Mpuuga last weekend wondered how a leader of a major political party could make a stern decision against a senior member of his party -- demanding his resignation -- based only on information picked off social media.
The Nyendo-Mukungwe MP defied his party leadership’s demand that he step down from the parliamentary commission over allegations that he awarded himself Shs 500 while serving on the commission.
Details of the so-called “service award” to Mpuuga and three other commissioners came to light in an ongoing online expose about corruption at the Parliament of Uganda, trending under the hashtag #UgandaParliamentExhibition
Appearing on CBS radio, Mpuuga said the way Bobi Wine handled these allegations, raised concerns about what he would do once elected President of Uganda.
“Right now he is the president of a party. What happens when he’s the president of Uganda,” Mpuuga wondered.
“Because you’ll have allegations emerging from Karamoja at 9 am and you are taking a decision at 9:30….others are coming from Buddu and others from Acholi, and every time you are making instant decisions… you might throw the whole country into a crisis.”
Mpuuga added, “Decision-making is the most important thing, not the authority that you have."
In particular, Mpuuga questioned how Bobi Wine was able to verify the allegations he picked from special media
“He said that he saw (the allegations) on the exhibition; who was the judge of that exhibition? Who was the prosecutor? Where were the witnesses and the lawyers? We cannot claim to want to restore the rule of law in the country while we ourselves live like outlaws.”
“The party president is right to be concerned, but saying that you saw an allegation online in the morning and in the evening you issue a statement, people might start asking uncomfortable questions about your qualities.”
Bobi Wine, however, insists that Mpuuga’s decision to partake in the commission meeting where he was allocated the unprecedented payment was an extreme act of immorality and corruption.