EXCLUSIVE! Secrets about speaker Anita Among’s political troubles

BY PEPPER INTELLIGENCE UNIT

Secrets have emerged about the origin of Speaker Anita Among’s political troubles and maneuvers that forced her to tell parliament that she fears for her life.

While chairing parliament recently, Anita told legislators that there is a group of unnamed persons that are plotting to assassinate her. Her claims have since forced security chiefs to beef up her personal security as they investigate the matter further.

Insiders reveal that Anita’s revelation has a background to the way she has been playing politics during her days as a member of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) to joining the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

While in FDC, Anita was the deputy party treasurer. She impressed the then FDC party leader Col. Kizza Besigye with the way she would mobilise lots of funds for his presidential campaigns. The source says Anita was second to Nandala Mafabi as far as mobilising funds for Besigye’s campaigns were concerned.

As the state cracked on Besigye’s top funders, President Yoweri Museveni was notified that Anita was among the central pillars of FDC. For that reason, the NRM party started courting her using different party members such as city businessman Hassan Basajjabala.

In luring Anita, President Museveni made sure that she for the time being remained a member of FDC so that she played very well the role of a mole, especially at the height of security reports that Besigye was funding a military rebellion against NRM government.

After Anita carried out the task to near perfection, she quit FDC, but first preferred to remain an independent politician. She eyed the Bukedea woman parliamentary seat, but lost to NRM’s Rose Akol.

Aware that Gen. Charles Angina was opposed to her political activities in Bukedea, she reported him to some top generals in Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). Few months after she had lodged her complaint, Angina was dropped from the top post of deputy chief of defence forces.

Meanwhile, Anita thereafter managed to become the woman MP for Bukedea by defeating Akol. President Museveni wished to appoint her minister, but she declined. She wished to have time doing other things including brokering business deals in Kampala. As a legislator, she became a close friend of the then speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga.

Such friendship manifested when one time Anita sent a chit to Kadaga, asking her to adjourn the house so that they discussed something in the corridor of parliament. Kadaga complied by adjourning the House for 15 minutes.

Anita’s influence extended even to the cabinet even though she was not a minister. She was, for example, the force that influenced the president to rescind his earlier executive order blacklisting Dott Services Ltd from being awarded more road construction contracts in Uganda.

The order followed the recommendations made by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire whose inquiry described the company’s performance dismal.

In blacklisting the company, Museveni wrote, “I have also received several credible information relating to fraudulent dealings by Dott Services that are not acceptable.”

But when the company’s director Venugopal Rao pleaded with Anita for help, she talked to her contacts at State House, resulting in the president revocation of his earlier order. The president’s letter lifting the ban read, “It is therefore, a company that can broaden their investment efforts in Uganda. In the wider interests of the country, therefore, you should give this company one more chance on the Mbale-Tirinyi road.”

Along the way, Speaker Kadaga started suspecting Anita for spying on her, especially when Anita expressed intention for the deputy speaker job. Kadaga was worried that it was politically wrong for the speaker and her deputy to hail from the same region. As a result, Kadaga allied with Thomas Tayebwa from western who was also interested in the deputy speaker slot.

Aware of the alliance, Anita allied with Jacob Oulanyah who was interested in the speaker slot, which Kadaga was still interested in.

Along the way, Kadaga was disappointed when the president convinced Tayebwa to pull out of the deputy speaker race for Anita. Such a move was a big blow to Kadaga. The political fight has since shifted to Anita and Tayebwa. Anita perceives Tayebwa as one interested in replacing her come 2026. Watch out for part two. DO YOU HAVE A HOT STORY (CHEATERS, DIVORCE, VIDEOS, CORRUPTION, LAND WRANGLES, EXPOSES …ETAL) YOU WOULD LIKE US TO PUBLISH? CALL/TEXT/WHATSAPP 0777959024 OR EMAIL redpeppertips@gmail.com