The Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has ordered the arrest of Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) chairperson Mariam Wangadya after she failed to appear before the committee for the second time.
COSASE chairperson Muwada Nkunyingi directed the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) to arrest Wangadya and produce her before the committee at 9am on Tuesday to answer queries arising from the Auditor General’s report.
The committee said Wangadya had been given additional time to appear and explain her absence, but found her response unsatisfactory.
Wangadya was summoned as COSASE scrutinises the Auditor General’s report on the UHRC. However, according to the committee, she communicated through the commission’s accounting officer that she would instead appear before another parliamentary committee.
Nkunyingi rejected the explanation, saying an official summoned by a parliamentary committee cannot decide which committee to appear before or when to honour a lawful summons.
“The Uganda Human Rights Commission, for all purposes and intent, in matters relating to accountability and Auditor General’s report scrutiny, is responsible and accountable to PAC COSASE, this particular committee,” Nkunyingi said.
“When any officer of Uganda Human Rights Commission is accordingly invited, you must accord such invitation not as a way of good gesture, but in response to lawful invitation and summons,” he added.
Nkunyingi said the committee had considered Wangadya’s response to the second summons but found no sufficient justification for her failure to appear.
“A witness or summoned person cannot choose where to appear and when to appear. The chairperson, a one Mariam Wangadya, choosing to tell us where she intends to appear, is rejected by this committee,” he said.
He said COSASE had little reason to believe that Wangadya would honour another summons after failing to appear on two occasions.
“Now that this has been the second invitation, and she has not accorded us justifiable reasons within her response as to why she is unable to attend, but rather that she will attend other committees, we have little reason to believe that if invited again, she will honour our invitation,” Nkunyingi said.
Nkunyingi invoked the special powers granted to parliamentary committees, arguing that COSASE has powers similar to those of the High Court when enforcing the attendance and examination of witnesses.
“I will accordingly proceed and rule under Rule 218 that provides for special powers of committees,” he said.
He cited Rule 218(d), which provides that a parliamentary committee has powers of the High Court when enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath or affirmation.
Nkunyingi also cited provisions allowing a committee to order the arrest and confinement of a witness for purposes of an investigation.
“Now that the chairperson has not given us satisfactory reasons for her failure to attend, I want to proceed under this Rule 218, specifically sub-rule (e), to order for the arrest and the production of Mariam Wangadya tomorrow at nine at Parliament,” he ruled.
He subsequently instructed CID to locate and arrest Wangadya and produce her before the committee.
“I want to instruct our CID to look for Mariam Wangadya, arrest her for purposes of bringing her to this committee at 9:00 a.m.,” Nkunyingi ordered.
The standoff comes as COSASE continues to scrutinise accountability and audit queries raised by the Auditor General against government agencies and statutory bodies.
The committee maintains that the UHRC, like other public institutions subject to parliamentary accountability, is required to respond to lawful summons and provide explanations on queries arising from the Auditor General’s findings.
The arrest order now puts the dispute between the committee and the human rights commission at the centre of Parliament’s ongoing accountability hearings.
