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{
    "id": 577950,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/577950/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 66,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Eng.) Gumbo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 24,
        "legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
        "slug": "nicholas-gumbo"
    },
    "content": "I just want to relate a real life situation. Recently, we had an engagement with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Uganda and what they told us is that their understanding of any House of Parliament having the powers of the High Court is that when certain committees sit, especially when they are interviewing hostile witnesses, those committees also include very senior police officers, who the committee would direct to produce those witnesses without having to pass through anybody else. I do not know if this is what the intention of Article 125 is supposed to be but it is something that we have to think about. As I conclude, I think it will be negligent of us, as Members who are sitting in the 11th Parliament, not to talk about the wars that a former Member of this House, Hon. Gor Sungu is fighting. I want to believe that the comments that Hon. Gor Sungu is about to suffer from, and he has suffered from because he has been dragged from one court to the other, were made when he was discharging his duties and constitutional mandate as a Member of this House. It would be wrong and it portrays a carefree attitude towards those of us who are still privileged to sit here that a former Member of this House in discharge of his duty is now being faced with a bill he might not be able to pay because as far as I know at the moment he is not on any salary. This is merely because he was talking about a matter that was before this House. This House, particularly, the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) must find a way to help Hon. Gor Sungu on this matter that happened when he was discharging his duty; a mandate that was donated to him by this House. For us to remain silent on this matter and make it look like it is Hon. Gor Sungu’s problem is wrong. Every Member sitting here is a potential former Member. In fact, all of us sitting here will be former Members at one point. When we tend not to mind about the welfare of former Members, in my opinion, it is like we are digging our own graves. What happens the day we become former Members? Will it be good for us just to suffer merely because of what we did in the discharge of our duties? It is time the PSC which The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}