MITOOMA: Despite allegations of corruption and abuse of office that have dominated public opinion against her tenure as Speaker of Parliament, Anita Annet Among has announced that she has one term left to serve and will then hand over power, as there is no reason to cling to power.

She made these remarks om Sunday 28th July 2024 during the opening of the Shs2.7Bn St. Charles Lwanga Kigarama Church, reportedly built through funds raised by Deputy Speaker Tayebwa and his friends from the business community.

The ceremony also coincided with a Thanksgiving event to celebrate the 80th birthday of Daudi Bangirana, Tayebwa’s father, in Mitooma district.

“As Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa knows his role well, he is down to earth and very social. We want to thank the people of Mitooma and request that you bring Tayebwa back to Parliament. I only have one term left to serve; when I finish my term, I will hand over to Tayebwa because there is no need to cling to power,” Among said.

She added, “We thank God that we are here today, out of an idea conceived when about 8 or 10 of us sat in Munyonyo, and now the church is here. We are very proud of Tayebwa and his mother for giving us such a brilliant, young, and down-to-earth person. We also thank the people of Mitooma for giving us a disciplined leader in Tayebwa.”

Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa revealed that, despite public criticism over the Shs2.7Bn construction of the church and questions about the sources of the funds, most of the money was raised from his friends in the business community. In one meeting that lasted about 30 minutes, Shs1.7Bn was raised.

“The church construction will cost us Shs2.7Bn. Some people say we use government money, but in less than an hour, my friends gave me Shs1.7Bn. We have the resources to complete it. Even tomorrow, the contractors are continuing. We did this prematurely to celebrate Mzee. Don’t think you aren’t my friend if I didn’t call you,” Tayebwa added.

Speaker Among also described the young Ugandans protesting against corruption in Parliament as self-seekers, insisting that Parliament stands by its decision to criminalize homosexuality in Uganda.

“The Bible says Adam was given to Eve, not Adam to Adam or Eve to Eve. That is why we are proud as a Parliament of Uganda. The demonstrations are by self-seekers who don’t want us to respect our values. We will stand by our decision,” Among stated.

She added, “And saying Anita must resign? Resign and go where? When you start marching for corruption, the first fighter against corruption is yourself, and we appreciate it. MPs aren’t accounting officers; the stealing doesn’t start from Parliament. Let us not demonize Parliament.”

“You start marching, wasting government resources. The 11th Parliament decided to work with the President, and there is no longer any conflict between the Legislature and Executive,” Among noted.

“Our request as the father of the nation is to protect the Legislature. The three arms of government—Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary need to work together. We are ready to work with you to achieve what you promised Ugandans,” she said.

As the chief guest, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni stated that the NRM came to address ideological disorientation.

“Previously, there was an emphasis on identity politics, religion, and tribes. When we came, we emphasized interests, not identity”. President Museveni said.

Museveni added that Uganda’s politics aims to solve people’s problems—health, peace, education, prosperity for all, and infrastructure. “That is our mission, to solve people’s problems, not to improve people’s CVs. Former president, former this, that isn’t what we came to do here. What does a retired president do?”