for the same.”
Specifically, Mpuuga and three other Parliamentary Commissioners have been accused of irregularly awarding themselves significant sums of taxpayer money under the guise of “Service Awards.”
“The party emphasises its core values, which include discipline, reliability, inclusiveness, integrity, patriotism, and service,” NUP said.
“It underscores its commitment to upholding these values and combating corruption in all its forms. Party leaders are encouraged to engage in self-reflection and reaffirm their dedication to the integrity oath they swore at the beginning of their term.”
However, in a response on social media platform X to the NUP’s statement, Mpuuga simply dismissed the claims saying that he is a victim of a political witch hunt by his party members.
This statement from Mpuuga indicates that he has no intentions of stepping down Commissioner of Parliament as he challenged them to wait until 2026 to replace him as parliamentary Commissioner.
In a strongly worded statement shared via his social media accounts, Mpuuga dismissed allegations of corruption, insisting the Shs500m wasn’t a bribe. He criticized his party for labeling the payments as corruption, calling it spiteful and misleading.
“To call such payments corruption is the highest level of spite, double standards and deliberate misrepresentation to the public and membership of the Party on a purely selfish mission. If such payments amounted to corruption, all current and previous MPS would be compelled to refund to the public coffers monies paid as gratuity or honoraria since no MP, current and previous was not paid gratuity at the determination of the Parliamentary Commission”-Mpuuga’s statement reads.
Mpuuga adamantly refused to resign, citing internal party politics and attempts to tarnish his reputation, including hiring bloggers to attack him. He also addressed issues surrounding his demotion from the Leader of Opposition job which he says was fueled by allegations and plans to character assassinate him where even bloggers were paid to taint his good name.
“I accordingly decline the cowardly call on me to resign as a Parliamentary Commissioner, based on spite, envy and deliberate misrepresentation. The general public is aware and alive to the internal intrigue and machinations unfortunately within this young party over the last 21/2 years, during my occupation of the covered office of the LOP. It became the official style of different party leaders to undermine my work, including hiring of bloggers to abuse and insult my person”-Mpuuga’s statement further reads.
