NUP MPs who picked Shs40m from Speaker returned it to sender - Ssenyonyi

MPs were each given this money for unknown reasons. Legislators belonging to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) reportedly received theirs earlier, their counterparts in the NUP picked the money later from the residence of Speaker Anita Among.

However, Parliament Communications Director Chris Obore denied the payout, condemning reports of the same as fabrications intended to imbrue the institution of parliament.

Obore challenged the MPs who claim to have received the money to declare the same to the Inspectorate of Government’s office.

However, Ssenyonyi says that members of the NUP who picked the money have since returned it.

“The NUP MPs who picked the 40million shillings admitted that it was wrong and returned it but we need to learn from this and avoid more traps in future,” Ssenyonyi said.

Ssenyonyi did not mention which MPs returned the money but did say that MPs must serve as tribunes of the people and not sponges of public institutions.

“What is happening is the government is not doing what it should do, so the MPs find themselves under the pressure to provide services to the people. We are in fundraisers every other time, we are fundraising for hospitals etc, this is the work of government. So MPs find themselves in great need of finances,” he said.

Meanwhile, the NUP top leadership have assigned the Opposition Chief Whip, John Baptist Nambeshe, and the Leader of Opposition in Parliament Mathias Mpuuga with the role of ensuring every Shilling received by any NUP MP is returned to where it came from.