As the jostling over the reappointment of Benjamin Odoki to head Uganda’s judiciary continues apace, the spotlight will, once again, be trained on the Ninth Parliament.

Justice Odoki is set to appear before parliament’s Appointments Committee for vetting at a yet unassigned date, setting the stage for what should be yet another battle of wills between the House and the executive.

Last week, President Yoweri Museveni ended a two-month debate about the delay in his replacement when he reappointed him on a two-year contract and forwarded his name for parliamentary approval.

READ: Lawyers push Museveni to name chief justice after three months of dithering

Mr Odoki retired in June after turning 70, the age beyond which the Constitution, which he wrote, bars anybody from becoming Chief Justice.

However, there appears little likelihood the committee, which Speaker Rebecca Kadaga chairs and the ruling NRM party populates, will oppose his appointment.

Just last month, it allowed the appointment of General Aronda Nyakairima, the former head of the army, as Minister of Internal Affairs, even though Article 208(2) of the Constitution bars serving army officers from taking partisan positions, which a ministerial job is essentially.

READ: General gets his job, Uganda loses its values

The Eigth Parliament refused to approve Lt Gen Jeje Odong, one of Mr Nyakairima’s predecessors, as a junior defence minister unless he resigned from the army, which he did. Gen Nyakairima is still in the army.

The House has in recent times tended to buckle under the executive’s pressure, most recently by passing the draconian Public Order Management Bill on August 6.

“The people must be concerned about the performance of Parliament. According to Article 1 of the Constitution, power belongs to the people.

With the passing of draconian laws, the quality of life of Ugandans is at stake including their ability to participate in matters of their governance at all levels as well stated in the Democratic Principles (Article II) under the National Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy in our Constitution,” Sarah Bireete, a director of programmes at the non-profit Centre for Constitutional Governance, which recently petitioned parliament to restore term limits, told The EastAfrican.

Justice Odoki’s vetting comes hot on the heels of the passing of the Public Order Management Bill, which the ruling party forced through with the sheer weight of its numbers in the House.

The NRM has 258 legislators, well above the two-thirds required to pass anything in parliament. If army representatives are included, the NRM majority in the house rises to 268.

The Bill has drawn widespread criticism and a coalition of civil society organisations is preparing to challenge it in court once the president assents to it.

“The trend really has become that the majority take the day in parliament when in fact the House should seek to build consensus as happened before,” said Eunice Musiime Kataaha, the team leader for the policy and advocacy programme at the Uganda National NGO Forum.

“The tyranny of the majority has suffocated any form of consensus and what you end up with is rule by the law, not the rule of law,” Ms Musiime added.

Last Year, the Forum scored parliament’s overall performance in its first year at 60 per cent.

They attributed this to, inter alia, the guidance of Speaker Kadaga and her deputy Jacob Oulanyah, two seasoned politicians and parliamentarians; representation of different interest groups and a variety of issues of national interest; and a high level of consultation and interaction.

But since that score in May, 2012, a small but powerful section of the NRM’s top executive, concerned about losing control over party members and the rising stature of the speaker, has moved to instil military-like discipline in the three-decade-old party.

For instance, four of its free spirited members were expelled, as a salutary lesson to anyone unwilling to toe the party line.

The Speaker has also come under serious pressure, including President Museveni reportedly warning her, at the beginning of the year, that she could only recall parliament (to debate the mysterious death of a young MP, Serinah Nebanda) over his dead body.

“If we were to rate parliament again this year, it is unlikely they would score the same grade as last year. The prevailing perception is they have performed quite differently from last year,” Ms Musiime said.