Speaker Among Brushes Off Resignation Demands Raised in March to Parliament

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has condemned the calls for her resignation from her position as she is surrounded by corruption allegations.

She made these remarks during a Thanksgiving ceremony for her deputy Thomas Tayebwa in Mitooma. Tayebwa was handing over a 1.2 billion St Charles Lwanga Catholic Church in Kigarama in Mitooma District, whose construction he funded, to Kigarama parishioners.

“I have seen people marching for corruption, demonstrating; these are self-seekers, these are people who don’t want us to respect our values, and as Members of Parliament, we will stand by the decision we made.” Speaker Among said.

Speaker Among was particularly unimpressed by the March to Parliament demonstrations that sprang up in Kampala last week. The March to Parliament was organized by youths through their social media platform to call out corruption. Among their core demands was the immediate resignation of the Speaker. This was influenced by the reported corruption scandals that have seen at least five MPs remanded to Luzira Prison.

Speaker Among defends Parliament

However, Speaker Among dismissed these calls, saying she isn’t going anywhere. The Speaker also declared that she has one more term to go as head of Parliament. In addition, she said she would hand over to Thomas Tayebwa, whom she referred to as her young brother, after her second term.In an event attended by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Speaker Among emphasized that it’s not good to cling to power.

“Uganda has three arms of government, and the Legislature, which I head, needs to be protected. Your excellency, please protect the legislature. Unlike previous Parliaments, ours doesn’t have issues with the executive. We work with the president.” Among said.

Since the arrest of the five MPs, the Speaker has publicly defended them. She infamously said it was okay to steal government resources and share them with one’s constituents. It was not any different in Mitooma, where she argued that corruption doesn’t start from Parliament.

“These Members of Parliament are not accounting officers; the stealing, as the LC chairman said, does not start from Parliament. Let’s not demonize Parliament.” Among said.

Over the course of the week, police confirmed arresting over 100 protestors who were largely peaceful.