By Mulengera Reporters
In a bid to permanently destroy the Anita Among brand beyond redemption, detractors are jumping on each and everything that is capable of being turned into a scandal to leverage the ongoing graft investigations, to politically get rid of the Bukedea Woman MP once and for all.
Many attempts have been and will continue to be made to demonize and destroy her by such actors, taking advantage of the ongoing inquiry. The latest efforts to implicate Anita Among have related to a supplementary funding of Shs33bn which the defense ministry was availed mid last year (2025).
The money was purposed to compensate the Parliamentary Sacco for its members’ land (100 acres) located in Mpigi near Buyala in Kiringa Ente sub country. The exact location is called Namwabula village, which is along Mityana road, branching off at the Zimula Mugwanya statue. KCCA had tried to get alternative garbage dumping site in the same area after the Kitezi disaster but the land acquisition process didn’t materialize.
The Sacco, which is into the business of buying and selling land to its members at competitive prices, first acquired the land (the 100 acres) in the year 2022. Then months after, the same became defense’s through the arrangement of compulsory acquisition. Because they had interest in getting compensated for their Sacco land which had forcefully been acquired, MPs pushed hard and selfishly supported the passing of the loan under which the defense supplementary component was covered. This was after then Tororo Woman MP Sarah Opendi had accused UPDF of land grabbing during a plenary session.
Because by some coincidence, she is the one who used to chair plenary where this matter was being discussed and when the defense supplementary was passed, detractors rode on that to portray Anita Among as someone who had personal interest in the matter.
Defense actually took over not just the Sacco’s 100 acres but another 158 acres belonging to the original land lord from whom the Sacco land had been acquired. The muganda businessman owned the Mpigi land under his company called Ssese Habitant Resort Ltd, which originally had a whole square mile.
Because the Parliamentary Sacco hadn’t yet had Ssese effect title transfer for the 100 acres to them as yet, when compensation time came, defense preferred to deal with Ssese Habitant Resort Ltd to whom the Shs33bn compensation cash was paid through the government payment system called IFMIS. This was for the entire 258 acres, not just the Sacco’s 100 acres. After getting the Shs33bn, Ssese Habitant Resort proprietor parted with Shs10.5bn which went to the Parliamentary Sacco.
Some of the Sacco members had gotten the impression that all the Shs33bn was paid to the Parliamentary Sacco and began writing petitions demanding to know why only Shs10.5bn had been reported. These were led by Nandala Mafabi who in the month of March wrote a petition to the Sacco Chairman Robert Migadde demanding to know where the other Shs22.5bn had gone. A detailed comprehensive explanation was rendered to Nandala Mafabi who nevertheless remained unsatisfied.
When the ongoing investigations started, detractors leveraged on the anger the CDF was believed to be having towards the former Speaker, to try and ferment more problems for Anita Among who was depicted to have been a beneficiary beyond the Shs10.5bn that came to the Sacco. However, investigators have since established that the process was done properly with the government chief Valier Gilbert Kerimundu, the Finance Ministry and Jacob Oboth-Oboth, who was the defense minister as of that time, playing their respective roles as mandated under the law.
There are correspondences which show that the defense Permanent Secretary Rosette Byengoma equally played her role as did the members of the Military Land Board chaired by the legendary Gen Joram Mugume. All the necessary meetings were held to ensure that each and every stakeholder was on board and as of now, the defense Ministry is already occupying and utilizing the land on which a barracks stands.
The other part of the land that was originally part of the same square mile was acquired for and on behalf of the Energy Ministry to facilitate the establishment of the Kampala Storage Terminal for oil & gas in the Buloba neighborhood.
Even after acquiring the 258 acres, including the part from the Parliamentary Sacco, the defense establishment still has appetite for more, which is why even other neighbors including a Kampala entertainment tycoon with a 70-acre pine plantation, continue to be under pressure to sell and leave.
The truth has since been established that it’s not true that the whole Shs33bn came to the Parliamentary Sacco because the same had to cater for another 158 acres that defense Ministry compulsorily acquired from Ssese Habitant Resort Ltd. This clearly exonerates Anita Among and other actors at the different government Ministries who all along had been accused of having connived to share the remaining Shs22.5bn.
Using the Shs10.5bn earned in the Mpigi land compensation, the leadership of the Parliamentary Sacco acquired another piece of land near Gayaza where smaller plots have since been demarcated to enable MPs purchase and take up. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
