Is Speaker Among losing her groove?

How NRM intrigue has isolated powerful head of legislature    

COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | A letter by President Yoweri Museveni on the controversial June 14 by-election held in her Bukedea District constituency continues to stir jitters in the camp of Anita Among, the Speaker of Parliament. She is also the Bukedea District Woman MP.

In a rare move, Museveni complained about violence, theft and electoral malpractice where the ruling party candidate won with a landslide.

Elections under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) have been marred by violence and by-elections have not been spared. But what stood out in Museveni’s letter was his apparent concern by the violence being meted out by NRM and government officials.

The real target in Museveni’s letter appeared to be Among who was heavily involved in the election in her home district.

In the June 26 letter, Museveni directed Brig. Henry Isoke, Head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, to “investigate these claims (about violence, theft and electoral malpractice) and if any criminality was committed, take action and report back”.

Following Museveni’s letter, the State House Unit arrested Bukedea RDC William Tukei, the District Police Commander Charles Okoto, Gombolola Internal Security Officer Maimud Oluka, who are all Among’s top aides. They were charged with murder and aggravated robbery alongside five other suspects.

Strangely though, the Electoral Commission has not publicly taken any action to address the allegation made by Museveni or the implications of the court cases on the outcome of the election. The NRM candidate Mary Akol who was elected Bukedea LC5 chairperson beating her rivals in the Forum Democratic Change (FDC) and other parties, remains in place. This has let speculation spread on the true motive of Museveni’s letter.

Some press reports have depicted the crackdown on the Bukedea team as an attempt to tame Anita Among who has since her March 2022 election as Speaker carved out a niche as head of a power centre.

Among, who is from the Bukedea area is in her second term as MP and just two years as a member of the ruling NRM party of President Museveni, appears determined to put her stamp on it. As a backbencher from 2016 until she was elected Deputy Speaker in 2021 she cultivated a closeness to Museveni that appears to have been her winning card. When she was first elected to parliament without opposition, she is said to have made an impression on Museveni with her mobilisation skills and power brokering abilities.

Since she became deputy speaker two years ago, Among has cemented her position as a queen pin of Teso sub-region. In the 2021 election, the sub region overwhelmingly voted for Museveni and the NRM and the President rewarded politicians from the area; including Among who used the moment to gun for the deputy speakership. Museveni also appointed Jessica Alupo as vice president, Jeje Odong as Minister for foreign affairs, and others.

However, there has been unease over Speaker Among’s quest for supremacy that has earned her powerful rivals, informed sources say. Traditionally, the Speakership has been a very influential position coming second to the presidency in terms of executive authority.

Unlike the vice president role which has an amorphous mandate, the Speaker has far reaching powers over legislation, budget appropriation and by extension control over national affairs. Like her predecessor Rebecca Kadaga did, Among has used the speakership to build a national profile to the chagrin of many who feel she should bide her time.

Some analysts have compared how Among has used her ascent to that of her deputy Thomas Tayebwa who has had an equally meteoric rise. Both are second term MPs, relatively young and fiercely ambitious. Both are also formerly from the opposition FDC, who have gone on to be influential figures in the ruling NRM party and the country.

But the past month of July, for example, offers an interesting comparison of the different relational styles of the Speaker and her Deputy Tayebwa.

In just one week, Tayebwa appeared to show he is more at ease in terms of proximity to the centres of power. On July 28, Tayebwa graced the premiere of Those From Among You, a documentary by Natasha Karugire Museveni on Uganda’s political history. It would have passed for a normal event among Kampala’s elite but Natasha is President Yoweri Museveni’s eldest daughter and the two share a special relationship.

The weekend before, Tayebwa attended the burial of former Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Mbarara, Paul Bakyenga at Nyamitanga Cathedral in Mbarara. Bakyenga was a renowned leader in the Catholic community who was also a strong supporter of President Museveni. He helped entrench Museveni’s networks in the Catholic Church in western Uganda over the years.

Museveni directed a state funeral to be held for the departed prelate. On cue, Bakyenga’s burial was attended by vice president Alupo, Tayebwa, Kahinda Otafiire, minister for internal affairs, and other dignitaries.

To many observers, it was highly unusual for Among, a staunch Catholic with intentions of cultivating intimate networks, to have missed Bakyenga’s send-off ceremony.

Speaker Among’s Catholic leadership credentials appeared sealed when in 2022 she made a trip to the Vatican where she had an audience with Pope Francis.

Later this month, she is again slated to meet the Holy Father and reports indicate she has been granted private audience. According to a diplomatic message by the Apostolic Nunciature, the Pope will meet the Speaker on Aug. 25 in Rome, Italy.

Official communication from parliament says the meeting will be about faith and religion.

The Speaker met the Pontiff on the same day last year and it would be their third meeting having first met him when she was Deputy Speaker in 2021. An MP The Independent spoke to described the meetings with Pope Francis as a “personal pilgrimage.” The MP said, “She loves to see the Holy Father.”

But if the two events of the Archbishop’s send off and Natasha’s documentary could have been treated as normal happenings, it was what happened a day before Bakyenga’s burial, on July 22 that seemed to capture the difference between Tayebwa’s smooth operations and Anita Among’s rabblerousing.

Tayebwa attended what was billed as the home coming of Norbert Mao, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional affairs. The pompous event held in Gulu attracted Gen. Salim Saleh, Museveni’s brother whose authority as second in command is undisputed.

Mao is an old name in Ugandan politics, having been leader of Gulu District and MP before taking over leadership of the opposition Democratic Party and steering it into a partnership with the ruling party. Mao’s appointment as Minister of Justice in May 2022 was seen as a reward from Museveni for his role in bringing DP under the wings of the ruling party.

It was, however, from the Gulu event that murmurs started swirling that Mao, a son of the soil, was using the homecoming as a launch pad for an even bigger mission in collaboration with Museveni come 2026.

Tayebwa who was among the chosen speakers of the day, sent tongues wagging when he gave Mao a private cryptic from the public lectern.

“Museveni is a man who keeps his word, so better keep yours,” Tayebwa told Mao.
Other people we spoke to said, Among has not been known for attending public events that are not State-related.

“Generally she is not into public stuff and national days,” an MP who is close to the Speaker said.

Iron sheets scandal

Also, unlike Taybewa, Among was caught up in the iron sheets theft scandal where a batch was delivered to her private school in Bukedea district, an action that put her head on the chopping block.

Among has been under fire for mostly the iron sheets scandal but she has equally been on the spot over irregular appointments at Parliament, ostentatious displays of wealth, Persis Namuganza, state minister for Lands censure, the hounding of opposition NUP MP Francis Zaake and the way elections for representatives of the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) were conducted and a lot more.

A few months after the scandal broke, the Speaker was all over the media following revelations that her file at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) was one of those under scrutiny as she faces potential charges in relation to the scandal. There was also a reported plan for security to swoop in on at her home in Muyenga.

A delivery note from OPM revealed that the head teacher of Among’s private school in Bukedea received 500 iron sheets on June 23, 2022. The delivery note is now a crucial part of the paper trail in the investigation that attracted DPP; CID and IGG.

As the scandal broke earlier in the year, Among started to sounded contrite.
“After thorough analysis and looking at it that the iron sheets were meant for Karamoja not Bukedea, I have taken a personal decision and responsibility as a leader to buy 500 iron sheets and give it back,” said Among while presiding over parliament.

“I don’t want to be a shame to parliament and I’m doing this for the House,” Among said.
Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Semujju has turned up the heat on theft of iron sheets leaving Speaker Among in a pickle. At one point, she retorted Semujju, “You have bored us with mabati, is it the first thing to be stolen?”

In 2021, the Inspector General of Government (IGG), received a petition calling for a forensic investigation into the conduct of then Deputy Speaker Anita Among.

Due to the litany of controversies Among has been embroiled in, there is speculation that following Museveni’s Bukedea election letter, she has got the message and will be lying low.

It could otherwise not be surprising if the NRM ditch her from the Speakership by the turn of the next election. There is, in fact, speculation about possible successors to Among as Speaker. For obvious reasons, Tayebwa is often mentioned.

Tayebwa’s rise

The rise of Tayebwa’s star since assuming his current post in 2022 has been talked of as a factor that places him in line to be Speaker whether or not Among serves two terms.

Tayebwa is young, just 42 years old and would be just 50 years old in 2031 when Among would have served two terms. And so far, observers say, there is nothing visible that could potentially alter his cordial relationship with his boss akin to what befell their predecessors; former Speaker Kadaga and her deputy-turned successor the late Jacob Oulanyah.

According to those familiar with relations between Among and Tayebwa, the deputy speaker is still loyal to his boss. An MP who spoke to The Independent said it would be too early for a rivalry between Among and Tayebwa. To make the point, one source described how, during the plan to censure Persis Namuganza, state minister for lands, in early 2022, Tayebwa was up in the U.S. on official duty. The source says Among asked Tayebwa to come back and chair proceedings of Namuganza’s censure as a favour. The Speaker reportedly did not want the fight between her and the minister to appear personal. Tayebwa immediately obliged; cut short his trip and took up the chair. The two have been treading different the same path on other controversial matters.

Like Among, Tayebwa has sought to shore up his image with some populist stances like speaking out against homosexuality in international fora. His latest act was at an event in Brussels, Belgium, where he was attending an African, Caribbean, and Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU) parliamentary assembly in June. Tayebwa took a swipe at the EU for Russia’s war in Ukraine and earned some applause from some of the delegates.

On the other hand, for the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Act which Among touted as a major piece of legislation, the U.S. reportedly slapped a visa ban on her but not on Tayebwa.

For now Speaker Among remains one of the most powerful individuals in Uganda since she was elected to succeed the late Speaker Jacob Oulanyah a year ago. She was elected as Deputy Speaker in 2021 and even in that position, she did most of the work as Oulanyah was ailing.

Known as a wealthy benefactor, funding MPs and other activities of political mobilisation, Among has cemented herself as a power player. But the fight back is playing out with eyes on the next election