The Ugandan Government has written to the parliament of Kenya demanding that its legislators apologize for allegedly abusing Uganda President Yoweri Museveni.
Last week, some Kenyan MPs threatened to stage demonstrations in Kampala if Bobi Wine was not released within a week’s period.
With allegations of torture of the suspects particularly Kyagulanyi and Mityana MP Francis Zaake, daily demonstrations erupted in Uganda and abroad – with Kenyan youth being very vocal over the issue, arguing that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Kenyan lawmakers including Jared Okelo (Nyando), Babu Owino (Embakasi East) and Gideon Keter (nominated) of the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association said they would first stage a protest against the arrest and torture of Kyagulanu at the Ugandan embassy in Kenya before escalating it into Uganda.
Now, ruling party lawmakers in Uganda are demanding that action be taken against the Kenyan MPs for what they called meddling into the affairs of a sovereign state.
Uganda’s East African Affairs minister Julius Maganda Wandera told the parliamentary committee on East African Community Affairs yesterday that ‘action’ had already been taken against the Kenyan MPs.
Unsatisfied by the minister’s verbal ‘action taken’ statement, Rukiga Woman MP Caroline Kamusiime Muhwezi insisted on knowing what action had been taken against the MPs, whom she said used abusive language to the person of the President of Uganda, which to her was unacceptable.
“After the recent protests, the Kenyans including MPs came out and abused our president but nothing was done by the ministry. They were demanding our president to free Bobi Wine. Free Bobi Wine, as who?” Kamusiime said. Maganda said his ministry had through the Uganda parliament speaker Rebecca Kadaga, written to Kenyan parliament over that matter.
“We as the ministry have already taken note of the comment which doesn’t sound so well at bi-lateral level where it is supposed to be encouraging Ugandans, Kenyans and East Africans… where we allow each partner state to keep its sovereignty and governance as much as we operate under a treaty for the establishment of the EA community,” Maganda said.
“We have written through the speaker of parliament to address her fellow speaker of Kenya so that they can make these MPs of Kenya to understand the rules of procedure and the diplomatic relationships and the messages that should be done especially when they are meant to address issues that pertain to the [other] state,” Maganda added.
He threatened that if the Kenyan parliament does not take action against the legislators, the ministry would not hesitate reaching Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for redress.
“And we want a comment to come out officially either to retract that statement of the MPs or to apologise or else we might seek through our embassy to have these matters placed before the president of Kenya. We are not taking this matter lightly as a country and as a ministry. We are taking it as a serious matter,” Maganda said.