Parliament has scrapped the controversial “service award” provision from its budget, bringing to an end a payment arrangement that triggered intense public scrutiny after details of a Shs1.7 billion payout to former parliamentary leaders became public.
According to Parliament Watch, the Parliamentary Commission has removed the service-award item from the institution’s budget following controversy over the manner in which the payments were approved and their justification.
The award dates back to May 6, 2022, when the Parliamentary Commission approved a one-off payment for the then Leader of the Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga, and three backbench Commissioners. The payments were reportedly charged under Parliament’s ex-gratia budget.
The controversy erupted publicly in 2024 after documents showed that Mpuuga had been allocated Shs500 million, while the three other backbench Commissioners received a combined Shs1.2 billion, bringing the total to Shs1.7 billion. Contemporary reports said the payments were not part of ordinary salaries or established parliamentary allowances.
The controversy was amplified by questions over conflict of interest and accountability, particularly because the officials who benefited from the payments were members of the body that approved them.
The Monitor reported in 2024 that critics questioned whether the arrangement complied with provisions of the Leadership Code relating to conflicts of interest.
The matter eventually moved beyond political criticism into the courts. In June 2024, a concerned citizen, Daniel Bwette, sued the Parliamentary Commission, arguing that the Shs1.7 billion payments were illegal, oppressive, biased, irrational and unfair.
The saga also became part of the wider #UgandaParliamentExhibition controversy, an online campaign that brought scrutiny to alleged expenditure and governance practices within Parliament. The Associated Press reported in 2024 that the campaign had highlighted the Mpuuga payment among allegations concerning the use of public resources.
The controversy reached the political level after President Yoweri Museveni questioned the payments and called for scrutiny of the circumstances under which the awards had been granted. Contemporary reports quoted him asking what special services had justified the payments and who had approved them.
Service award now scrapped
The latest decision means the controversial budget provision will no longer form part of Parliament’s 2026/27 financial year budget.
KFM reported that the Parliamentary Commission resolved to scrap the service-award item following the controversy surrounding the earlier payments to Mpuuga and the three backbench Commissioners.
The decision comes as Parliament begins a new legislative term. The current Parliamentary Commission includes Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth as Chairperson, Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi, Finance Minister Henry Musasizi, and backbench Commissioner Faith Nakut, according to Parliament’s official website.
The scrapping of the provision effectively closes the chapter on a payment that became one of the most contentious financial issues associated with the 11th Parliament.
However, the controversy has continued to raise broader questions about how parliamentary benefits are authorised, whether beneficiaries should participate in decisions concerning their own financial rewards, and how Parliament accounts for discretionary payments from public funds.
The decision to remove the provision therefore represents a significant change in the treatment of the disputed benefit, while the wider debate over accountability and transparency in parliamentary expenditure remains part of Uganda’s public-finance discussion
