EALA Speaker faces fresh censure motion

Regional parliament legislators seeking the ouster of their Speaker Thursday pushed through a motion to start debate on her impeachment during the House’s next sitting on Tuesday. Some members of the East Africal Legislative Assembly have been pushing for the censure of Margaret Zziwa from the regional parliament’s top seat. The Thursday afternoon resolution came shortly after the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) in the morning ruled that the members could go ahead and impeach their Speaker. The EALA has 45 lawmakers with equal representation from the five-member states and, so far, 38 have signed on the petition seeking to oust Zziwa. According to the EAC treaty, a motion to censure the Speaker can only be tabled after at least four MPs from each member state has signed the petition. “It was a big victory for the court, especially because it came out and set standards on its independence with respect to the separation of powers between the Judiciary and the Legislature and this was expected because we knew the rules of procedure,” MP Peter Mathuki (Kenya) told Saturday Times. “Yesterday, a motion was passed such that the matter must be the first on the order paper for Tuesday. This must be discussed by the House and concluded before we engage in any other business such as the reading of the EAC Budget.” Mathuki told The New Times that he is confident nothing will prevent the motion from being tabled on Tuesday. EALA adjourned for recess on April 3, by which time the lawmakers had made submissions on the need to re-introduce the motion to begin proceedings against the Speaker. An application to slap an injunction against the censure of Zziwa had been filed by MP Fred Mukasa Mbidde (Uganda)at the EACJ. In April, the court issued interim orders stopping the censure motion until it pronounced itself ruling on the matter. On Thursday, a three-member bench comprising Justices Jean Bosco Butasi, Isaac Lenaola and Monica Mugenyi declined to grant the interim orders restraining the debate on the removal of the Speaker. The court ruled that the presentation of the petition before EALA was in compliance with the EAC Treaty as prescribed under Rule 9(4) of the Assembly’s Rules of procedure. Last year, some EALA members accused Zziwa of incompetence and allowing external forces to influence her decisions. In June 2012, Zziwa took over from Abdirahin H. Abdi of Kenya, to become the Assembly’s first female Speaker for a five-year term following a controversial election that pitted her against her Ugandan counterpart, Dora Byamukama. The Speaker is occupied on a rotational basis by all member states.

National

EALA Speaker faces fresh censure motion