Speaker Anita Among: I Don’t Want to Overstay in Power; I Have One Term to Serve

Anita Among Annet Magogo, the Speaker of Uganda’s Parliament, has said she does not intent to cling onto power in the leadership of the country’s legislative arm of government. Speaker Anita Among also noted that she has one term to serve before passing the baton to her deputy Thomas Tayebwa.

Anita Among made reference to not overstaying in power in the presence of former speaker Rebecca Kadaga Alitwala who had intended to extend her speakership reign for more years even after serving for a decade as speaker and another as deputy speaker.

Kadaga lost the speaker race to Jacob Oulanyah (RIP) in 2021 after running as an independent candidate. With Oulanyah’s death in 2022, his hitherto deputy became the speaker while Thomas Tayebwa, then government chief whip, became the deputy speaker.

The statement on overstaying in power may also not necessarily please Yoweri Museveni, the chairman of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), who has been president since 1986 when he took power following a five-year bush war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, mostly in the Luweero Triangle area.

As he took power, Museveni diagnosed the problem of Africa as leaders who overstay in power. But, now approaching 80 years of age, Museveni has been president for decades on grounds that the people still love him and that there is still work for him to do in wealth creation, the unity of the East African region and securing the future of Africa.

Speaker Anita Among thanked the people of Ruhinda North for sending a good and disciplined leader to Parliament and one she would be comfortable handing over power to after one term since she does not intend to cling onto the seat.

“We also want to thank the people of Mitooma for giving us a leader in Hon. Thomas Tayebwa. He is a very disciplined leader… He is one deputy speaker who knows what his role is. He is so down to earth and very social. I was even worried that he was going to start making everybody laugh here because that is him,” Anita Among showered her deputy with praises.

She even requested the voters in Ruhinda North to ensure that they send Tayebwa to the 12^th Parliament so that he could ascend to the office of Speaker of Parliament of Uganda, taking over from her.

“I only have one term to serve. When I finish serving my one term, I give it to Rt Hon [Tayebwa] to continue because you don’t need to cling on power. I have one term to go then I hand it over to him.”

Also the Bukedea District Woman MP, Speaker Anita Among – who faces calls to resign over corruption allegations – was speaking at the thanksgiving ceremony for Thomas Tayebwa and his father Daudi Bangirana in Ruhinda North of Mitooma District.

The multi-billion St Karoli Lwanga Kigarama Catholic Parish in Bitereko, Ruhinda Constituency had a rich guest list, that included ministers, members of parliament, former prime ministers and Kampala-based billionaires. (See related reporting Here).

You can read about Speaker Anita Among’s painful life story of how she went through suffering while growing up many years before she became speaker, as well as Thomas Tayebwa’s profile, including his humble beginnings of selling pancakes years ago Here, There and Over There).