By URN
Plans are ongoing, to reconcile the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga and the Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah as bickering between the two senior leaders of Parliament heightens.
The two leaders have had a bitter relationship since 2016 when Oulanyah sought to contest for the position of the Speaker of Parliament, currently occupied by Rebecca Kadaga. They have, on several occasions disagreed on who should chair plenary sittings and taking trips abroad.
In an unprecedented move in June, Oulanyah attended a plenary session to demand that a displeasure motion against him is expunged from the records of Parliament. He said that the motion was passed in bad taste, and handled in contravention of the rules of procedure.
In a recent meeting at State House, Entebbe, Kadaga reportedly told President Yoweri Museveni that Oulanyah and others were fighting him, while Oulanyah reported said the fight was one-sided coming in from Kadaga.
Now Uganda Radio Network (URN) has learnt that there is a move to reconcile the two leaders to stop the bickering. A source has told URN that a team led by the First Deputy Premier Gen Moses Ali, Justice Minister Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, Finance Minister David Bahati and Housing Minister Chris Baryomunsi, among others, is taking a lead in mediating the Oulanyah, Kadaga conflict.
URN however interacted with three Ministers on different occasions who hinted that the matter of reconciling the two were being discussed. Justice Minister Ephraim Kamuntu who is said to be one of the people said to be handling the process told URN that the conflict between the two is a much difficult issue.
A Government Minister who did not allow to be quoted said the matter was being resolved at a higher level. “It is being worked out at a much higher level, I think the President is reconciling them. But I am a small player when it comes to reconciling the two,” the Minister said.
Another Minister, also listed among the mediators said that both Kadaga and Oulanyah are good people and that the government is happy to have them, adding that of course; “we are concerned about it and it does not look good at all in the eyes of the public.”
However, the State Minister for ICT Peter Ogwang told URN that he was not aware of such arrangement, but also downplayed the said conflict stating that the alleged leadership squabbles were being blown out of proportion by the media.
“There could be issues here and there, but as far as I have been in the commission, there is no conflict between the two, and if they met the president, they could have discussed issues of Parliament and the commission among others” Ogwang said.
