By Patrick Okino
Six councillors of Amolatar district have been suspended after engaging in chaos and fistfights during a council meeting.
The councillors: Morris Eryao, Ambrose Orec, Bill Dickens Olal, Dorcas Aciro, Kizito Okao and Dorcas Akoma, were suspended by the deputy speaker Martin Ayonge in what he described as gross misconduct.
On Monday, May 29, Ayonge called a meeting to approve the draft budget for 2023/2024, but it ended up in chaos after a section of councillors protested the suspension of their colleague, Dorcas Akome, over misconduct.
Ayonge had suspended Akome in the previous meeting, accusing her of tearing the minutes of the council meeting.
However, on Monday she re-surfaced, but was again ordered to walk out. She resisted the order, which prompt Eyonge to call the sergeant at arms to evict her.
There was kicking, blows and hurling of chairs across the room, with female councillors making alarms, calling for intervention from the community
This didn’t go down well with a section of councillors backing Akome when Police officers entered to force her out of the meeting at the district council hall.
The room became rowdy and chaotic with councillors backing Akome and engaging those against her for nearly 10 minutes.
There was kicking, blows and hurling of chairs across the room, with female councillors making alarms, calling for intervention from the community.
After the Police calmed down the situation, Eyonge adjourned the meeting prematurely to Tuesday.
However, on Tuesday, after approving a draft budget of sh28b for the 2023/2024 financial year, the councillors were barred from attending two consecutive council sittings.
Ayonge said the councillors acted in ‘total breach of the standard rules of procedure by disrupting council business through fighting and use of slanderous words’.
The councillors also accused Ayonge of being incompetent and conniving with district LC5 chairperson Geoffrey Ocen to deny them opportunities to raise critical issues affecting them.
Ocen said the councillors were being used by a politician, whom he did not name, to disorganise them and that sometimes they also turned up for the council business when they were heavily drunk.
