The newly appointed Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Norbert Mao and the Soroti City East Member of Parliament, Hon. Herbert Ariko took oath as a Member of Parliament.
Mao was recently appointed by President Yoweri Museveni to Cabinet following a signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Democratic Party which he heads and the National Resistance Movement.
Ariko on the hand was re-elected as Member of Parliament in a by-election after the Court of Appeal nullified the election of Forum Democratic Change’s (FDC), Moses Attan.
The two took oath on Tuesday, 02 August 2022 at a sitting of the House presided over by the Speaker, Anita Among.
Ariko who contested on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket got 9,407 votes against Attan’s 8,771. Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) candidate, Pascal Amuriat got 115 votes. Mao and Ariko took the oath of allegiance and swore to, ‘preserve and protect the Constitution of Uganda.
Speaker Anita Among welcomed the new Justice Minister saying that his appointment comes at a time when the House is calling for the establishment of the Constitutional Review Commission.
“Hon. Mao your appointment is more historic that we have an Opposition member as the Minister for Justice. We have issues of human rights, political prisoners and we hope to get the best from you,” Among said.
She also welcomed Ariko back to the House. “Be an effective representative of the people and remain a servant leader,” she added.