Constitutional Court Quashes Removal of MP Zaake as Commissioner of Parliament

The Constitutional Court has quashed a resolution by Parliament to suspend Mityana Municipality MP, Francis Zaake, from the position of parliamentary commissioner.

The legislator stormed the Constitutional Court demanding the judgment from his petition challenging his impeachment as a Parliamentary Commissioner. The petition originated from a resolution passed by Parliament on March 10th, 2020, which removed Zaake from the parliamentary commission due to alleged indiscipline.

The decision was based on a report from the Rules, Discipline, and Privileges Committee, which found Zaake in breach of public trust and parliamentary decorum. Zaake’s trouble began when he criticized the Speaker on social media for her comments during a plenary session honoring legislators and staff who had participated in the East African Legislative Assembly Games.

Dissatisfied with his impeachment, Zaake filed a petition with the Constitutional Court in March 2022, claiming procedural impropriety in the parliamentary resolution. In his petition, Zaake accused members of the Rules Committee of receiving bribes of 6 million Shillings each from public funds for participating in the committee proceedings that led to his removal.

Court on Thursday quashed Speaker Anita Among's decision to remove Mityana municipality MP, Francis Zaake as a commissioner on grounds that she offended the rules of natural justice and had no quorum in Parliament by the time the decision was made, among others.

This decision comes after the court ruled that several parliamentary rules of procedure were illegally suspended. These suspensions included amending the order paper to include a resolution to expel Zaake from the commission