The National Unity Platform (NUP), the opposition party with the highest number of Members of Parliament MPs has appointed Mathias Mpuuga, to be the Leader of Opposition of the 11th Parliament. He replaces Betty Aol Ochan of the Forum for Democratic Change-FDC party.
Mpuuga’s appointment was announced on Friday by David Lewis Rubongoya, the Party Secretary-General. Mpuuga is the MP of Nyendo-Mukungwe division in Masaka city. He is also NUP’S Vice President for central region.
Reliable sources have told The Sunrise that NUP’S Central Executive Committee which comprises the president, secretary general and different secretaries, unanimously backed Mpuuga for the job.
As the largest opposition party with 57 MPs in the 11th Parliament, NUP is obliged to appoint the LOP.
The Leader of the Opposition is supposed to keep the government in check and also appoint the Shadow Cabinet.
John Baptist Nambeshe, the Deputy President for Eastern region and Manjiya County MP has been appointed the Opposition Chief Whip. The Deputy chief whip is Kyebakutika Manjeri, the Jinja District Woman MP while Busiro South MP Medard Ssegona is the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee and will be deputized by Asuman Basalirwa, the Bugiri Municipality MP.
Nakawa West MP Joel Ssenyonyi is the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee of Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) which was initially under FDC’s Mubarack Munyagwa and will be deputized by Luck Akello, the Amuru District Woman MP.
The Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake has been appointed a Commissioner of Parliament.
NUP has kept most of the positions to its ranks and only invited a few non party members to take up leadership positions.
For example, Nakaseke South MP Paul Luttamaguzi has been appointed as the deputy president of the Local Government Committee, which is also led by independent former Gulu district Chairman Martin Ojara Mapenduzi.
