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HERE WE GO AGAIN: Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, tables before Parliament, a list of detained & missing NUP supporters

The Leader of Opposition (LOP), Joel Ssenyonyi has tabled before Parliament, a list of the detained without trial & missing National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters as requested for by Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, the new Minister of State for Youth Affairs.

“I seek your indulgence so that for the umpteenth time, I table those lists again so that there is no excuse from anybody because; there are people who are saying NUP isn’t availing these lists.

All of a sudden, there are some people who care so much about these people. It is good that they now agree with us that these people are simply being persecuted,” said Ssenyonyi.

"Otherwise, if there was any offence that they committed, 3years down the road, somebody should have been tried, so it is good that they are seeing what we have been saying.

So, for there not to be pretense, for there not to be excuse especially from Government who sit with us here in Parliament where we have tabled lists, I seek your indulgence that I table these lists again," he added.

Ssenyonyi reemphasized the need for Parliament to orient new members arguing that had Balaam undergone some training on parliamentary affairs, he would have known where and how to access those lists within Parliament.

Barnabas Tinkasimire (Buyaga West MP) sought clarification on what basis Balaam demanded these lists, wondering if he was going to apply for amnesty of these people through the Amnesty Commission.

“I am finding what we are discussing strange and I will need guidance. We have the Amnesty law in this country, when the lists are laid before Parliament as requested by Balaam, are we handling some amnesty process?

Because as far as I know, when you are suspected to commit a crime, you are produced before courts of law and a due process is followed. It is those who choose to ask for Amnesty and formally apply for it in the Amnesty Commission that are given Amnesty. Was he applying for Amnesty?” remarked Tinkasimire.

Ssenyonyi's predecessor, Mathias Mpuuga, also tabled the lists but no action was taken even when the When he was Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja acknowledged knowing where some of the missing persons like John Bosco Kibalama are being held by government.

"We've tabled these lists in Parliament before, shared the same with Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), and the same records are in court where the matters are.

So for those fellows in government who say they agree with us that their government is brutal and continues to illegally detain political opponents, they can access the lists, and stop pretending that they don't know who these people are or where the lists are."

"We continue to demand for the immediate release of these Ugandans who are being persecuted. Recently, myself and other MPs stood surety for those in jail after the court martial irregularly rejected their parents and spouses as sureties saying they are not substantial," he said.

He added: "On 15th April, the Court Martial is going to rule on our substantiality as sureties. If the court martial thinks Parents, Spouses and National leaders are not substantial sureties for these persecuted people, we shall demand that they tell us who we should bring to court that is substantial enough."

NOVICE MINISTER: Ssenyonyi Criticizes Parliament For Allowing Balaam Speak In Parliament Without First Undergoing Orientation

The Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, was left wondering why Parliament would let a novice minister in Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi speak on the floor of the August House without first undergoing orientation on how Parliament operates.

Ssenyonyi was reacting to allegations by Balaam that he has asked for a list of the missing supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP), many said to be illegally held in state prisons, but the Leader of Opposition has not availed the list of the political prisons so that he can process their release.

Hundreds of NUP supporters went missing after the 2021 elections.

“When I was in the Appointments Committee, the Speaker, Anita Among, asked me to speak to the President to ensure that National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters are released, and the President in his own voice and video said, give me the list. I requested NUP to give me the list; [I] hope the Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, is here, I am yet to get it,” Balaam told Parliament.

However, according to Ssenyonyi, the list of the missing persons was given to the Attorney General & some of the political prisoners are being persecuted in various courts of law.

“It is important as Parliament; we orient our new colleagues on our modus operandi. How we operate, point of order, and the like. We discussed in this very Parliament the issues of missing persons.

Some missing persons whom the Prime Minister acknowledged are in the hands of the State like John Bosco Kibalama and we tabled that list here in Parliament, we gave it to the Attorney General, the court is processing many of these matters and we have asked that they be released on bail because this isn’t prosecution but persecution,” Ssenyonyi said.

“Is it in order for a new Minister, who seems to be a novice to come with excitement and claim that he has a mandate to pursue a matter of people who are simply being persecuted as opposed to being prosecuted,” added Ssenyonyi before his microphone was switched off.

However, the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, castigated Ssenyonyi for the disrespectful language he used against Balaam.

Tayebwa said: "You know the language we use in Parliament, even when you disagree with a person, language is like a novice. A Member of Parliament is a Member of Parliament. So do the needful, you are a gentleman there is a language we don’t use here. Do the needful.”

In response to Tayebwa, Ssenyonyi said: “As a lawyer and as someone who knows English, the word novice means someone who is new to the profession. Balaam is a new Minister so the word novice isn’t derogatory in any way, except for people we need to teach some English.”

Ssenyonyi refused to withdraw his statements describing Balaam as a novice Minister and the Deputy Speaker ordered Clerk to Parliament to expunge the submissions of the Leader of the Opposition from the record of Parliament.