Kampala, Uganda – Parliament has denied allegations that four of its commissioners received a second round of service awards amounting to 400 million shillings each, claims that were made earlier this week by Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi.
In a statement on social media, Hon. Ssenyonyi alleged that Commissioners Hon. Solomon Silwany, Hon. Esther Afoyochan, Hon. Prossy Akampulira Mbabazi, and Hon. Mathias Mpuuga were awarded the funds through the Parliamentary SACCO to avoid leaving a paper trail. He added that the money was intended to support their campaign activities.
“These leaders, through their agents, have been spreading propaganda in the past few days that I was also given a service award. This is completely false and meant to cover up the second service award that the Commissioners gave themselves,” Ssenyonyi said. “Even if they quietly send any such money to my account, I will instruct my bank to immediately return it to the sender…because such under-the-table money is illegal and irregular in every sense of the word.”
However, Parliament has dismissed these allegations as baseless. Chris Obore, Director of Communications at Parliament, described the claims as “nonsense” and insisted that no service awards had been issued outside the legal framework.
“He’s becoming a public liar to keep saying Parliament is paying out service awards,” Obore said. “There is no way the Clerk of Parliament will pay any staff or MP, be it a commissioner, without going through the proper system. SACCO is not a supplier of government funds. If he believes there is an issue, he should raise it on the floor of Parliament.”
This is not the first time the Parliamentary Commission has faced scrutiny over service awards. High Court Judge Dagra Singiza previously declared allegations regarding a prior service award as legitimate, closing the matter legally.
Obore emphasized that any awards must follow existing laws. “If any of these commissioners want to be awarded, there is a law called the Emoluments and Benefits of the President, Vice President, and Prime Minister. When those people leave office, there are benefits they receive. Parliament has a clear legal framework for such matters, and no shortcuts are permitted.”
The matter continues to generate debate, with political leaders and media observers closely watching for any follow-up action from Parliament.
