Women leaders and civil society activists have fiercely pushed back against growing claims that corruption investigations involving outgoing Speaker of Parliament Anita Among reflect a failure of female leadership.
Speaking at a press briefing in Kampala yesterday, the advocates argued that corruption is an individual vice that should not be used to judge women as a collective group.
The coalition of politicians, activists, and veterans of Uganda’s women’s movement stated that attempts to generalize the allegations against Among are unfair and disregard the many women who have served in public office with flawless integrity.
Patricia Munabi Babiiha, Executive Director of the Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) said one woman’s issue does not represent everybody noting that Uganda has had women who served this country diligently and whose names were never tainted.
Sarah Bireete, the Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Governance, warned against selective criticism that targets female leaders while routinely overlooking similar or worse scandals involving men.
She questioned why state action had been delayed for over two years, despite repeated local criticism and heavy international sanctions imposed against the outgoing Speaker.
Former Ethics and Integrity Minister, Dr. Miria Matembe, echoed these sentiments, asserting that women should not lose hard-earned leadership opportunities due to the alleged transgressions of an individual.
Women asked the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) to ensure gender balance when electing the Speakers of the 12th Parliament following the withdrawal of outgoing Speaker Anita Annet Among.
The call comes amid growing indications that the race for the top parliamentary positions could be dominated by men after PLU, a pressure group associated with General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, endorsed Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth and Thomas Tayebwa for the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively.
Anita Among, who has been the Speaker during the 11th Parliament, recently withdrew from the race after PLU fronted Oboth-Oboth for the Speakership.
With Tayebwa now positioned to return as Deputy Speaker, activists argue that Parliament could, for the first time in decades, have both leadership positions occupied by men.
Their call comes as the NRM’s Central Executive Committee, on which Anita Among is a member, meets to decide who would be backed by the ruling NRM parliamentary Caucus when Parliament meets next week to vote in the new leadership of the 12th Parliament.
The women’s rights advocates pointed to Uganda’s parliamentary history as evidence of deliberate efforts to maintain gender representation in top leadership positions.
When Edward Ssekandi served as Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga was Deputy Speaker and when Kadaga later became Speaker was deputized by the late Jacob Oulanyah for a decade.
Following an NRM caucus decision limiting leadership terms, Oulanyah was elevated to Speaker while Among became Deputy Speaker.
After Oulanyah died in 2022, Anita Among ascended to the Speakership, and Tayebwa became her deputy.
Activists say the pattern has reflected constitutional principles of affirmative action and gender inclusion enshrined under Articles 32, 33, and 78 of the Constitution.
Speaking on behalf of the women’s movement, Perry Aritua, Executive Director of the Women’s Democracy Network, said all political parties are bound by constitutional provisions guaranteeing equal opportunities for women.
She argued that leadership selection should not only focus on gender but also on qualities such as integrity, impartiality, knowledge of the Constitution, independence, and commitment to public service.
Aritua also cautioned against using corruption allegations involving individual leaders to undermine women’s leadership generally.
Sarah Bireete, the Executive Director for the Center for Constitutional Governance, argued that concerns about misconduct in Parliament had been raised long before the current leadership contest.
Miria Matembe, a veteran politician, said women had fought for decades to secure equal participation in decision-making and should not be pushed aside at a critical moment.
In a joint statement, the women’s movement reminded MPs that they had sworn to uphold the Constitution when taking office earlier this month and should therefore ensure equal opportunities in parliamentary leadership.
The activists called for the election of a Speaker and Deputy Speaker who embody impartiality, integrity, independence, knowledge of parliamentary procedures, and commitment to the public interest.
However, Veteran politician and National Coordinator of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), Alice Alaso Asianut, says the dramatic shifts unfolding in Uganda’s parliamentary leadership, especially the challenges of former Speaker Anita Annet Among have little to do with a genuine anti-corruption campaign.
Alaso said the contrasting political fortunes of Among and her deputy, Thomas Tayebwa, point instead to an orchestrated transition of power and the consequences of crossing what she described as a highly protected executive “red line.”
According to Alaso, the long-held notion of parliamentary independence has been steadily eroded, culminating in what she characterized as a complete takeover of the legislature by the executive branch.
She argued that previous efforts by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) to conceal executive influence through endorsements from the Central Executive Committee or parliamentary caucus have been abandoned altogether.
Alaso linked the developments to what she sees as a broader institutional transition from President Yoweri Museveni to the Chief of Defence Forces, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
She said the active involvement of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) in the parliamentary leadership contest reflects a deliberate restructuring of state institutions to suit an emerging political order.
She also dismissed claims that Among’s apparent political isolation is primarily a consequence of corruption allegations and controversies surrounding parliamentary expenditures.
Instead, she argued that Among’s predicament follows a familiar pattern in Ugandan politics, where influential figures who accumulate significant political capital eventually find themselves at odds with the country’s power centres.
Alaso drew parallels with prominent political figures such as Kizza Besigye, former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, and former Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, all of whom, she said, experienced political setbacks after challenging established power structures.
She suggested that Among’s extensive influence among both newly elected and veteran Members of Parliament may have been viewed by the establishment as a potential threat during the ongoing political transition.
When asked why Tayebwa appears to have retained establishment backing despite being associated with the same parliamentary institutional controversies, Alaso pointed to differences in perceived political influence, saying:
