By Gladys Mukisa.
All is not well at the regional East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), its representatives including for Uganda are broke after spending several months without receiving monthly wages into their bank account, Blazer News Times can exclusively report.
EALA whose formation is rooted under the East African Community (EAC) Treaty, which establishes the regional block, is composed of 62 representatives from six-member states, with each state contributing 9 representatives.
The composition of the regional parliament is set out under Articles 48 and 50 of the Treaty, requiring each partner state to elect representatives through their local parliaments, while reflecting views from all political formations of a particular country.
It has now emerged from some of the Ugandan representatives that they have spent more than five months operating in wage arrears, although others say they are nine months.
One of the Ugandan representatives to the Arusha based parliament (whose names are withheld), told this news Website that they were last paid in May 2025, while another one differed, saying November 2025. Despite the difference in the timeline, they both speak in affirmative that EALA owes them wages in arrears.
The financial drought at the regional legislative assembly speaks to the growing turmoil that could be forcing out some of its representative’s runback to their domestic august houses whose emoluments have proven to be lucrative.
Some political commentators say that this could be the reason as to why the Ugandan EALA representatives James Kakooza (NRM) and Denis Namara (NRM) crossed from the drought to the forest.
Before completion of the five-year EALA term, James Kakooza participated in the just concluded Ugandan 2026 election as a vying elderly candidate for the Buganda region to which he was eventually declared winner against his independent rival Mary Ssendi.
Kakooza had formerly represented Kabula county in the Uganda parliament for three terms before he could run to EALA upon losing the 2021 election, and running back as now an elderly MP.
On the other hand, Denis Namara faced off with the long serving outspoken NRM rebel MP Barnabas Tinkasimire in Buyaga West, to which he was pronounced the victor.
Other Ugandan representatives to EALA include; Amongin Jaqueline, Gerald Blacks Siranda, Veronica Babirye Kadogo, Paul Musamali, Stephen Odongo, Mary Mugyenyi and Rose Akol.
