Uganda in 2017, lawmakers debated one of the country’s most important bills, Uganda’s parliament turned into an ultimate fighting ring.
Parliamentarians hurled chairs at each other and swung microphone stands like swords. Men were torn from the room by their blazers and women by their dresses. Some people wailed and cried.
That fight exposed the bitter rift between lawmakers who support President Yoweri Museveni’s efforts to extend his rule and those who oppose it. Museveni, 73, has been president for 31 years.
Uganda’s constitution says no one older than 75 can run for president, which would effectively prevent Museveni from running for reelection in 2021. Some parliamentarians want to introduce a bill that would change that law, allowing the president to extend his rule.
That bill has led to protests in Uganda and, on Tuesday, the parliamentary fistfight. The damage was still being assessed Thursday, when Uganda’s New Vision newspaper ran the headline, “Age limit fight leaves Parliament chambers in ruins.”