Jacob Olanyah Gilbert suffered a devastating shame when speaker Rebecca Kadaga gave him cold shoulders.

Olanyah has been away from the house sitting for the better part of the Covid-19 period.

The deputy speaker returned to the house plenary session but chose to occupy the front row with ministers.

Olanyah returned to the house to address the speaker of his situation that saw him return Shs20M to the Clerk to Parliament.

He returned the money with a couple of MPs following court order that blocked MPs from accessing the money and putting it to use.

Following President Yoweri Museveni’s directive that members who had picked the money, give it to the district Covid-19 task forces.

President Museveni was angry with the members accusing them of paying themselves at a time when the population is in dire need of financial assistance.

Museveni then blasted: “It is morally reprehensible for MPs to give themselves money for personal use when the country is in such a crisis; totally unacceptable to me and the NRM. They have entered themselves into a trap and the best way out is to donate the money to the districts where they come from.”

The President’s call saw MPs especially from the NRM decide to take the monies to their respective district Covid-19 task forces. Minister for trade and industry Amelia Kyambadde, People Power chief Robert Kyagulanyi and Ntungamo Municipality Gerard Karuhanga were the notable legislators who returned the money.

Museveni said: “I agreed with the Speaker that they donate the money to the district taskforce where they come from as this will limit the damage. I heard that some of the MPs had bought things. That’s not good enough. We have a purchaser.”

Olanyah was one of the first MPs to take heed and shared a video of himself handing the money to Omoro Covid-19 task force.

He then said: “In line with and respect to the directive given by H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the guidance by Parliament, I handed over the Shs20m to Omoro District COVID-19 Taskforce today at Lalogi HC IV.”

However, in his absence in the house, Bugabula South MP Henry Maurice Kibalya attacked the deputy speaker claiming he; “betrayed the House when he publicly returned the Shs20m and said he did so because of a Presidential directive.”

Kibalya told the house he expected Olanyah who is ‘a member of the Parliamentary Commission and privy to all decisions made’ to have respect for the chair and the house.

Olanyah particularly returned to the house to challenge the speaker Kadaga on Kibalya’s motion which he claimed disrespected his position.

The deputy speaker had it tough rising up on a number of times to try to make himself heard but Speaker Kadaga backed him down.

It was drama when the house took to a break. Olanyah stood helpless when Kadaga did not give him room to raise his issue.

The speaker Kadaga walked out for the break and Olanyah followed her to her chambers.

MPs thought Olanyah’s charges had been overridden by events and needed to move on. He wanted the speaker to bring MP Kibalya to order for raising the motion against him.

The deputy speaker had a session with journalists to explain his stand off with the speaker. He told media he finally received justice when he was allowed to raise the matter with the speaker.

Olanyah’s battles with Kadaga started in the 2016 race for speaker. It called for the intervention of President Museveni who asked the Amoro man to pave way for Kadaga.

NRM and Museveni will most likely favour any other person for the position of speaker. Kadaga continues to receive warm reception from opposition, a thing that has rubbed NRM the wrong way.

Typical case in point is when opposition MPs moved a motion recently to recognise Kadaga, NRM MPs led by chief whip Ruth Nankabirwa returned from a meeting with the President with a similar motion to recognise his compelling fight against Covid-19.