Ssenyonyi Says Clerk to Parliament, Not LoP, Accountable for Opposition Funds

What the report says

Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi has defended the handling of funds allocated to his office, saying the Clerk to Parliament is the official responsible for accounting for public money and not the LoP. He argued that the political head of the opposition can set priorities, but financial administration and disbursement of Parliament’s funds remain the duty of the Clerk as accounting officer.

Ssenyonyi’s comments came as Parliament considers the Administration of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2026, introduced by Buyaga West MP Denis Namara on November 11 and now before the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. The proposed changes would revise how the Leader of the Opposition is selected and removed, while also adding accountability-related provisions for the office. Ssenyonyi questioned whether such additions are necessary, saying existing public finance rules already define who is answerable for expenditure.

He said the money allocated to the Opposition is public funding meant to support parliamentary work and opposition duties, not personal resources under his control. He also criticised what he described as attempts to create a pretext for targeting his office. In a broader comparison, he said Parliament’s current financial arrangements were better than under a previous leadership period, though the article did not provide independent verification of that claim. As background, Uganda’s Public Finance Management Act places responsibility on accounting officers to control and report on the use of public funds.