Ugandan Parliament is known for a lot of things. It is where Members make laws that govern this country, it is a place where members fight when they fail to agree on certain matters, and it is a place where some members of Parliament never go.
It is on that last point that Speaker of the Parliament Hon Rebecca Kadaga has warned the Youth Eastern MP Ishma Mafabi for continuous absence from the House. It is said that Mafabi last appeared in Parliament on the day the controversial “togikwatako” bill was passed.
In a Parliament session today, Kadaga said that she will invoke the provisions of the rules of procedure if Mafabi does not attend the next sitting of the House.
According to the Rules of Procedure, any legislator who misses 15 consecutive sittings of the House without the Speaker’s assent automatically loses his/her seat.
These rules need to be enforced because absenteeism of Members of Parliament is like a chronic disease and members seem to only choose to appear when there is a highly contested matter in Parliament.
Without a valid reason, this behavior is wrong because the people that voted for these individuals do not get their views aired out on the floor of Parliament, let alone being represented in policy making.