The Chairperson of the Education Committee of Parliament Hon. Jacob Richards Opolot has pinned Mityana Municipality MP Hon Francis Butebi Zaake for misconduct and acting in a manner that puts the image of parliament in disrepute.
Hon. Opolot said Zaake’s violent conduct towards the Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe during a parliamentary probe recently was pre-meditated, unparliamentary and embarrassing.
Hon. Opolot was appearing before the disciplinary committee of Parliament probing Zaake’s alleged misconduct when he violently attacked Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe who had appeared before the Education and Sports committee last month.
During the probe hearing on Monday, Hon. Opolot said on the day Prof. Nawangwe appeared before his committee, Zaake was unruly, kept going wild and his views were personal other than submissions.
“I will say the conduct of Hon. Zaake was so bad. It was so bad” he said.
He also said before the meeting, Zaake was overheard by a fellow MP telling unknown people on phone how he was going to beat Prof. Nawangwe, and they should watch evening news. The proceedings of the committee were captured on television.
He said the meeting was quite a “funny meeting,” as members of his committee kept receiving information from outsiders and disorganizing the proceedings.
“I quickly realized something nasty was going to happen. He was so fully charged, shouted at me and called me a dictator even when actually I gave him more time to submit” He said.
He however said he is not the one who reported the case of Zaake’s conduct, prompting the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga to institute a probe in his conduct. He told committee members that the complaint to the Speaker against Zaake’s conduct was lodged by Prof. Nawangwe, and several other MPs.
Asked to speak about the response of Professor Nawangwe, Hon. Opolot said Nawangwe kept smiling as Zaake shouted and provoked him.
The committee will tomorrow hear from Prof. Banabas Nawangwe, and host Hon. Francis Zaake on Wednesday as they probe to ascertain whether Zaake’s conduct was unparliamentary, and the general conduct of MPs in committees as well as in precincts of parliament.
