The hearing of a bail application filed by Makindye West Member of Parliament, Allan Ssewanyana and Kawempe North MP, Muhammad Ssegirinya, failed to kick off today as scheduled.

This is after prosecution led by Richard Birivumbuka informed court that they were not ready to proceed and asked for another date. The trial judge has adjourned the case to 13th and 14th February 2023 for hearing of the said application.

The two are on remand on charges of murder, terrorism, and attempted murder relating to the spate of Machete murders that rocked the Greater Masaka region in 2021.

The group is said to have planned the alleged murders at Happy Boys, Kalenda, and  Kayanja Estate House in Kampala.

The legislators are battling capital offences which attract a maximum sentence of death upon conviction.

Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has urged Commonwealth countries to use their numbers to mutually promote investments, and work together on security and cultural exchanges.

“The population of the commonwealth is 2.5 billion. That is a third of humanity. This is a phenomenon of great potential if it is properly used,” Museveni said.

He was speaking at the opening of the 64^th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) at Speke Resort Munyonyo on Thursday, 26 September 2019.

Museveni tasked the delegates to examine the options on trade without disturbing the Common Free Trade Area (CFTA) arrangements in Africa.

“Can we revive the preferential trade arrangement? Here in Africa, we are now committed to the CFTA, COMESA and EAC,” Museveni said adding: ‘What preferential commercial arrangement could Africa have with the UK, France or Portugal. Of course we have some arrangements with the EU that includes France.”

President Museveni underscored the need for commonwealth countries to peacefully work together with all countries irrespective of their internal social-systems for mutual advantage and on the basis of respecting the sovereignty of each country.

“Egocentrism, greed and bigotry should be banished since colonialism has been defeated,” Museveni said.

The President also highlighted the benefits of promoting scientific innovations.

“The advances in science and technology have always been the primers of change for good or evil; but this time insisting that those advances are only for good and never for evil,” he said.

Museveni asked delegates to agree on a joint action on tackling climate change.

The Youth Representative, Eastern, Ishma Mafabi, could lose his seat over continued absence from the sittings of the House.

Speaker Rebecca Kadaga made the directive in a warning to the legislator and the House. She said that members who do not attend plenary sittings and continuously absent themselves from the House, are in contravention of rule 111(6) of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament.

“There is a Member who attended poorly in the second and third sessions without the leave of the Speaker. This session, he has not come at all. I have established from the records of attendance of Members of Parliament that you (Mafabi) have not attended any sitting of the House this session,” said Kadaga.

Rule 111 (6) of the Rules of Procedure state that “Except with the permission of the Speaker, a Member shall not absent himself or herself from 15 or more sittings of the House during any period when the House is continuously meeting”.

Kadaga added that she would invoke the powers of the Speaker under rule 111(7) of the Rules of Procedure.

 “I hereby give you a warning for your continued absence from this House and accordingly require you to attend the House at the next sitting of Parliament,” Kadaga said.

She added that if Mafabi fails to heed to the warning, the matter would be referred to the Committee on Rules, Privileges sand Discipline for consideration in accordance with rule 111(8) of the Rules of procedure.