Humanist

“Kakwenza has visited Pallisa. Honorables are human trafficking their voters. RDC/DPC follow up on these allegations,” a netizen shared in a Pallisa WhatsApp group, while referring to Kawkwenza’s post on X.

Yes, none of the members of parliament (MPs) representing Pallisa in the 11^th Parliament overtly and publicly took issue with International Employment Linkages, the company which exported the late Josephine Agadi, who was a constituent of Pallisa Sub-County. The young woman who died under suspicious circumstances, two days after she returned from Saudi Arabia. Her loved ones are still asking for answers and justice.

There are five MPs representing Pallisa District in the 11^th Parliament. None of them is particularly chatty in the house. Pallisa MPs are known to feature among the tens of MPs who throughout the year, possibly even their term of office, don’t say a word during plenary debates in Parliament. They stay mute.

Prior to Kakwenza’s Pallisa visit, I only knew of one of our Pallisa MPs, Hon. Orone, owning a company that exports labour. I did not know that Hon. Otukol similarly owned one. Of the MPs Kakwenza named in his X post, Hon. Kaala, is the only one who apparently doesn’t own a labour export company. Nevertheless, one can be “in the human labour/slave export business” without being an owner of the company.  

Just because the other two Pallisa MPs – Hon. Ogwari and Hon. Oseku – were not specifically mentioned in Kakwenza’s X post, doesn’t automatically mean they are not in the business. In fact, their silence on Agadi’s suspicious death and on the plight of many girls exported and returned irreversibly damaged makes our Pallisa MPs accomplices.

A scroll through the WhatsApp chat reveals that only one Pallisa MP, Hon. Otukol, directly joined the conversation at the time it was the most active. Since, he is among MPs often mute in plenary debates in Parliament, I prior did not know Hon. Otukol’s debate skills endowment. I was eager to get to know more about the value add that the MP who represents my ancestral home brings to the table, so to speak.

Well, first, Hon. Otukol attempted to discredit the post as not coming from Kakwenz’s account but from fake accounts deliberately created by his rivals to discredit him. He wrote:

“They have tried all wolokoso – walking to parliament, doing videos, all failed. Now they have started fake accounts … Stop thinking black mailing people will lead you idiot to success.

Edakasi is the one behind all those blackmails … Edakasi will be number four. Remind me after elections. And tell him to campaign clean for now he is on social media alone … Tell your Edakasi he will never be MP of Pallisa County … Wait, campaign time is around the corner. I will level you.”

Then when it was clarified that the account was legitimately of Kakwenza and that it is Kakwenza who had originated the post on X, Hon. Otukol changed tactics and moved to discredit Kakwenza, writing:

“Who is he (Kakwenza)? Stop wasting my time now that you think whatever Kakwenza is posting is gold … Tell Kakwenza I have never and I don’t remember taking such a woman outside the country. Let him look for facts … The girl was taken by a registered labour company.

Go ahead and accuse the company, if there was a problem … Uganda is not like Somalia it has laws, report to police … Hon. Kaala Ojinga has no company which takes people abroad and if I have with Derick (Hon. Orone) they are operating within the law.

Open one if you can stop wasting time on people’s business. You will die of ulcers. I have a company. It has employed very many. Why are you not complaining of their success Idiot.”

Which begs the questions:

• What exactly is the role of an MP in Uganda?
• Do Ugandan MPs understand their role?
• Do MPs in Uganda understand they are representatives elected by the people to serve the people in accordance with the legal wishes of the people?

Apparently not always. Well, some netizens in the WhatsApp chat took it upon themselves to push back and to educate Hon. Otukol. Here below, for example, is the one submission that I liked the most, for it espouses principles of discourse that I hold dear:

“Boss, Hon. Otukol Sam, tone down. Your anger won’t solve a problem. Have decorum while submitting. Also, this is an exhibition on Parliament. You can still respond objectively, without necessarily bringing in your so-called opponents. At worst, just keep quiet. The tone you are using isn’t in tandem with our would-be good debates. Let’s be mindful as we submit.”

The nexus of an MP’s understanding of the legally defined role of an MP and the extent to which the MP functions in accordance with the spirit of the role of MP should be of great interest to us all. For if the MP doesn’t understand their role and or functions contrary to an MP’s role, that is significant corruption. They are paid a lot of money and they are not doing that for which they are paid to do.

We, in Uganda, desperately need to prioritize social audits, perhaps, even more than we currently focus on financial audits. More so, since even the financial audits are mostly of the paper trail as opposed to forensic audits.

We need to concern ourselves with the realities that are enticing our young people to go suffer abroad in search of employment. What is the opportunity cost that we incur? These are and much more questions such as these should form part of the social audits that we desperately need done.

MPs necessarily have to be evaluated on the basis of how they have shaped legislation in the August House. How such legislation came to be on the basis of the wishes of constituents – via consultation. How MPs have ensured such legislation is implemented. MPs must also be evaluated on the basis of how well they have carried out the oversight role of assuring services delivery by the executive and the public service.

De facto, how well an MP has assured service delivery and the amelioration of deprivation in the constituency they represent. And so, I invite you to audit Hon. Otukol in relation to Pallisa County and do the same with the MPs representing your home constituency.

Profiled photo – Hon. Otukol and his wife arrive for his swearing in ceremony @ New Vision