KAMPALA-UGANDA; Opposition leading party, National Unity Platform (NUP) has vowed to defy the deputy speaker’s order banning all unvaccinated people from accessing parliament.
Last week, deputy speaker Anita Annet Among said that nobody including MPs, support staff, and members of the public will be allowed to access parliament unless they show proof of Covid-19 vaccination.
However, NUP spokesperson also Nakawa West MP Joel Ssenyonyi today said Among’s order is not only illegal but also runs contrary to the current Covid-19 realities where the number of vaccines available is fewer than the population eligible for vaccination.
Ssenyonyi said NUP MPs tomorrow will be at parliament but will carry no vaccination cards for proving that they were jabbed.
“We shall definitely access parliament, we shall not necessarily have to show our Covid-19 vaccine cards because there is no law that requires that. What we want to do is get to parliament tomorrow and engage with the speaker on the floor of parliament, because by the way, matters regarding parliament, how it is run, regarding members and the general public, they are passed on the floor of parliament. They are handled by the entire house, not just one individual,” said Ssenyonyi.
“We’re going to engage the speaker as far as this is concerned and we shall tell her what I have just told you that; madam, number one; this order has no place in law but most importantly we would like that leaders of your magnitude and others in this country, that we focus on pushing government to bring in vaccines as opposed to trying to lock Ugandans out of services.
Because once it begins with parliament and that is our worry, tomorrow you’re going to hear ministry of Health saying for anyone to access a government hospital you must have a vaccination card. That means many Ugandans are going to die because they won’t be able to access services because they are not vaccinated. Why are they not vaccinated, because the vaccines are inadequate? So that is our concern,” he added.
In an October 29 letter addressed to MPs, support staff and the general public, Henry Yoweri Waiswa, the deputy clerk to parliament said the order is aimed at increasing uptake of the Covid-19 jabs that are currently available in the country.
“The office of the speaker is in agreement with the president’s observation and in the communication of the deputy speaker…at the sitting of parliament Thursday October 28, 2021, she gave a directive that access to the precincts of parliament should be restricted to members of parliament, staff and visitors that will show proof of vaccination against Covid-19,” Waiswa’s letter reads in part.
Parliament is not the first institution to limit access to unvaccinated visitors and staff members. National Medical Stores, ministry of Health and a number of resident district commissioners have in the past few weeks restricted access to their premises. However, the ministry of Health is yet to make it illegal for unvaccinated people to access certain public premises.
Meanwhile, NUP has called upon the Uganda Prisons Services specifically and government generally to allow MPs Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana access medical treatment outside prisons where they are currently on remand. The two MPs who are facing murder and terrorism charges were last week denied bail by the Masaka High court following their re-arrest on charges of murder that locked the Greater Masaka area two months ago.
“They are in extremely bad shape and what we hear about Ssegirinya is that he has been taken to hospital and we get information that sometimes he is convulsing,” Senyonyi said.
“Nobody is allowed to access him, not even his family, not his lawyers to establish his status. We have been making the clarion call saying they are leaders who are not going to run away. Please release them so that they can access better health care. What will Museveni tell Uganda if Ssegirinya dies in this drama? Why doesn’t the government want him to go and access better health care? If anything happens to them, their blood is on their hands,” Ssenyonyi said.
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