Speaker Anita Among used the Friday, March 15, 2024 sitting – a special one at that given that the House normally sits from Tuesdays through Fridays – to sweep allegations of corruption in Parliament. She also hid under the Anti-Homosexuality Act as a ruse to ward off claims that the legislative arm of government she superintends over is a den of thieves, reveling in grand nepotism, corruption and abuse of office.
For weeks now, an online exhibition of Parliament of Uganda has unveiled rot, involving both the opposition and the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) MPs.
Some have called for the resignation of Speaker Anita Among and her deputy Thomas Tayebwa over the allegations of grand corruption, misuse of public funds and abuse of office.
Main opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) has called on its Commissioner and former Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LoP) Mathias Mpuuga to resign over his role in a Shs500m cash award.
SPEAKER ANITA AMONG SPEAKS OUT
For the weeks Parliament of Uganda has been in the spotlight, Speaker Among’s communications team has served as barking dogs attempting to justify the corruption in the name of the law and corporate social responsibility. But their attempts to shout the exhibition down did not, largely, succeed.
LoP Joel Ssenyonyi tasked Anita Among to respond to the allegations over corruption and mismanagement at Parliament.
Now for the first time since the scandals at Parliament came to the limelight, Speaker Anita Among has tried to respond, albeit choosing a scapegoat in the Anti-Homosexuality Act, and referring the matter to the Parliamentary Commission which she chairs.
Speaker Anita Among dismissed the allegations as cooked up by those angry with her and Parliament over the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
“I will never give you answers based on hearsay, on rumor mongering. And we aren’t going to run this House on rumor mongering. Me to answer you on hearsay, on things you have cooked on social media, because I have said no to bum shafting I will not,” she said.
But Ssenyonyi trashed Speaker Among’s argument, telling her to refrain from riding on the ruse of the Anti-Homosexuality Act. Ssenyonyi reminded Among that the people demanding for answers on the alleged corruption and abuse of office are taxpayers – and not homosexuals – who simply want to know how the money they contribute is used.
“Give us a break Madam Speaker. Stop hiding under the issue of homosexuality. Are you saying that Ugandans who are demanding for accountability for their money are homosexuals? Come on, let’s be serious. Stop scapegoating; no one is talking about homosexuality here,” said Ssenyonyi.
“Ugandans are saying, ‘account for this money;’ so stop pretending around that ‘you see they don’t like me.’ No, it doesn’t matter whether people like you or not: what matters is that you are occupying a public office and you are misusing their money.”
It should be remembered that the US cancelled Anita Among’s visa, placing her name on the list of those being punished by the Joe Biden administration over the anti-gay law. (See Details Here, There and Over There).
Meanwhile, Deputy RCC Anderson Burora has been suspended, allegedly, over comments on Speaker Among’s Parliament’s corruption and misuse of funds. Burora has sworn he will never kneel down to apologize to Speaker Anita Among. (See Details Here).
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