“Few years I’ve been here, I have never seen any female minister pregnant” – MP questions ministers’ absence as parliament’s front bench remains empty

Kibanda North County MP Linos Ngompek has questioned the continued absence of ministers from parliamentary sessions, raising concerns about the government’s commitment to answering questions and accounting for its decisions before legislators.

Speaking during a parliamentary sitting on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Ngompek pointed to the largely empty front bench, where ministers are expected to sit, and wondered why so few government representatives were attending proceedings.

In an unusual argument, the legislator said he had never seen a female minister become pregnant or a male minister formally request paternity leave during his time in Parliament, suggesting that maternity and paternity leave could not explain the frequent absences.

“Few years I’ve been here, I have never seen any female minister pregnant. That means they are not on maternity leave. I have also never heard that the male ministers have written requesting for paternity leave. That means they are not on leave,” Ngompek told Parliament.

He further questioned why the House continued to have so many empty seats despite the Parliamentary Appointments Committee approving more than 80 ministers.

According to him, the number of ministers present during the sitting was less than one per cent of the approved total.

“I remember the Parliament Appointments Committee approved more than 80 ministers, but today we have less than 1% of the 80. So are we moving right to have empty seats in the front bench?” he asked.

Ngompek’s concerns highlight the challenges legislators face when ministers are unavailable to respond to questions about government programmes, public spending and service delivery.

Their attendance is considered important because Parliament is one of the institutions responsible for scrutinising the Executive.

Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa has previously warned ministers against absenteeism and directed that ministers themselves, rather than other government officials, should appear in the House to respond to matters raised by MPs.

The concerns raised by Ngompek have renewed debate about ministerial accountability and whether Parliament can effectively perform its oversight role when government representatives are frequently missing from plenary sessions.