Report of the Verification Committee of the Nominees and Applicants for the Bye - Election to the East African Legtslatm Assembly (Eala) - Uganda Chapter

PARLIAMENT OF UGANDA

REPUBLIC OF UGANDA

1 1TH PARLIAMENT

RTPORT OF THE VERIFICATION COMMITTEE OF THE NOMINEES AND APPLICANTS FOR THt BYE - ELECTION TO TIIE EAST AFRICAN LEGISLATM ASSEMBLY (EALA) - UGANDA CHAPTER

OFFICE OF THE CLERX TO PARLIAMEI{T

PARLIAIUENT BUILDIITG o XAMPALA- UGANDA

JALY 2O2L Y

( REPORT OF THE VERIFICATION COMMITTEE OF THE NOMINEES AND APPLICANTS FOR THE BYE - ELECTION TO THE EAST AFRICAN LEGTSLATM ASSEMBLY (EALA) - UGANDA CHAPTER

1.O HISTORICALBACKGROUND The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is the Legrslative organ of the East African Community established by Article 9(1) (1) of The Treat5r for the Establishment of the East African Community (1999) hereinafter referred to as the Treaty. Article 9 provides as follows; Establishment of the Organs and h stitutions of the Community 1. There are herebg estabhshed as organs of the Commuruty: (a) the Summit: (b) the Council; (c) the Co-ordination Commitee;

(d ) Se cto ral C o mmitte e s ; (e) the East Afican Couri of Justrce; A *E Eo.st African l*gislattue Assemhlg; (g) tLte Secretariat; and ,rf L^ (h) such other organs as maA be established bg the Summit

EALA consists of members elected from outside the natronal parliaments of the six partner states namely; Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda.

1 Articles 48 of the Treaty provides for membership of EALA in the following terms; Membership of the Assembly 1. The members of the Assembly shall be: (a) twenty-seven eiected members; and (b) five ex-ofhcio members consisting of: (r) the Minister responsible for regional co-operation from each Partner State; and (ii) the Secretary General and the Counsel to the Community.

The membershrp of EALA currently stands at 62 u,,ith nine elected Members from each of the six EAC partner states and eight Ex- officro Members. The increase in numbers from the 32 provided by the Treaty to the current 62 is accounted for by the admission of Rwanda, Burundr and South Sudan to the Community. Members are directly elected, being voted into their positions by their respective National Assemblies, though not from the ranks of those Assemblies. The Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC requires that members should represent the diversity of views present in their own National Assemblies and also that their selection meets certain criteria for gender balance. Article 50 (1) provrdes for the election of members to EALA as follows; *The National Assembly of each Partner State shall elect, not from among its members nrne members of the Assembly who sha11 represent as much as it is feasible, the varrous political parties represented in the Natronal Assembly, shades of opinion, gender and other special interest groups in that Partner State, in accordance with such procedures as the National Assembly of each Partner State may determine."

2 M ,_ Article 51 (1) of the Treaty provides for the tenure of elected members which shal1 be five years and members are eligible for re- election for a further term of five years.

On February 28th 2017, the Parhament of Uganda elected nine representatives to the current EALA in accordance with Article 5O of the Treaty and Rule 12 Appendix B of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament (heinafter referred to as the Rules) and all other enabling laws. The following were declared elected: 1. Hon. Rose Akol Okullo (National Reslstance Movementf 2. Hon. PauI Musamali (National Resietance Movementf 3. Hon. Mathias Kasamba (National Rcsistance Movementf 4, Hon. Mary Mugyenyi (National Resistance Movement| 5. Hon. Dennis Nanara (National Resistance Movcmentf 6. Hon. Chris Opoka (Uganda Peoples Cougressf 7. Hon. Fred Mukasa Mbidde (Democratic Party) 8. Hon. Susan Nakawuki (Independent)

2.O INTRODUCTION ___-r/ On 27fr April 2021, the Hon. Mathias Kasamba passed on. His demise ,/fi" { created a vacancy at the Regional Assembly. / Pursuant to section 8( 1) of the East African Legislatrve Assembly Elections Act 2011, on the l8e day of May 2021, the Speaker of EALA notihed the Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda of a vacancy in EALA. In hne with section 8(2) of the East African Legislative Assembly Elections Act, 20 i 1, upon notification of the vacancy, a bye electron must be held by th Parliament within 9O days from the 18th day of May 2021

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3 Parliament appointed nomination days for the bye electron of Uganda's representative to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) under Rule 8 of the Rules of Procedure and the same was gazetted in the national gazette Vo1. CXIV No. 58 of 19tr July 2O21. Pursuant to the provisions of Rule 9, Appendix B of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Uganda, Parhament on Wednesday 2l"t July 2021, appointed a Verification Committee to consider nominees and applicants to fill a vacancy at the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA). The Speaker communicated the apporntment in a ietter dated 21't July 2O2I.

2.t TERMS OF REFERENCE AND CHECK LIST FOR THE EALA VERIFICATION COMMITTEE

The Committee adopted the foiiowing Terms of Reference and checklist in conformity with the provisions of Article 50 of the Treaty of Establishment of the EAC and Rule 12 Appendix B of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament. (1) The Verification Committee shall consider the nominee and all applicants independent of a pohtical party or organisation and shall ensure that the nominee is qualified to be elected a Member of Parliament in accordance with Artrcle 80 of the Constitution. (2t The verification committee shall examine statements made by the nominee, which must be on oath, specifically:- (a) To ensure that the statement made is in tfre format prescribed in the first schedule to the Rules of Procedure of Parliament and specifies the name, educational qualifications, address and occupatron of the candidate; (b) To ensure that the statement made is in the format prescribed in schedule 3 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament and states tha the candidate: - (0 is a crtizen of Uganda; It (ii) qualifies to be elected a Membe Parliament (_

0 4 M (iii) is not a Member of Parliament (i") is not holding office as a Minister (") is not an officer in the service of the East African Community (vi) has proven experience or interest rn consolidating and furthering the aims and the objectives of the Community; (3) The verif,rcation committee sha1l ensure that the nomination forms of persons nominated by political parties are endorsed by the relevant Secretary General of a party or a person authorized by him or her nominating such a candidate.

Thc Committec adopted the checklist below to interrogate and establlsh thc legal suitability ofthe candidates

(1) specihcaliy that the nomrnee: (a) is a citizen of Uganda; (b) is a registered voter; (c) has compieted a minrmum formal education of Advanced Level standard or its equivalent; (d) is not of unsound mind; (e) is not holding or acting rn an office the functions of which involve a responsibility for - or - in connection with the conduct of an election; (0 is not a traditional or cultural leader as defined in article 2a6 (61 of the Constitution; (e) has not been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any 4" L/ 1aw in force in Uganda and has not been discharged ; or { (h) is not under a sentence of death or a selltence of irrrprisonment'/ // exceeding nine months imposed by any competent court without the option of a f,ine. (i) not a public officer or a person employed in any governmen department or agency of the government or an employee of a local government or any body in which government has a controlling v

5 M rnterest, and if he/she has resigned his or her ofhce at least ninety days before nominatron day.

2.2 METHODOLOGY

The ueification Committee interacted uLith and receiued uLitten and orol submisslons /rom the following;

(1) The NRM Leadership .' i. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa, the Government Chief W ii. Hon. Rose Namayanja, Deputy Secretary General NRM hip iii. Mr. Oscar Kihika (SC), the Director Legal, NRM Secretariat

They appeared before the Committee upon their request which was granted.

l2l The following nominees and applicants i. Hon. James Kakooza ii. Mr. Gilbert Agaba The above were invrted to meet the Committee.

3.O INTERACTION WITH THE GOVERNMENT CHIEF WHIP, THE DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL NRM, THE DIRECTOR LEGAL NRM -.- SECRETARIAT h'/ e NRM leadership informed the Committee that Hon. Kasamba Mathias, y'' YJ one of the nrne (9) representatives of Uganda in the Assembly, was elected /l to the Assembly on the Natronal Resistance Movement (NRM) Party ticket on 28th February, 2017 and assumed ofhce on 18u December, 2017. Ttre death of Hon. Kasamba Mathias therefore, created a vacancy in the Assembly.

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I The NRM leadership submitted that on 4th June 2021 , wlntle presiding over Parliament, the Rt. Hon. Speaker guided in respect of the by election as follows- "...Giuen that Hon. Mathias Kasamba uas elected to EALA on the NRM partg ticket and in accordance with the Treatg for the Establishment of the East African Community, and Appendu B of our Rules of Procedure, the uacancy uill be filled bg the NRM parlA to uhich the deceased Member belorLged. I accordinglg instruct the Clerk to Parliament to commence the process of filling this uacancg". The NRM further submitted that ideally, and to promote the growth of multi- party democracy, no political party can frnrsh the term of another because the representatives are bearers of specific agendas. Therefore, the NRM pleaded, that it should be the party which lost its member to fill the vacancy arising from such loss. This serves to maintain the status quo.

The NRM cited precedents ln other partner states where members have been replaced for one reason or another. In the case of Burundi, the Govemment replaced the departed member wrth a member of the party - the then Minister for EAC - Leontine replaced the late Hafsa who herself was a Minister for EAC and had replaced Ntarakutimana who was recalled from EALA to be the Minister for Health.

In Rwanda when a Member - Abdulkarim Haleimana was recalled from EALA to chair the Electoral Commission, he was replaced by another member from the party in Government who himself was also recalled and replaced by another member of the party rn Government, the current Speaker Martin Ngoga

The NRM further submitted that Uganda had elections for the East African Legislative Assembly twice based on numerical strength. This has formed aprecedent in the elections. Numericai strength is key to the functioning ( (,

-@ M# Vo of Parliament in all areas that require sharing including political party funding, commrttee allocations or the Parliamentary Commission. It is therefore prudent that this precedent be followed.

The NRM also pornted out, that in ensuring that the elected members represent as much as feasible the political parties in the National Assembly, Parliament of Uganda opted to use the numerical strength which is a bedrock principle for proceedings in the House. In light of the above submissions, and given that Parliament had adopted paragraph 8 of Appendix B to the Rules of Procedure, the NRM prayed that the vacancy created by the demise of the late Hon. Mathias Kasamba be filled by a nominee from his party on whose mandate he was elected to represent Uganda at the EALA. The NRM infonned tle Committee that afier a competititn process in its Parliamentary Caucus, Hon. James Kakooza was nominated to replace the Late Hon. Mo:thias Kasam.bo as d Representatiae for Uganda to tle EALA.

Thus it was the prayer of the NRM leadership that that the Verification Committee finds Hon. James Kakooza a suitable nominee and indeed a candidate to replace the late Hon. Kasamba and therefore represent Uganda at the East African Legrslative Assembly.

/v 3.O INTERACTION U'ITH HON. JAMES I{AKOOZA The Committee interacted with Hon. James Kakooza on a number of issues related to the movement of persons, tourism, taxation, tariff and non- tariff barriers to trade, climate change, the Customs Union, regio security and the political Federation. Hon. Kakooza satisfactorily responded to all the questions put to him by the committee ald from his res nses, the members established that he met the requlrem der .1fu,1-- o Article 50 of the Treaty, was knowledgeable, and thus he was well qualified for the candidature to EALA. In his Curriculum Vitae, Hon Kakooza indicated that he is a Certified Public Accountant, holds a Certificate rn Taxation, Statistics and Information Technoiogz from Beijing Universrty, a Certificate in Anti Corruption Methods/ Finance Management in International Law Institute, Washington DC, a Certificate in Public Private Partnership, University of Australia (AUSH), Customs Basics and Tax Administration (URA). He also holds a Uganda Advanced Certihcate of Education from Mende Kalema Memorial Secondary School obtained in 1988 and Uganda Certrficate of Education from St. Charles Lwanga Secondary School Kasasa obtained in 1984. He served as a Minister of State for Primary Health Care from 2OO7 to 2011, a Commissioner of the Parliamentary Commission from 2005 to 2OO7 and a Member of Parliament for 20 years, with 17 and a half years of experience in the Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development where he participated effectively rn the formulatron of tax 1aws. He was also formerly; a Director of Import and Export of Kabale Drstributors, a Drrector Uganda Importers and Exporters Association, a Banker in Sembule Bank and a Director of Karibu Forex Bureau.

3,1 The Committee; Confirmed that Hon. James Kakooza posseses the required academic qualifications and that he is a Ugandan born in 7962 and holder of a valid National Identrty Card.

The Committee estabhshed that Hon. James Kakooza was a registered voter and of sound mind, he was not a traditional or cultural leader, had never been declared bankrupt. He is not employed by any government agency or department and had never been sentenced to death or t rlsonment for a period not exceeding nine months.

L A , 9 U +t 3.2 INTERACTION q'ITH MR GILBERT AGABA The Committee interacted with Mr. Gilbert Agaba on a number of issues related to; trade facilitation, eiimination of non- tariff barriers, creation of the single customs territory, regional security, joint infrastructural development, the four pillars of the EAC intergration and his political party membership. In his Curriculum Vitae, Mr. Gilbert Agaba indicated that he holds a Bachelor of Education degree in Economics and History of Makerere Universrty Kampala, a Certificate in Tax Policy and Tax Practice from the Uganda Revenue Authority Training School. He also holds a Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education from Kabale Trinity College obtained rn 2001 and Uganda Certihcate of Education from Rubaya Secondary School obtained in 1999. He worked with the Uganda Revenue Authority Customs Department and the Finance Trust Bank Credit Department. From 2O05, he has been in the private sector. Mr. Gilbert Agaba is a member of the National Resistance Movement having joined the Party in 2005. Mr. Agaba informed the Committee that he expressed interest to contest in the NRM Party Primaries but was not nominated by the Party as a flag bearer.

The Committec; Confirmed that Mr. Gilbert Agaba had the required academic qualifications and that he is a Ugandan with a valid National Identity Card.

The Committee further established that Mr. He is not employed by any government agency or department and had never been sentenced to death ( or to imprisonment for a penod not exceeding nine months. Hon Gilbert Agaba was a registered voter and of sound mind, he was not a traditional or cultural ieader and had never been declared bankrupt

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Mo.{^J He is not employed by any government agency or department and had never been sentenced to death or to imprisonment for a period not exceedrng nine months.

4.O CASE LAW ON THE INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLE 50 OF THE TREATY AND THE RULBS OF PROCEDURE

A number of cases in Uganda and at the East Africa Court of Justice have sought interpretation of Article 50 vis a vis the Rules of Procedure of Parliament of Uganda. These include the cases of; Jacob Oulangoh Vs The Attorneg General oJ the Republlc oJ Uganda, Constltrttional Petitlon No. 28 of 2006, Democratlc Partg & Mukasa Mhldde Vs The Secretary General to the Ea.st AJrican Communltg dnd the Attofiey General oJ the Republic of Uganda, Reterence No. 6 of 2O17 Abdu Kafutntu Vs Tle Attonr,eg General oJ Uganda & The Secretary General of the East AJrican Communitg & 9 Intenteners, ReJ. No. 5 of 2072, Among A. Anita V. Attorneg General Ot Uganda, The Secretary General OJ The East Afrlcan Comtnunltg & Others Reference No.6 Ot2O12. The courts in ali these cases required the Rules of Procedure to conform to Article 50 of the Treaty.

4.L Among A. Anita V, Attorney General of Uganda, the Secretary General of the East African Community & Others Reference No.6 Of 2012 Facts Hon. Anita Among filed thrs case in the East Africa Court of Justice challenging the legality of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament as being inconsistent with the EAC Treaty. Article 50(1) of the Treaty requires the National Assembly of each Partner State to elect, not from its membe nine members of the Assembly, who shall represent as much as feasible,

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F the various political parties represented in the National Assembly, shades of opinion, gender and other specral rnterest groups in that Partner State, in accordance with such procedure as the National Assembly of each Partner State may determine. The Rules of Procedure of Parliament in 2006 in as far as election of members of EALA were contested in court by Jacob Oulanyah in the case of Jacob Oulanyah Vs The Atto"neg General of the Republic of Uganda, Constitrttionat Petltion No. 28 oJ 2OO6 and the court held that the said rules were null and void. The EACJ also held in the case of Democratlc Party & Mukasa lllbid.d.e Vs The Secretary General to the East AJrican Communitg and the Attonteg @neral of the Republtc of Ugand.a, ReJerence No. 6 of 2O1 1 that tLrc Rules of Procedure of Parliament of Uganda were contrary to Article 50(1)ofthe Treatg. While amending the Rules of Procedure in 2072, Members of Parliament failed to reach consensus and thus through this reference sought the interpretation of the court. The contested rules were Rules 13(1) and (2) of Appendix B. A further contention was made that the rules were never gazetted. Issuer Whether thc Rulee of Procedure for the election of members of the East African Legislative Assembly cited as the Rules of Procedure of Parliament 2O12, particularly Rules 13(1f and (21 are in substance inconsistent with the Treaty and its application, specifically Articlcs 23lrl, 27lll, 38l lf and 50( 1)? Held: 1. In order to conform to the provisions of Article 50(1), the election Rules must enable the establishment of an electoral process that ensures equal opportunity to become a candidate, full participation and competition for specified groupiugs and at the end of the pfocess, their effective representation in the EALA.

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<\- 2. Rule 13 which specihcally deals u.ith the election procedure "mrrrors" the wordrng of Artrcle 50 of the Treaty and the impugned Rule 13(1) and (2) does not allow sitting members of the Parhament of Uganda to run for election for position in the EALA. 3. There rs no requirement to be deduced from Article 50(1) of the Treaty that the said election rules should provide for specific slots for the interest groups set out in the Article or that they should provide for guarantees of representation, specifically of women, youth and Persons with Disabilities or any specihed grouping provided lor by Article 50(1) where such representation ls not "feasible." This Court is not clothed with the jurisdiction to dete rmine such feasibility which ls, in any event, left to the discretion of the National Assemblies of Partner States. 4. Rule 13(1)and (2) ofAppendix B aforesaid provides for consuitatrons and consensus in the electrons of members to the EALA. This Rule is located between the provisions on voting by secret ballot in Rule 12 ar,d declaration of results in Rule 14. It is unclear to us and no explanation was offered by the 1st Respondent why such procedure should exlst at such a crucial stage of the electoral process. In any election, consultations and consensus-building are done in the earliest stages of the electoral process and certainly not after voting. Therefore, any provision that imposes consultations and consensus after voting is unusual.

Orders: Court ordered the 1st Respondent to cause the amendment of Rule 13 (1) and (2) of Appendix B of the 2012 Rules of Procedure to bring it into conformity with Article 50(1) prior to the next EALA electrons.

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o- Abdu Katunht Vs The Attonteg General of Uganda & The Secretary General of the East Afrlcan Communltg & 9 Interaeners, Re3f. No. 5 of 2072, p. 29, After the court's ruling in Jacob Oulangah Vs The Attonteg General of the Republlc ofUganda, Constitutional Petitlon No. 28 oJ 20O6, there was need to amend the Rules of Procedure of Parliament. However an rssue arose as to whether all the six political parties represented rn the Pariiament of Uganda should send a member each to the EALA in adherence to Article 50(1) of the Treaty. The National Resistance Movement (NRM), which is the ruling political party, argued that not all the six politrcal parties would be represented. The opposition, on the other hand, wanted all the six political parties to be represented. The applicant therefore approached this court for interpretation. Issuc: Whether the Perliament of Uganda exercised its power of election under Article 50 (1) ofthe Treaty? Held: 1. While Article 50 provides for the National Assembly of each Partner State to elect nine members of the EALA, it gives no directions on how the election is to be done, except for the stipulation that the nine must not be elected from members of the National Assembly and as much as feasible, they should represent specified groupings. 2. Instead, it is expressly left to the National Assembly of each Partner State to determrne rts procedure for the electron as was held in the Anyang' Nyongb case that: '... while the Article provides that the nine elected members shall as much as feasible be representative of the specified groupings, by implication, it appears that the extent of feasibrlity of such representation is left to be determined in the discretion of the Nationai Assembl 'This is in recognition of the fac

t 74 ,V <:l that each Partner State has its pecuhar circumstances to take lnto account. 3. Court took judicial notice of the fact that the number of political parties in the Partner States differ from one State to another. In some of them, there are more than a dozen politrcal parties, namely, Kenya and Tar,zania. This explains why the framers of the Treaty in their wisdom, for the purposes of uniformity for all the Partner States used the word tarious' to allow for the diversity in their circumstances. As such, what transpired on that day when the Parliament of Uganda constituted itself into an "Electoral Coilege", was an election.

Issue:

Whether the meaning and import of Article 50 (1) of the Treaty requires that all the six political parties represented in the Parliament of Uganda, shades of opinion, gender and other special interest groups be represented in EALA? Held: 1. The meaning and import of Article 50 (1) of the Treaty does not require that all the six political parties represented in the Parliament of Uganda should be represented rn the EALA.

Democratic Partg and Mukasa Mbtdde o. The Attorneg General of

Uganda and. the Secretary General oJ the EAC, EACJ Reference No. 6 / 2O71 at page 18 the East African Court of Justice held that-

"The essential requtrements for EALA elechons prouided tn Artrcle 50 of the Treatg are that: . the National Assemblg shall conduct an election; . sttting members of the Assemblg are not eligible; ( ) 15 ff=, elected members shall be nine; the elected members shall represent, as much as ts feaslble- (a) the polltical partles in the National Assemhlg; (b) shades of opinion: (c) gender; and (d) other special interest groups; - the procedure for elections shall be determined bg the National Assemblg.

Ang election, or ntle of procedure for electton, of EALA members that departs from the aboue clear requirements risks contrauening the Treatg. "

4.2 ELECTIONS OF MEMBERS OF THE EALA Arhcle 50 of the EAC Treatg provides as follows; Article 50: Election of Members of the Assembly 1. The National Assembly of each Partner State shall elect, not from among its members, nine members of the Assembly, who shall represent as much as it is feasible, the various political parties represented in the National Assembly, shades of opinion, gender and other special interest groups in that Partner State, in accordance with such procedure as the National Assembly of each Partner State may determine. 2. A person sha1l be qualified to be elected a member of the Assembly by the National Assembly of a Partner State in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article if such a person: (a) is a citizen of that Partner State; (b) is qualified to be elected a member of the National Assembly of that Partner State under its Constitution; (c) is not holding office as a Mrnister in that Partner State; (fr ;t\- 16 (d) is not an officer in the service of the Community; and (e) has proven experience or interest in consohdating and furthering the arms and the objectives of the Community. In the case of Jacob Oulangah, the rules in contest at the time, were the Rules of Procedure of Parliament, 2006 that provrded as follows; Rule 11- Election of Members of the East African Legislative Assembly (1) Members of the East African Legislative Assembly representing Uganda shall be elected in accordance with the rules set out in Appendix II, and such representation shall reflect the proportional Party membership based on the numerical strength of the Parties in the House and take into consideration gender and other

shades opintor, (emphasis a dde d)

(2) Members of the Assembly shall report to Parliament on the activities of the Assembly in accordance with the rules set out rn Appendix C. It can be noted that what the court held was true, that Parliament had divested itself of its duty to elect Members of the EALA and bestowed it on the political parties as can be seen from the above provisron. Appendix C of the 2006 rules further provided for elections as follows; 4.3 Nomination of Candidates (1) Nomination of candidates shall be made on any nomination day by each party represented in the House nomrnating a candidate and tendering the nomination in writing to the Clerk indicating the foliowing- a) a statement specifying the name, educational qualihcatrons, address and occupation of the candidate; b) a statement under oath by the candidate stating that- r. the candidate is willing and qualified to stand for the elections; ii. the candidate is a citizen of Uganda; iir. the candidate is eighteen years of age or above; iv. the candidate qualifies to be a Member of Parliament

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, T}re 2012 Rules of Procedure were also contested in the courts. They provided as follows: Rule 13: Election of Members of the East African legislative Assembly (1)The nine members of the East African Legislative Assembly representing Uganda shall be elected by Parliament not from among Members of Parliament, repreeenting as much as feasible, the various politicel parties represented in the House, shedes of opinion, gcnder and other special interest groups in Uganda (emphasis added). (2)The election of the members to the East African Legislative Assembly shal1 be held in accordance with the rules set out rn Appendix B to the Rules. Rule 13(1)and (2) of Appendix B provides as follows: Rule 73: Election of Memhers of the Assemblg (1)Tlrc election of members to the Assemblg representing the uaious polittcal parties and organizations represented in Parhament, shades of opinton, gender and other special interest groups in Uganda shall be conducted afier consultation and consenszs bg the polltlco,l pdrties and other Mem.bers of Parllament (emphasis added). (2)Subject to sub rule (1), the Speaker shall, tthere consensus is not reached put tlrc matter to uote." It is imperative to note the rules were amended as per the order of Court as seen above and that court only took issue with the Rule 13 (1) and (2) of Appendix B of the 2012 Rules of Procedure by stating that in any election, consultations and consensus-building are done in the earliest stages of the electoral process and certainly not after voting. / It is imperative to look at the current Rules to establish if this r.rds amended. Rule 12 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament, 2O21 provides as follows; Election of Mem.bers of the E,ast African l*glslatlue Assemblg

L 18 L \J ), (1) The nine Members of the East Afican Legislatiue AssemblA representing Uganda shall be elected by Parliament, not lron anutng Menbers of Parllament, representlng as much as lt is Jeaslble, the oarlous politlcal parties represented 7n the House, shcdes oJ opinlon, gender and otlter special interest groups tn Uganda (emphasis added). (2) The election of the Members to the East Afican Legislatiue Assemblg shall be Lrcld in occordance uith ttrc rules set out in Appendix B to these Rules. (3) Members of the Assemblg shall reporl to Parliament on the actiuities of the Assemblg in accordance uith Appendix C. The current Appendix B does not provide for consultations and consensus- building and provrdes for a more elaborate procedure of elections. It is evident that the rules were amended to conform to the orders ofthe courts.

Bye clections

4.4 Article 5O of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community provides that the Natronal Assembly of each Partner State sha11 elect, not from among its members, nine members of the Assembly, who shall represent as much as it is feasible, the various poiitical parties represented in the National Assembly, shades of opinion, gender and other special interest groups in that Partner State, in accordance with such procedure as the National Assembly of each Partner State may determine.

4.5 As part of ensuring the proper running of Parliamentary affairs, the Parliament of Uganda acting under Article 94 of the Constitution, adopted Rules of Proced whrch under rule 12 (2) are to the e

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t{ that the election of the Members of the East African Legislative Assembly shall be held in accordance with the rules set out in Appendix B to the Rules of Procedure.

4.6 Appendix B to the Rules of Procedure is silent on how to replace a deceased member representing Uganda at the EALA. However, a reading ofthe sprrit behind the relevant provisrons ofthe appendix as contained in paragraph 8 (a) and (5) is instructive. The provisions stipulate that-

"(4) uhere a nominee withdraws or dies before the election, the Speaker shall inform the House and the Clerk shall re-open nomtnations to enable a new candidate to be nominated; (5) The fresh nomination shall onlg be open to a person belonging to a polittcal partg, gender, shades of opinion or other interest groups to uhich the deceased nominee belonged".

4.7 Rule 8 of the Rules of Procedure is instructive in respect to procedure in cases not provided for and precedents. It permits the Speaker to decide, having regard to the practices of the House, the Constitutional provisrons and practices of other Commonwealth Parliaments in so far as they may be applicable to Uganda's Parhament and in so doing, such a ruhng becomes part of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament until such a time, when a substantive amendment to the rules is made in respect to the ruling. Indeed Rule 18 of the Rules of Procedure for the election of members of the East African t- Legislative Assembly contained in Appendix B of the Rules

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Cro!{ Procedure of the Parliament of Uganda provides that where any matter arises which is not specifically provided for in the rules, the Speaker shall make a ruling directing what is to be

done in respect of that matter. To this end on 4b Jur,e 2O2l , while presiding over Parliament, the Rt. Hon. Speaker guided as follows- "Honourable mem.bers, on 27h Aprtt 2027, one of Uganda's nlne representatlues to the Errst AJrlcan l*glslatioe Assembtg (EAL/|) Hon Mathlas Kasamha passed on. His demlse lefi a uacdncg 7n Uganda's representatlon to EALA. You wlll recall that the deceased utas elected to EALA on 2&h February 2077 on the National Resistance Moaement (NRIW) partg tlcket and assumed. o:flice on 1&h December 2O77. Pursuant to section 8(1) oJ the Etrst Afrlcan l*glslatlue Assemblg Electlons Act 2077, the Speaker of EALA notitledthe Speaker of the Parliament oJ Uganda on 78 May 2021 of a oa.ca,rrcg in EALA. Therefore, in llne uith section 8(2) oJ the East Atrican Leglslatlue Assem.blg Electlons Act, 2O77, upon notlficatlon of the aacancg, a bge- electlon must be held bg this Parllalment within 9O dags from the 7&h d.ag oJ Mag 2027. Glaen that Hon. Mathlas Rasamba uas elected to EALA on the NRM partg tlcket and in accordance uith the T'reatg for the Establishment of the East Atrican Communlty, and Appendix B of our Rules of Procedrtre, the oacancg utill be filled by the NRM partg to which the deceased Mentber belonged. I accordinglg instruct the Clerk to Parliannent to conmence the process of filling this oacancg\

5.O COMMITTEEOBSERVATIONS The Cotnnltaee ma,kes the Jollou.ting obsentations: r- ,1_ 21 2 I Nr 1. The Ruies of Procedure do not adequately provide for bye elections for EALA 2. In the absence of explicit rules on bye elections, Rule 18 of the Rules of Procedure for the election of members of the East African Legislative Assembly contained in Appendrx B of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Uganda empowers the Speaker to provide guidance directing what should be done. 3. The Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda pursuant to Rule 18 guided that this vacancy shall be fi11ed by a member of the NRM (Hansard dated 4h June 2021) 4. The NRM Party appeared before the committee and made a passionate submissron that the Committee should consider the NRM for this seat. 5. Two candidates did appear before the Committee in response for a gazette calling for nomination and the Committee had an obligation to consider and interrogate their nomination papers and their candidature. 6. Both candidates were members of the NRM but at the time they appeared before the Committee the NRM had made a chorce and that choice was presented by the Secretary General and the Government Chief Whip. The Committee further notes that both of the candidates had particrpated in the process that determined the party candidate. 7. Both candidates appeared knowledgeable on the matters of the EAC- 8. Both candidates meet the lega1 requirements for consideration as / provided for under Articie 50 of the Treaty and Rule 12 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament. 9. The Committee notes that Article 50(1) of the Treaty prescribes the parameters for election of Members of the Assembly. The procedure for conducting these elections is provided for under the Rules o Procedure of Parliament. However, rt is evident that the Rules do not -- r 22 provide for the procedure of conducting a bye election. To this end, recourse must be made to the direction and guidance of the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament as permitted by the very same rules and as guided by decided cases on the matter.

10. Rule 8 of the Rules is instructive in respect to procedure in cases not provided for and precedents. It permits the Speaker to decide, having regard to the practices of the House, the Constitutional provisions and practices of other Commonwealth Parliaments in so far as they may be appiicable to Uganda's Parliament and in so doing, such a ruling becomes part of the Rules of Procedure of Parhament until such a time, when a substantive amendment to the rules is made in respect to the ruling.

S.O COMMITTEERECOMMENDATIONS The Committee recommends as follous; 1. Hon. James Kakooza meets and fulfrlls the requirements under Article 50 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the Eest African Community and the Rules of Procedure for the Election of Members of the East African Legislative Assembly as mede under thc Rules of Procedure of the Parlianent of Uganda and is therefore successfully nominated as a candidate for election to fill the vacancy et the EALA. 2, Guidcd by the ruling of the Rt. Hon. Speaker in a sitting of the Parliament of Uganda of 4tt June 2021, the candidature of Mr. Gilbert Agaba beceme untenable. 3. The Committee recommends that the Committee on Rules, Privileges and Disciplinc cousiders amending the Rulcs of specifically Schedule B to provide for the conduc t-- -Procedure of EALA by elections

te^ .. -) 6.O CONCLUSION In light of the above and following the spirit of Parliament in adopting paragraph I of Appendix B to the Rules of Procedure, it is logical that the slot left by the late Hon. Mathias Kasamba be fi1led by a member from his party on whose mandate he was elected to represent Uganda at the EALA. In respect to filing the vacancy created by the demise of Hon Mathias Kasamba, the East African Court of Justice rn Prof. Peter Anyang'Nyong'o & Ors v. The Attorney General of Kenya and the Secretary General of the EAC, Reference No. 1 of 20O6 guided that- "In uieu of all the foregoing, we find it uery unlikelg that in adopting Article 50, the parties to the Treatg contemplated, Iet alone intended, that the National Assemblg toould elect the Members of the Assemblg other than through uoting procedure. Needless to saA, an election through uoting mag be accomplished using such diuerse procedures as secret ballot, shout of hands or acclamation. The electoral process maA or mag not inuolue such prehminaies as campaigns, pimanes and/ or nominations. An election mag be contested or uncontested. In our considered uieu, the bottom line for comphance uith Article 5O is that the decision to elect is a dectsion of and bg the Nationol Assemblg". It therefore goes without saying that there must be an election in a mode decided upon by the National Assembly of the respective Partner State. In addition, the House should instruct the Committee on Rules, Privileges and Disciphne to study this matter and propose amendments to the Rules of Procedure of Parliament to reflect the procedure in case of a bye election considering the fact that th deceased or removed member was elected on the basis of _representing as much as it is feasible, the various political partie }. 24

r( h represented in the House, shades of opinion, gender and other special interest groups in Uganda.

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25 R.EPIORT OT'THE VERIFICATION COMMITTEE FOR THE NOMINEES OF THE EAST AFRICAN LDCISLATTVE ASSEMBLY

NAMES CONSTITIIENCY PARTY SICTNATURE 1 Hon. Fox Odoi-Oyurelowo Slest Budama NRM (Chairpersoal ( North-East 2 Hon. Orone Derrrck Gogonyo Countv NRM. 3 Hon. Asiimwe Enosr Kabula County NRM 4 Hon. Ssemwanga Gyavrira Buyamba County 5 Hon. Laker Sharon Balmon DWR Gulu City NRM 6 Hon. Wilson T. Kajwenrye Nyabushozi NRM 7 Hon Navebale Sylvia DWR Gomba NRM Hon. Okot Boniface Youth Northern NRM 9 Hon. Mutembuli Yusuf Bunyole East NRM 10 Hon. Ssejoba Isaac Bukoto Mid-West NRM S 11. Hon. Obrgah Rose DWR Terego NRM L2 Hon. t okwang Hillary IK County NRM 13 Hon. Nambooze Teddy DWR Mpiei NUP 74. Hon. Muwanga Kl.rrmbi I Butambala County NUP Muhammad 15, Hon. Acom Alobo Joan WR Sorotr Crty FDC 16 Hon. Okot Peter Tochi Countv DP 17 Hon. Basalirwa Asumal Bugiri Municrpality JEEMA 18 Hon. Koluo Joseph Andrew Toroma Countv INDEP ttiid.il,;E= 19 Hon. Mushemeza Elijah Sheema County INDEP Dickens South 20 Hon Auma Lrnda DWR Lrra INDEP