NUP Orders Former LoP Mathias Mpuuga to Resign After Pocketing Shs500m M7 Cash

The National Unity Platform (NUP) has requested the resignation of Hon. Mathias Mpuuga, the former Leader of the Opposition and current Parliamentary Commissioner. This call comes after Hon. Mpuuga admitted to receiving a substantial sum of Shs500 million under the guise of a "Service Award."

The revelation surfaced amidst an ongoing online protest, marked by the hashtag #UgandaParliamentExhibition. The protest, aimed at shedding light on widespread corruption, abuse of office, and mismanagement within the Parliament and other governmental spheres, has unearthed unsettling truths on both sides of the political spectrum.

In an official statement released on the 29th of February, 2024, the NUP expressed deep concern over the allegations of financial misconduct involving Hon. Mpuuga and three other Parliamentary Commissioners. The accusation suggests that these officials improperly allocated significant amounts of taxpayers' money, citing the reason as "Service Awards."

According to the scheme in question, Hon. Mpuuga was allocated a staggering sum of Shs500,000,000 (Five Hundred Million Uganda Shillings). This revelation prompted an urgent meeting convened by the President on Wednesday, the 28th of February, 2024.

During this meeting, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga reportedly admitted to his involvement in the controversial allocation and issued an apology for his actions. Subsequently, he was strongly advised by senior leaders of the NUP, including all Deputy Presidents and senior legislators, that stepping down from his role as Parliamentary Commissioner would be the most appropriate course of action given the circumstances.

The NUP emphasized the core values upon which the party stands, including Discipline, Reliability, Inclusiveness, Integrity, Patriotism, and Service. Any actions of corruption or abuse of office, the statement asserts, directly contradict these foundational values. Furthermore, such actions are diametrically opposed to the Integrity Oath that every party leader swore to uphold at the onset of their term.

Below is the NUP statement;

STATEMENT ON CORRUPTION AND ABUSE OF OFFICE

There is an ongoing online protest under the hashtag #UgandaParliamentExhibition. The protest aims to expose the massive corruption, abuse of office and gross mismanagement of public affairs by the leadership of Parliament and other leaders.

Unfortunately, the protest has not only revealed grand corruption on the side of NRM leaders. Some leaders on the opposition side have had serious allegations of corruption levelled against them.

Specifically, our former Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and current Parliamentary Commissioner, Rt. Hon. Mathias Mpuuga alongside three other Parliamentary Commissioners have been accused of irregularly awarding themselves huge sums of tax-payers money on the pretext of “Service Awards”. Under the scheme, Rt. Hon. Mpuuga was allocated 500,000,0001= (Five Hundred Million Uganda Shillings).

On Wednesday 28th February 2024, the President convened an urgent meeting comprised of senior leaders of the Party including all Deputy Presidents and some of our senior legislators. At the meeting, Rt. Hon. Mpuuga admitted that he indeed took part in this wrongdoing and apologised for the same. In light of this, he was strongly advised that the moral thing to do in the circumstances is to step down from his role as Parliamentary Commissioner with immediate effect.

The nation will recall that the values of the National Unity Platform are Discipline, Reliability, Inclusiveness, Integrity, Patriotism and Service. All actions of corruption and abuse of office go contrary to these values. They also go contrary to the Integrity Oath which every leader of the Party swore at the start of this term. We, therefore, ask our leaders at all levels to do self-reflection and recommit themselves to these values and the Oath they took to shun and fight corruption in all its forms.