Mathias Mpuuga Firmly Rejects NUP’s Call To Step Down

Nyendo-Mukungwe Member of Parliament, Mathias Mpuuga, has claimed that there’s a deliberate campaign to character assassinate him, and it is well funded by leaders in his party, the National Unity Platform (NUP).

NUP issued a statement last evening revealing that they had advised Mpuuga to step down from his position as Commissioner of Parliament after he allegedly admitted to receiving the ‘scandalous’ Shs500 million as a ‘Service Award’ from parliament when his two-and-a-half-year tenure as Leader of Opposition concluded and he was replaced by Joel Ssenyonyi.

However, the former LoP has also issued a statement saying that it’s unfortunate that the money he received lawfully is being termed as a bribe and a corruption scandal. 

“If such payments have amounted to corruption, then all current and former MPs would be compelled to refund to the public coffers monies paid as gratuity or honoraria since no MP was not paid,” Mpuuga said in a statement.

On being asked to step down, Mpuuga has labelled it a cowardly call before declining to heed it. “I am ready for the worst,” Mpuuga said.

“I commit I will not be deterred by a small-group-family interest being peddled to blur our bigger picture of how the party is being managed without transparency and the general mistreatment of other leaders in the party,” he added.