Dr Arinaitwe Rugyendo, a co-founder of Red Pepper and a veteran of the media industry, has been appointed principal press secretary to the Speaker, Jacob Oboth-Oboth.
Rugyendo confirmed the appointment in a statement posted on social media, thanking the parliamentary commission that selected him and the panel that interviewed him for the post.
“I pledge diligence, hard work, focus, and total loyalty to the Speaker, and to service, leadership, and teamwork,” he said in the statement. He added that he wants to build an Office of the Speaker that is “transparent, with integrity, free of corruption and abuse.”
Who is Rugyendo?
Rugyendo is one of the more recognisable names in Ugandan media. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Research Finds News and a co-founder of Red Pepper, the tabloid newspaper launched in 2001. He has served as a reporter and bureau chief at Daily Monitor in the late 1990s.
Beyond journalism, Rugyendo founded e2 Young Engineers Uganda, an organisation that works to nurture young Ugandan scientists and engineers.
In his statement, Rugyendo also thanked groups he has been associated with over the years, including the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Programme in Cape Town, the Crans Montana Forum in Switzerland, and his colleagues at Young Engineers Uganda.
Rugyendo takes over the press secretary role from Joseph Sabiti, a former NBS Television journalist who had held senior press positions in the Office of the Speaker. It is not clear whether Sabiti has been moved to another position or he will leave parliamentary service altogether.
Yet Rugyendo’s appointment closes the door, at least for now, on Charles Odongtho, a journalist and lawyer who had been expected to land the plum job.
Odongtho had quit the race for a seat in the East African Legislative Assembly earlier this year, with sources saying Oboth-Oboth was considering him for a senior communications role at Parliament.
He previously worked in the communications department at the Office of the Prime Minister. His social media activity in recent months has continued to feature updates on Oboth-Oboth’s engagements, which suggests he may still have some role within the speaker’s communications set-up.
We could not establish what happens next for Odongtho.
