In a fiery speech on her home turf in Bukedea on March 16, Speaker Anita Among assured all those that are allegedly fighting her that she is not going anywhere.
The speaker had earlier registered as NRM supporter during the ongoing registration exercise before addressing a rally later in the evening.
From her tough demeanor, it is a moment she had clearly prepared for.
Dressed in a yellow dress with NRM insignia, Among did not address specific issues that have been brought to the fore by the exhibition of the rot in Parliament like irregular recruitment of staff and wanton misuse of public resources by the leadership of the House.
Instead, she addressed the allegations in a circuitous way, claiming that she still enjoys the support of President Museveni because it is him who made her speaker.
Without mentioning names, she said some of her predecessors wanted to reclaim the seat of the speaker.
She roared: “What did they leave there? Do they want to say that the people of Teso do not need a speaker? Do they want to say that the people of Bukedea do not need a speaker? I am a better asset than them.”
While Among has so far not directly criticized any of her predecessors, one of her handlers in 2022 attacked former speaker Rebecca Kadaga when she criticized Parliament’s resolution to gift a house that belongs to Bank of Uganda house to the widow of Dr Emmanuel Mutebile, the deceased governor.
The Bukedea speech came on the heels of Friday’s hot debate in Parliament where Among claimed that those spreading the “rumours” about mismanagement of public funds by Parliament were doing so because she had stood firm while passing the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, had urged Among to respond to the concerns of the people and not hide behind the anti-gay legislation.
