Agency
President Yoweri Museveni has revised the Cabinet list he recently submitted to Parliament, reassigning Justine Kasule Lumumba to the Ministry of Information, Communications Technology and National Guidance, while appointing Dr Jane Ruth Aceng as Government Chief Whip.
The changes were communicated in a statement issued by the Presidential Press Unit this morning.
Aceng had initially been named Minister for Information in the Cabinet reshuffle announced earlier this week.
The revision follows growing debate over Lumumba’s appointment as Government Chief Whip, a position traditionally held by a sitting Member of Parliament from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Former Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda had questioned the legality of Lumumba’s appointment, arguing that it contravened both the Administration of Parliament Act and Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.
Section 6 of the Act and Rule 15 of the Rules require that the Government Chief Whip be appointed from among Members of Parliament representing the ruling party.
The latest changes appear to have addressed the immediate legal and procedural questions surrounding Lumumba’s appointment by assigning her to a conventional Cabinet ministry.
In contrast, Aceng’s appointment now places a serving Member of Parliament in the role, potentially bringing it into conformity with parliamentary rules.
