High Court in Kampala has ruled that the service award money that was shared by four parliamentary commissioners was part of the national budget and was approved by parliament. The Parliamentary Commissioners are said to have shared money amounting to Shs. 1.7b as service awards, the issue which has been criticised as a corruption scandal.

The commissioners who are said to have shared 1.7 b shillings include, the former Leader of Opposition in Parliament Mathias Mpuuga (Shs500 million), Solomon Silwany (Bukooli County - NRM), Esther Afoyochan (Zombo District Woman MP - NRM), and Prossy Mbabazi (Rubanda District Woman MP - NRM) each got Shs. 400m.

A concerned citizen Daniel Bwette in May 24th, 2024 went to high court saying that these commissioners getting themselves shs. 1.7 b was illegal, unfair and corrupt. Yesterday July 12th, high court judge justice Douglas Singiza ruled that this 1.7 b shilling was part of the national budget and was approved by parliament. 

Former Leader of Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga has welcomed the court ruling that upheld the Shs1.7Bn Service Award, noting the MPs leading the censure of the Commissioners are clueless about Parliament rules and practices and are thus a burden to taxpayers, because the Court Ruling, has vindicated his team’s argument that the Service Award was legally approved in Parliament.

Meanwhile, Lwemiyaga County MP, Theodore Ssekikubo who was leading a censure motion to censure these commissioners has revealed that the court ruling that upheld the Shs1.7Bn Service Award to the four Commissioners hasn’t erased his censure motion because, his prayers are different from the ones made by the petitioners in Civil Court.