Parliament of Uganda on Tuesday dismissed new UK sanctions targeting speaker of parliament over alleged corruption saying the UK government should avoid trying to arm-twist Ugandan decision makers to align with their value system, especially on homosexuality.
A statement issued on the United Kingdom government website announced sanctions on the Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon Anita Among, apparently on the basis of her alleged involvement in corruption, particularly the iron sheets distributed by the Office of the Prime Minister.
The statement claims the sanctions are due to charges purportedly faced by the Rt. Hon Speaker and two other Ministers in the Anti-Corruption Court, which is a false premise because the Rt. Hon Speaker has never been charged with corruption in any courts of law, contrary to the insinuation in the statement.
The director of communications and public affairs Chris Obore says the iron sheets have been used as a ruse to conceal the real, unstated but clearly obvious reason for the sanctions – which is the Rt. Hon Speaker’s stance on the recently enacted Anti-Homosexuality Act.
“The truth is that the iron sheets were in fact distributed to public schools, and Mr Andrew Micthell – who was vocal in condemning the Rt. Hon Among for enacting the Anti-Homosexuality Act – did not, in his statement, indicate how exactly the Rt. Hon Speaker derived personal benefit from them”.Obore says in a statement.
Obore further appealed to foreign partners, including the United Kingdom, respect the sovereignty of Uganda, and avoid temptation to meddle into Uganda’s local politics.