KAMPALA – The Mp for Mityana Municipality, Hon. Francis Zaake has demanded that lawmakers on the Rules, Discipline and Privileges Committee apologise for wasting his time after their scheduled meeting failed to take place, without prior communication.
The committee had summoned Hon. Zaake as its third witness today to respond to allegations levelled against him by Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Vice Chancellor Makerere University that he had threatened to beat him within Parliament premises.
“I came here by 10:00 am, we were not able to realise quorum, so there was no sitting. I demand an apology from them because they wrote to me on 21st November and I had to cancel my activities abroad, I am going away on my person health issues given what happened to me. I have been so disappointed that they were unable to meet me. I regard all these matters as baseless and are mere accusations that I have to defend myself,” said Zaake.
The legislator said the intention was to divert students at Makerere University from finding solutions to their 15% tuition increment and the violence that marred the university as UPDF descended on students in the wee hours of the night beating them up for participating in a strike.
Zaake said, “Issues of Zaake and Nawangwe are too small among the challenges Makerere University is facing and all the atrocities committed that is why I think much emphasis should be placed on that instead of trying to divert students from what happened. I don’t know if they got scared and refused to come, but I was available as a leader to challenge them on priorities at the university. They didn’t write to me, all they told me is that they were not in position to hold a meeting today.
While appearing before the committee yesterday, Nawangwe detailed the horrific treatment he had to endure at the hands of Hon. Zaake saying the cantankerous legislator flexed his muscles and tried to beat him up.
Prof. Nawangwe said that Hon. Zaake’s treatment left him traumatised and that he is afraid of appearing before any Parliamentary Committee for fear of being treated disrespectfully as Zaake did.
“He (Zaake) just poured a barrage of insults and made various derogative allegations on my person and I didn’t respond and he kept doing this despite efforts of the committee chairperson to restrain him and even the MPs neighbouring him tried to restrain him but he did not stop,” said Nawangwe.
The Vice-Chancellor said that Hon. Zaake warned him against his attitude saying if he doesn’t change his attitude, he would make sure there was no end to the constant strikes at Makerere University.
“After the meeting ended and after I had bade farewell to the chairperson of the committee, Zaake followed me and continued with his threats and pointing at me in a very disrespectful manner and this all, despite efforts of everybody in the room including my own colleagues to restrain him. He continued to hurl insults at me and even flexed muscles, so the chairperson of the committee took me aside and escorted me out of the room,” said Nawangwe.
