President Museveni commended Speaker Anita Among for her cooperation with the executive during his state-of-the-nation address in Kololo on Thursday afternoon. He lauded Among, Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, and Members of Parliament for their collaborative efforts.
“I want to salute the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and MPs,” Museveni said. He dismissed claims that Among’s cooperation with the executive undermines her power, highlighting past tendencies where some actors used Parliament to challenge the Ugandan revolution, a tactic he described as risky and shallow.
Among recently faced criticism over a nearly Shs 2 billion award to Parliament Commissioners and the significant expenditure of Parliament under her leadership.
Despite public outrage, Among maintains that Parliament’s spending aligns with approved budgets. She also remarked on the challenges of leadership, stating, “The call for leadership comes with the risk of being misunderstood, criticized, opposed, accused, sanctioned, or even rejected.”
Museveni revealed that during the budgeting process for 2024/25, Among and Tayebwa worked closely with executive and judiciary heads to harmonize their budgets. He also took the opportunity to criticize “foreign agents” and “traitors” working against Uganda’s interests.
“There are actors who receive bribes from foreigners to serve foreign interests. These are both corrupt and traitors, and we are monitoring their activities,” Museveni said. He warned, “If they do not stop, and with evidence, we shall deal with them.”
Museveni accused these individuals of being incentivized by foreign entities to tarnish Uganda’s reputation, stating, “They approach our people and say, ‘Go and make a bad report against Uganda, and we will give you an award with money.’”
In a final note, Museveni asserted, “We are targeting the dishonest people and traitors. Mistake makers, we can show them how to do things correctly.”
The praise for Among comes amid her leadership in passing the Anti-Homosexuality Law, a move that has attracted significant international pressure and sanctions from countries like the U.S. and the UK. Despite the controversy, Among emphasized that leaders “owe it to society to stand firm, and the good Lord will always be with us.”
