By John Okello Lapok
The race for the speakership of the 12th parliament of Uganda continues to heat up. The incumbent speaker, Anita Among, has so far earned herself five challengers who want to send her packing come May this year. The challengers who have so far declared their bid include Norbert Mao, Asiimwe Akiiki Deborah, Persis Namuganza, Alion and Lydia Wanyoto.
The position of speakership has always been a highly contentious position in Uganda’s history because of the central role it plays in the country’s politics, the reason why several candidates have always wanted to unseat the incumbents. So crucial the position is in Uganda’s history; that one of Uganda’s Heads of State suffered a miserable job loss courtesy the speaker of parliament of Uganda. Hereunder is a list of the speakers and the region they hailed from to inform the current trajectory as we head towards May’s election of the new speaker.
SIR JOHN BOWES GRIFFIN (ALLIEN)
He was a British lawyer and a former Chief Justice of Uganda and served as the inaugural speaker of parliament of an independent Uganda. His term lasted just one year from October 1962 to 1963. His term was largely a peaceful one as KY and UPC were fresh from forming an alliance to defeat the Democratic Party of Ben Kiwanuka. However, one important thing to note was that he was not an elected member of parliament but an ex-oficio recommended by the outgoing British governor/Head of State.
NARENDRA PARTEL (EASTERN REGION)
He was the second speaker of parliament leading the institution from 1963 to 1966, a major year in the history of Uganda’s political history. For starters, this is the year when the independence constitution was overthrown by Milton Obote’s UPC after a fall-out with KY. Eventually, a Pigeon Hole constitution was introduced by Godfrey Lukongwa Binaisa, the then Attorney General following the 1966 crisis. Patel, a man of Indian descent but from Bugisu (Eastern Uganda) comfortably sat in that chair for two terms serving from 1963 to 1971 uninterrupted. He only lost out of the deal following Gen. Idi Amin Dada’s coup against Milton Obote and his UPC. However, though there was no legislative arm of government from 1971-79, none the less, Gen. Idi Amin had a fusion of power working as Speaker whose membership was simply his brain/whim. In other words, he ruled through decrees and proclamations!
PROF. EDWARD RUGUMAYO (WESTERN REGION)
He was the speaker of the third parliament of Uganda whose name was the National Consultative Council (NCC) formed by Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF). This front comprised of Ugandan exiles who participated in the liberation movement that toppled Idi Amin in 1979. This parliament under Rugumayo served between 1979-1980. This speakership continues to ring a bell in President Museveni’s head because through its actions, he learnt that an ambitious parliament and therefore speaker can topple a government. This is so, because the Rugumayo parliament is the one that moved a vote of no confidence against Prof. Yusuf Kironde Lule who had just ruled for 68 days. It should be recalled that in the 10th parliament, this same style of toppling government had been mooted by one of the legislators (Ssemujju Nganda) against President Museveni but it somehow failed. This 3rd parliament was so vibrant and powerful that it managed two things: One was to keep Milton Obote out of Uganda permanently confining him to Dar El Salaam and secondly to influence and perpetuate UNLF stay in power whose architectures were the Gang of the Four. This Gang comprised of Rugumayo himself, Prof. Dan Wadada Nabudere, Yashi Tandori and Prof. Omony Ojok.
So deadly this Gang was, that even President Museveni upon capturing power, brought them closer by appointing them to cabinet beginning with Rugumayo, Omony Ojok while Nabudere’s nephew Barrister Peter Magomu Mashate of UPM/NRM became Museveni’s private lawyer. That’s how he neutralized it. While the rest of the Gang members have since passed on, Prof. Rugumayo still survives doing academic work at Tooro-based Mountains of the Moon University.
TABU BUTAGIRA (WESTERN)
He is a born of Bugamba in Mbarara district and was a staunch Oboteist who became speaker of the parliament of Uganda under Obote II regime. He was also an MP enabling him to serve as speaker from 1980-85 when Obote was dust binned from State House. He presided over parliament at a time when there was gross abuse of Human Rights including detention without trial, rebellions, arbitrary arrests, murders among others. It was dreadful that even the Leader of Opposition at the time Paul Ssemogerere came up with what he called a ‘BLACK BOOK’ listing all brutalities and their perpetrators. The Black book served as DP’s ‘armed struggle’ as Museveni picked real weapons and went to the bush to end Obote’s brutal regime.
No wonder, a year later when he captured power, Gen. Museveni instituted a Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by former Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki to investigate the human rights violations between 1980-85 and backwards. Indeed, during this Obote II term, a lot is mentioned including the notorious Panda Gaari of Paulo Muwanga (VP/defense minister), Col. Omaria (Internal affairs), Chris Rwakasisi (security), Masete Kuya (UPC treasurer/Minister for Rehabilitation) and Oyite Ojok (Chief of Staff) among others!
AL-HAJ MOSES KIGONGO (BUGANDA)
The NRM national Vice Chairman was the head of the National Resistance Council (NRC) which ruled from 1986 to 1993. Little is talked about this tenure and he was merely appointed as there were no elected MPs at the time.
JAMES WAPAHABULO (EASTERN)
He is a man from Mafudu in Bugisu’s Sironko district. His ascension to the speakership was through appointment by Gen. Museveni whose decision was influenced by Amb. Thomas Kiryapawo. Apparently, Wapa, as he was fondly referred to, stood for CA seat in Mbale Municipality was badly thumped by George Masika (UPC) and former Chief Justice under Obote II regime. Upon losing, Kiryapawo told Museveni that a resourceful talent was being wasted away on the streets of Mbale and yet there was a vacuum on the position of speakership of the CA/parliament. He therefore, suggested that Museveni appoints Wapa to steer the CA, an advice the son of Kaguta and Maama Esteeri Kokundeka gladly listened to and activated. Wapa immediately polished his shoes and ironed properly heading to State House to receive his appointment which lasted from 1994 to 1996 before he was appointed to cabinet until his demise.
FRANCIS AYUME (NORTHERN)
He was the speaker succeeding Wapakhabulo before he was also removed to serve in cabinet as Attorney General of Uganda until he died in a road crash.
EDWARD KIWANUKA SSEKANDI (BUGANDA)
He was the speaker of 7th and 8th parliament, running from 2001 to 2011 effectively serving for two terms. His tenure is by far, the chief enabler of Gen. Museveni’s longevity in power. It was during his first tenure that the 1995 constitution was amended and scraped article 105(2) of the constitution about term limits. This enabled Gen. Museveni to seek endless presidential terms, the last being that of this year, which he won.
REBECCA ALITWALA KADAGA (EASTERN)
She served as speaker from 2011 to 2021. In 2016, President Museveni had chosen to ditch her but allowed her tenure’s extension on compassionate grounds. Kadaga, however, just like Ssekandi, is remembered for enabling Gen. Museveni’s continued stay in power, having allowed the removal of the age limit from the constitution, another hurdle that stood in his way. She is also remembered for having been the first speaker to flee parliament using the back door as MPs turned rowdy during the chaotic Oil debate and later during the chaotic Age limit motion tabling. Nonetheless, she is credited for successfully steering parliament in turbulent times, balancing the interests of both the opposition and the ruling party.
JACOB L’OKORI OULANYAH (NORTHERN)
In Uganda’s parliamentary history, he ruled for the shortest period in this seat as speaker. He defeated Kadaga, his former boss, in a hotly contested bid. However, he died shortly after getting into this office, leaving nothing much to write about him as speaker of the 11th parliament.
ANITA ANNETTE AMONG (EASTERN)
She is the incumbent speaker of parliament, having taken over from Oulanyah who died a year after getting to the throne. Her tenure as speaker can fill a book the size of Gen. Museveni’s Sowing the Mastered Seed despite the short period she has been in that coveted seat. She now faces Norbert Mao (Northern), Asiimwe Akiiki (Western), Lydia Wanyoto (Eastern), Persis Namuganza (Eastern) and Alion Godfrey (Northern), who think she should look for another source of income come May 2026. However, the woman from Bukedea (Teso) is sharpening her political missiles for the ultimate battle against her adversaries, who seem to be equally determined to inflict a strategic defeat against her. Inspectors suggested that Gen. Museveni continues to pay a keen interest in the speakership race, well knowing the weight it carries and the historical ramifications it has on Uganda’s political stage. This is more especially that the country is heading towards a political transition which must be carefully handled, and parliament will play a big role. We are told one of the options on the table is to have the Judicial Service Commission decide the appointment of the speaker to manage the transition effectively, suspending the election of the speaker by MPs. If this succeeds, it will be history repeating itself as the President used a similar approach to thwart the Amama MBABAZI threat. The election of NRM SG and his assistants was scrapped, giving Museveni powers to appoint those officials through CEC. Watch the space!
