The legal and parliamentary affairs committee of parliament is faced with a dilemma, after several individuals and groups that it has summoned to appear before it turned down their invitation. Among the groups that have turned down the summons are the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, former Prime Minister Professor Apollo Nsibambi and a coalition of women civil societies.
The Inter-Religious Council in a communication to that effect states “we have already given our views. Our opinion is that the issue of age-limit is subjected to a referendum. It cannot be decided by a few individuals in parliament.”
The Uganda Law Society (ULS) which is expected to appear before the committee says it will do so after consulting its members. Francis Gimara, the chairperson of the society told the media that “we are going to convene as a society to determine what we shall suggest to the committee. We shall go there because we need to participate in legal processes. Whether we advise against or for or the general procedural issues and the implications of this amendment shall be a matter derived from our meeting.”
A group of lecturers from Makerere University, from the faculty of law, turned down the invitation to appear before the committee. They said that as far as they were concerned, the bill was uncalled for.
