263BN EATEN, MPs STILL SQUEEZED LIKE SARDINES! Roko Bosses in Panic as New Speaker Roars Over Never-Ending Parliament Chambers, Demands Answers in 2 Weeks
Panic has reportedly gripped bosses at Roko Construction Company after newly elected Speaker of Parliament Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth cracked the whip and demanded a full status report on Uganda’s painfully delayed parliamentary chambers project, a mega construction site that has swallowed billions of taxpayers’ money while lawmakers continue sweating, squeezing and suffocating inside the overcrowded old chambers.
The dramatic development followed explosive protests inside Parliament on Thursday as furious Members of Parliament openly rebelled against the unbearable congestion, lack of seating space and worsening disorder in the current chambers.
What was supposed to be a dignified sitting of the House instead turned into a humiliating scene of MPs fighting for space, squeezing into tiny rows, occupying unauthorized seats and others being forced to sit in the gallery like visitors because there was simply nowhere to sit.
The embarrassment became too much for the new Speaker to ignore.
In a sharply worded directive that has now sent shockwaves through Parliament’s administration and the contractors overseeing the delayed project, Oboth-Oboth ordered the Clerk to Parliament to produce within two weeks a detailed report explaining exactly what is happening with the new chambers building, what remains unfinished and when Ugandans should finally expect completion.
“Within two weeks, the Clerk will give me the status report on that building and what needs to be done and when it’s going to be completed, and I’ll report here,” the Speaker told the visibly frustrated House.
Then came the warning shot that exposed just how seriously the Speaker views the mess.
“The work has started today. We are going to do what they call resetting the factory default,” Oboth-Oboth declared, a statement many interpreted as a signal that heads could soon roll over the scandalous delays and ballooning costs surrounding the project.
The pressure intensified after Mukono Municipality MP Betty Namboze rose on a procedural matter under Rule 9 and openly exposed the chaos lawmakers now face every sitting day.
“I’ve been sitting down, for example, I don’t have a seat,” Namboze protested in frustration. “Wouldn’t it be procedural for you to guide us on the issue of seating before we proceed, and to make sure that each one of us is properly accommodated?”
Her complaints opened the floodgates.
MPs revealed that some legislators had illegally occupied seats reserved for opposition members without authorization from the Speaker, while overcrowding had become so severe that microphones in some sections were failing due to congestion and pressure on the chamber infrastructure.
The sight inside Parliament reportedly resembled a packed taxi park rather than the country’s highest legislative house.
And as lawmakers sat shoulder-to-shoulder in the packed chamber, fears also emerged over the ongoing Ebola outbreak, with many MPs worried that the overcrowding itself could become a health hazard.
Leader of Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi then turned the heat directly onto the delayed chambers project and those responsible for overseeing it, describing the situation as embarrassing and unacceptable.
“This Parliament, I am told, was made for about 80 people at the time it was constructed. We are now 529 members. When you add the ex-officials, we shall be 550 plus,” Ssenyonyi said.
Then came the question that has haunted the multi-billion shilling project for years.
“There are new chambers that have been under construction for donkey’s years. Money is appropriated every financial year. Why has that place become a bottomless pit? Why do they not finish constructing that place so that members don’t sit on their laps?”
That question now hangs heavily over Roko Construction Company LTD, the firm overseeing the project that has become one of the most delayed and controversial government construction works in recent years.
Construction of the new parliamentary chambers officially kicked off on July 25, 2017 opposite the National Theatre along Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road. At the time, the project was sold as a modern solution to Parliament’s growing space crisis and was expected to be completed by July 2020.
But six years later, lawmakers are still crammed inside the old colonial-era chambers commissioned in 1960 and originally designed for only 82 legislators.
Today Parliament has exploded to over 550 members including ex-official members, completely overwhelming the available space and turning every sitting into a logistical nightmare.
Meanwhile, the new chambers project has continued swallowing colossal sums of money.
The original contract cost of about Shs179.8 billion has since ballooned to approximately Shs220.2 billion following repeated structural modifications and redesigns. Yet despite the massive increase in costs, recent audit findings indicate that more than Shs263 billion has already been spent on the project even though the building remains incomplete.
Parliament’s latest Strategic Plan paints an even more shocking picture.
As of the first quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year, the entire project was reportedly only 45 percent complete.
And now the latest projected completion date has been pushed again to December 2027, meaning lawmakers could endure years more of congestion despite billions already consumed.
The endless delays have triggered growing anger among MPs who increasingly view the project as a symbol of inefficiency, poor planning and possible mismanagement.
Critics are now questioning how a project expected to take three years has dragged into a decade-long construction saga while costs continue exploding without clear accountability.
Once completed, the massive nine-floor structure is expected to seat 600 legislators and include a state-of-the-art museum, modern archiving facilities, a gallery and additional office space.
But for now, the dream remains buried behind scaffolding, delays and mounting public frustration.
And as Speaker Oboth-Oboth demands answers, many inside Parliament are now wondering whether the era of excuses is finally over for those in charge of the controversial project.
Because after years of delays, billions spent and MPs sitting like passengers in an overloaded taxi, the pressure is now squarely on Roko bosses to explain exactly what went wrong.
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