BETRAYAL, REVENGE & POWER: How Namuganza Is Rising as Anita Among’s Speakership Empire Collapses

By Aggrey Baba

The fast-changing battle for Speakership of the 12th Parliament is increasingly pointing toward one political conclusion. As outgoing Anita Among and her deputy Thomas Tayebwa now fade out of the equation, Bukono County MP Persis Namuganza is quietly emerging as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the ongoing political realignment inside the ruling camp.

For months, political circles had been dominated by speculation that Democratic Party (DP) president Norbert Mao was being considered by powerful actors within the ruling camp for Speaker of Parliament as dissatisfaction with Among’s leadership grew.

But a fresh intervention by Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) and first son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba appears to have significantly altered the equation, especially regarding the position of Deputy Speaker.

In a widely discussed post on X (formerly Twitter), the CDF declared that “a suitable female candidate” would be proposed for Deputy Speaker, describing it as part of the NRM’s political tradition, a statement which immediately triggered intense public debate because it appeared to narrow the field almost entirely to Counsel Namuganza following the apparent endorsement of Defense Minister Jacob Oboth-Oboth for Speaker.

The developments come shortly after Muhoozi publicly endorsed Oboth-Oboth for Speaker, while the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) formally withdrew its earlier backing of Among and Tayebwa.

That withdrawal was very significant because it signaled that some of the most influential power centers around President Museveni may no longer be comfortable with Among and Tayebwa’s leadership.

Now, with Oboth-Oboth reportedly gaining momentum for Speaker, insiders say attention has shifted to who becomes his deputy, and all signs increasingly point toward the Busoga princess.

Sources within the yellow camp say discussions about Namuganza’s elevation didn’t begin recently. According to insiders familiar with ongoing negotiations, Museveni had already privately settled on Namuganza for Deputy Speaker even before the Kyankwanzi retreat despite her continued public insistence that she was interested in the Speakership itself. The two have plenty of chemistry between them and even in Cabinet meetings, Namuganza casually addresses Jjaja Museveni as “Papa.”

Her name, according to sources, gained serious consideration because of her long history within the NRM, her survival after losing the party flag in the primaries, and her continued political relevance despite years of conflict with Parliament leadership. She is also a people-person and an effective mobilizer with a network of supporters in every corner of the country. This was on clear display in 2020 when she moved mountains as she challenged Rebecca Kadaga for the CEC position of NRM 2^nd national vice chairperson.

But beyond her political resilience, insiders say another sensitive factor has quietly shaped the calculations around her deputy speakership, and the factor is none other than the Bukedea Woman MP Anita Among herself.

Political insiders continue to revisit the story of how Among rose from an independent Bukedea Woman MP in 2016, into the inner circles of State House during the bitter Speakership succession battles involving the late Jacob Oulanyah and former Speaker Rebecca Kadaga.

Multiple political accounts indicate that Namuganza played a central role in introducing Among to Museveni at a critical moment when rival camps were fiercely mobilizing for control of Parliament.

At the time, Among was aligned with forces backing now former Kampala Central MP Muhammad Nsereko, who allegedly had Kadaga’s backing to upstage Jacob Oulanyah for the position of Deputy Speaker. But according to insiders, Namuganza convinced Museveni that Among could be persuaded to join the camp supporting Oulanyah, an introduction which would later become politically decisive.

Following Oulanyah’s eventual victory to become Speaker in May 2021, Among herself became Deputy Speaker before taking over the Speakership after Oulanyah’s death in March 2022. However, relations between Among and Namuganza later collapsed dramatically.

The fallout became public in 2023 when Among presided over parliamentary proceedings that led to Namuganza’s censure over allegations of misconduct and contempt of Parliament. Although Parliament adopted the censure motion, Museveni later intervened and allowed Namuganza to retain her ministerial position, exposing what many interpreted as growing divergence between Parliament leadership and State House.

Now, political insiders say Museveni views the unfolding succession battle partly through the lens of that history.

Sources claim the President recently told Namuganza that she had a responsibility to “be part of the solution to the problem she created,” an apparent reference to claims that her introduction of Among into the ruling circles eventually contributed to the current controversies surrounding Parliament and accusations of extravagance and corruption.

Those accusations have intensified in recent weeks following public outrage over reports linking Among to an expensive Rolls Royce vehicle, an issue that Muhoozi himself directly referenced while criticizing excessive spending and calling for reductions in parliamentary expenditure.

At the same time, Museveni has publicly intensified attacks on corruption within Parliament, particularly during the recent Kyankwanzi retreat, further weakening Among’s political standing.

Inside the NRM, many now believe the emerging Oboth-Oboth and Namuganza combination could be designed to achieve several political objectives at once, as Oboth-Oboth is viewed as acceptable to security circles, PLU, and sections of the NRM establishment seeking tighter coordination between Parliament and the Executive.

Namuganza, meanwhile, would satisfy demands for regional balancing, gender considerations, historical NRM loyalty, and political compensation after years of turbulence between her and the parliamentary establishment, and also serve as a compensation to Busoga following Kadaga’s recent exit from the NRM CEC, which annoyed many Basoga who saw it as real betrayal from the very government they had supported and loved for decades.

Her survival as an independent candidate after losing the NRM ticket has also reportedly strengthened perceptions within sections of the ruling camp that she still commands genuine grassroots support beyond formal party structures.

More importantly, some insiders believe her elevation would symbolically complete a political circle, returning her to the center of power while simultaneously sidelining the very leadership she allegedly helped create.

Although the official NRM position on the Speakership and Deputy Speakership races is yet to be formally announced, Muhoozi’s latest statements appear to have significantly narrowed the political possibilities.

And if the current signals from both State House and PLU are anything to go by, Persis Namuganza may no longer simply be a candidate in the unfolding parliamentary contest, but she may already be part of the final arrangement. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).