By Dr. John Mary Odoy
The Rt. Hon Jacob Marksons Oboth – Oboth rose to helm of Parliament in May 2026. It appears he is suitable for the job of the institution of parliament which is running properly and I have no doubt that he would perform excellently well if left to do his work without interference. Unfortunately, he comes in at a time when there are several individual interests from some personalities. He begins his speakership journey during an era where there is a heated political talk about the transition, a complicated matter in the country.
The transition scheme is receiving mixed feelings because Ugandans desire leaders that are going to address the current governance, economic and social challenges. The current scenario exhibits uncertainty. The human rights abuse being experienced, the level of corruption and the inadequacy of managing what is at stake shades doubt as to whether whoever is interested in becoming the next leader of Uganda will bring solutions.
Parliament is an important institution in the governance of the country and many of us believe that it can provide solutions to several concerns that are bothering Ugandans. This is because of its key role of making laws and providing oversight. But the question has been whether the current quality and quantity of the members of parliament are up to the task. This concern pops up because it appears most MPs have god parents to whom they pay allegiance. This translates in being a yes and yes MP with no independence in taking decisions or voting in parliament especially where a proposed law is controversial. Several unappreciated and unpopular laws have been previously passed unfortunately through crude means with some people getting injured physically and others getting mental torture. In such circumstances, will Rt. Hon. Oboth, a polished gentleman and an experienced lawyer; steer the parliament to deliver to the expectations of the citizenry?
The Rt Hon Speakers first examination is about the proposed change in the legislation of how a leader of the opposition in parliament is put in place. One of the social media utterances is about change of leadership of the already well constituted opposition leadership in parliament. The legal parliamentary process that gets the Leader of Opposition into that office has been running for decades as an acceptable and graceful norm.
The persons holding the office are expected to do their job freely and the current holder of that office has done an excellent job. He is analytical, bold, truthful and straight forward. The national echo indicates that he is up to his job. He is indeed appreciated for the job well done. A social media message came through recently to the effect that the Leader of Opposition in parliament should be removed and that the process that gets that person in that office should change. This change is intended to remove the properly constituted Leader of Opposition and I understand to weaken the opposition in parliament. The change is unfortunately targeting an individual for the remarks he made recently on the media.
The media is trending with the change process where some members of parliament seem to be working tirelessly to get it done. I wonder if they are ware that their action is suffocating voices of over 70% of Ugandans! What is of concern and critical is that a social media message triggers off such an action and sends panic to institution of parliament. Does this suggest that the Speaker of Parliament and the rest of the members take instructions and plan their order paper from a social media message? If so, does parliament care about its integrity? Who are the MPs working for? Is parliament independent? The country is watching and it is very eager to see the outcome.
This is the first examination that our dear beloved Rt. Hon Speaker is to sit for. Passing this examination calls for being principled, bold, and up to the task keeping parliament a respected institution. Bending to the whims of an individual will be a big FAIL for the Rt. Hon. Oboth and the rest of the MPs. You are free to pass the Exam or Fail. Dr. John Mary Odoy, Senior Citizen. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
