A team from the Secretariat of the ruling party the National Resistance Movement interfaced with the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee that was scrutinizing the amendment Bill number two of 2017 that sought among others to scrap the Presidential age limit in the Constitution. Led by NRM Deputy Secretary General Richard Twodong, the NRM team argued that the amendment of Article 102 Clause (b) on the Presidential age limit as proposed in the Bill popularly known as the Magyezi Bill would remove discrimination and align Uganda’s Constitution with other National Constitutions in the region. “Age limit should be removed from the Constitution so as to build confidence in the population that they hold the real safety, safety nets against dictatorship, tailoring oppression and exploitation through people’s power exercised at the time of elections.” Said, Richard Twodong – Deputy Secretary General, NRM.
“Do you find any fairness in seeing that a man that has been allowed to rule a country for 35 years can come out and complain about marginalization as a result of his age?” Said, Medard Ssegona – Busiro East MP. “I don’t know whether you would like to inform this Committee that the cap of which group it thinks shall be marginalized by removing the upper limit of the age 75.” Said, Muhammad Nsereko – Kampala Central MP. “It was said that we seem to be concentrating on the upper limit, not the lower limit but am sure if members can read through our document properly, we were talking about both the upper and the lower age limit.” Said the Deputy Secretary General of NRM.
Twodong also claimed that Article 102 (b) was smuggled into the Constitution because it was not part of the views Ugandans gave to the Constitutional Review Commission led by Justice Benjamin Odoki ahead of the writing of the 1995 Constitution. But Committee members led by Bugweri County MP Abdu Katuntu disagreed with Twodong saying the Clause was proposed during the deliberations in the Constituent Assembly by a delegate late Noble Mayombo. Apparently, Mayombo’s intention was to block former President Milton Obote who they had feared had plans to return home from exile in Zambia to contest as President. At this time in 1995, Obote who died 2005 was approaching 75 years of age. “The existence of Article 102 (b) in the Constitution is unfortunate because it was clearly not the wish of the majority of honorable members of the Constituent Assembly. The record in the hands of the Constituent Assembly.” Said the Deputy Secretary General of NRM.
“Is it an indication that this Article 102 (b) was smuggled into the Constitution? Is it possible it is an illegality?” Said, Abbas Agaba – Kitagwenda County MP. “Now that the NRM is raising the matter that this Constitution that we have, has smuggled in Clauses, we have to interrogate it.” Said, Abdu Katuntu – Bugweri County MP. The Committee was also scheduled to hear from representatives of Opposition political parties but they shunned the meeting without giving any reasons.
