INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: The inside story of the Uganda Parliament Exhibition and Speaker Among’s opulent lifestyle
Speaker Anita Among
BY PEPPER INTELLIGENCE UNIT
In its third week now, the citizen action behind the hashtag Uganda Parliament Exhibition raging on X (formerly Twitter), has revealed the inside story behind Speaker Rt. Hon Anita Annet Among’s public scrutiny.
Our Intelligence Briefing Desk has also landed on intriguing details that will help the reader understand why Rt. Hon Among is facing concerted public scrutiny not last year, yesterday, or tomorrow but today.
Of particular interest to the reader, is the strange fact as to why President Yoweri Museveni has remained silent, the entire parliament, apart from a few isolated MPs, has remained silent, including the usually vocal and viscous opposition wing.
Furthermore, the online campaign on social media platform X, dubbed #UgandaParliamentExhibition, has unearthed sordid parliamentary financial excesses, is no longer the story.
Rather, the inside story of why documents are flying back and forth, ostensibly leaked by state actors, is now revealed for the first time.
First of all, of interest to the reader, is that our usually reliable intelligence sources have told us that the Speaker’s office is not the only public office with a hefty annual budgetary allocation for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) allocation.
There are more public offices with a larger purse that enjoy similar or worse expenditure patterns on CSR and community outreach programs. What is at hand is not only a power struggle and fissures inside the ruling party; the crack has extended to the opposition camp.
For example, the State House is allocated Shs 59 billion to spend annually on community outreach programs which is exhausted before a supplementary envelope is dispatched by parliament.
The President alone himself spends Shs. 77 billion, the Vice President (Shs. 4.2 billion), the Prime Minister (Shs. 3.7 billion), her deputies (Shs 954 million each), Government Chief whip (Shs 1.8 billion), Deputy speaker (Shs 1.8 billion), National Council for Sports (Shs. 2 billion) and so many others. All these monies are properly budgeted and approved by parliament.
“The question, therefore, is why the Speaker whose allocation is Shs 3.6 billion, is being questioned now,” asked our intelligence source.
Below we reveal why. Read on:-
NRM CEC JOB
When the NRM chairman who is also President Yoweri Museveni recently launched the party’s register update as part of the roadmap to the 2026 elections, different camps went into jostling.
A source in the NRM has told our Intelligence Briefing desk that the anticipated party elections have pitted top guns from Eastern Uganda against each other. Rt. Hon Among for example has privately expressed interest in contesting for the 2nd National Vice Chairperson – Female, on the party’s top organ, Central Executive Committee (CEC).
The position is currently occupied by her nemesis, Rt. Hon Rebecca Kadaga, a former Speaker of Parliament and First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Affairs has been holding the same position since 2005 when it was created.
We are told while Kadaga is still interested in the same position, she also eyeing the Speaker position in the next government following the 2026 elections.
We shall return to this later.
However, sections of party members feel it is too early to allow Rt. Hon Among ascend to an all-powerful position like that in the party.
“They [section of NRM members] feel the Johnny-come-latelies like Speaker Among and her Deputy Tayebwa are rising at a terrific speed and they must be checked,” our source reasoned.
“Many NRM cadres feel they have done a lot for the party and should be the ones occupying such powerful positions. So, there is an element of envy in all this,” a source further explained partly the source of resentment towards Among.
Some have reached the extent of referring to her as a ‘political accident’ in the NRM party and they are out to fight her through all available means overtly and covertly.
We are told the plan is to expose Among as much as possible such that by the time the powers that be make a final decision, no one will be there to sympathize with her.
We are further told the recent leaks about the Speaker’s expenditure are all deliberate and intended to leave her naked and vulnerable for any eventuality.
However, the sources add, the Speaker is engaged in clandestine behind-the-scenes political operations with the blessings of the NRM party chairman, Gen. Museveni.
“The party chairman is happy with whatever she is doing for him politically and that’s why he keeps rewarding her in such ways,” a source revealed.
For instance, during the meeting for the Central Executive Committee members at State House recently, the president asked the Speaker to explain the stalled appointment of NRM MPs to the Parliamentary Commission.
However, the Speaker instead told the president that she was on the receiving end of the tirade and instead he should ask the Chief Whip, Hon. Hamson Obua to explain.
When the President asked the Chief Whip, he told him he too was stuck with the overwhelming interest in the few positions by over 280 MPs who applied for the limited positions.
“The president instead asked them to defer the matter to a later date and instead concentrate on the party elections which are around the corner,” the source revealed to us.
KADAGA, VP CAMP
We promised to return to this. In the grand scheme of things, another well-placed source has told us that camps have emerged to jostle for different top-party positions. One of these positions is that of CEC Vice Chairperson (Female), a coveted position and highly competitive.
“When Among targeted it, its occupant Rt Hon Kadaga went to the drawing board and is plotting to bounce back for a Speakership job in 2026 and is currently mobilizing,” said a security source privy to these political schemes.
We are told to easily coordinate these efforts; Kadaga has managed to team up with Vice President Jessica Alupo (a known political rival in Teso politics), General Duties minister (Office of the Prime Minister), Justine Lumumba Kasule, State Minister for Lands, Persis Namuganza, and Gender minister Betty Amongi.
“To cement and bring their political attack team to the forefront, this squad was very active in Vice President Alupo’s home ground in Katakwi during the International Women’s Day celebrations. Even Kadaga managed to move with a huge delegation from her home district of Kamuli to show she still holds a strategic influence in the party. The Vice President used the occasion to assure the president that the team was endorsing him for the next presidency in 2026,” our source says.
Speaker Among camp is now pointing fingers at the Kadaga-VP alliance for leading efforts to undermine the former on all fronts.
The camp further accuses the powerful alliance of even plotting to front Kadaga to reclaim her Speakership seat which she previously occupied for ten years, before she was replaced by the Late Jacob Oulanyah.
POST 2026 UNCERTAINTY
Two sources tell us that a cloud of uncertainty has started hanging over a possible future without President Museveni at the helm of the NRM party in the post-2026 period.
While the president is almost certain of winning the next election given the chaos that has engulfed the opposition ranks of late, NRM insiders believe by 2031, Museveni, 79, will have clocked 85 years and probably unable to effectively hold sway over the party that shall have ruled Uganda for 45 years.
At that point, some NRM members are not sure if President Museveni would also be able to bounce back, hence the young Turks like Among jostling to command influence over parliament and beyond in areas such as community groups, women groups, youth groups, the churches, and mosques.
Thus, huge sweeping changes within the party are anticipated between 2026 and 2031 as Museveni paves the way for a likely successor and many will be affected.
While the NRM policy is that a Speaker of Parliament who usually comes from the majority NRM membership is allowed to serve two terms, Among is not sure she will be Speaker in the next term now that Kadaga has silently joined the ring.
And given Museveni’s plan to redirect the party, he might rescind this policy, Among’s tacticians reveal through our sources.
“Thus the fear is that some changes may affect Among chances to bounce back for Speaker beyond 2026. That’s why the Kadaga camp is reportedly preparing for anything including positioning themselves,” the source adds.
The camp is said to have a lot of sympathizers particularly those who are not happy with Among’s rising star who could also have the signs of the lady from the east having eyes on the presidency.
There are increasingly credible reports that she is having ambitions for the presidency in the future largely because she has been able to tame parliament and ensure it gives Museveni less headache and also because the greater Eastern Region has never had a chance at the top post.
“Her wings must be clipped early by the deep state with other interests,” our sources reasoned.
We recently revealed how a splinter group is emerging within the NRM. Highly placed sources inside the party have confided in this publication that this group largely consists of NRM honchos from the East. In the grand scheme of things, they anticipate this grouping to swallow the Teso, Bugisu, and Busoga sub-regions.
Clandestine plans are underway to make sure it will have gained momentum by 2031.
This move is alive inside NRM by people who feel incumbent President Museveni will be a spent force by 2031.
Reports indicate this splinter group is reportedly led by Among allies and another outspoken NRM male guru who sits on the party’s top organs and also hails from the same region.
Intelligence gathered shows that they have a huge following among opposition MPs and former opposition MPs who have crossed to NRM.
HOMO CASH
Three independent sources have also told us there is a foreign hand in the ongoing campaign to demonize the Speaker.
Her ‘crime’ is that last year in May, she led efforts to pass the Homosexuality Bill which criminalizes same-s3x acts.
Allegations from her camp are that Agora Discourse, an activist group that is leading the citizen action behind the parliament exhibition, is the vehicle where money is being channeled to fight the Speaker for her stance against same-s3x relationships.
“And there is evidence of money being sent to this organization and security has taken interest while at the same time investigating their allegations of corruption in parliament,” our sources say.
This same allegation has been corroborated by Parliament’s Publicist Chris Obore.
“The exhibition is being hijacked to target the person of Anita Among. We also know that this campaign is not an innocent campaign for accountability. We know that a certain embassy has given you contacts. We know that since Anita Among passed the Homosexuality Bill, there have been efforts to bring her down,” said Obore during an X (formerly Twitter) space organized by the Agora Discourse activist group.
Indeed, last year during the passage of the bill, Among declared that the Ugandan Parliament stood by the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023 that it passed and that the institution would not be intimidated.
“Whatever we did, the legislation we did…the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that we passed was basically to assure people that we are a people-centered Parliament,” she declared.
She went on to urge East African parliamentarians to follow Uganda’s lead in passing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. During a meeting with EAC state parliament speakers in Arusha, Tanzania, conducted via Zoom, Among called for regional support to combat homosexuality.
She emphasized protecting Ugandan morals, values, and future generations, citing the recently passed bill awaiting assent. The legislation, amended based on President Museveni’s proposals, aims to reinforce cultural and national values. Amongst seeks solidarity from East African counterparts to uphold Ugandan traditions and legislative decisions against homosexuality.
In reaction, Gay rights activists in the UK and Uganda have been urging the British government to deny a visa to Anita Annet Among, the Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, intending to attend the 75th anniversary of the Commonwealth in the UK this month.
Peter Tatchell, an LGBT+ campaigner, met with Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, on Feb. 7, requesting him to advocate for a ban on Speaker Among’s entry.
Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, highlighted Among’s support for a new Ugandan law imposing execution for certain same-sex acts. Tatchell contends that her presence would contradict British values of respect, tolerance, and human rights.
Acting at the behest of Ugandan LGBT+ campaigners, Tatchell urged Speaker Hoyle to arrange a meeting with the Home Secretary to prevent Among from participating in UK events, citing concerns about public order, community relations, and the public good. Tatchell expressed gratitude to Speaker Hoyle for addressing their concerns and taking action against a politician promoting the persecution of LGBT+ individuals.
“She accuses activists of the Agora Discourse group of being allegedly funded by one of the embassies to fight her and the President has got wind of this which explains his silence,” the sources reveal.
Our Intelligence Briefing desk has been told that the Speaker has since asked her staff in the parliamentary commission to furnish her with all the accountabilities to help her prepare a statement to the nation this week.
Sources in parliament have also shed light on expenditure concerns raised through the accountability campaign dubbed #UgandaParliamentExhibition.
CSR CASH
The Speaker’s name has appeared prominently in the seemingly exorbitant expenditures with her staff swimming in alleged daily exorbitant per-diems.
Her staff have been accused of spending heavily and questionably on parliament’s Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR), allowing money meant for her office to go through the individual accounts of junior staffers and others.
Whereas parliament like any other government institution can’t be devoid of scrutiny, watchers say this has gone overboard and appears to be a coordinated campaign targeting the Speaker as an individual.
Among queries that have featured prominently is the money deposited on personal accounts of some of parliament’s junior staff on behalf of Speaker Anita Among’s activities dubbed Corporate social responsibility (CSR).
CSR is a strategy undertaken by companies not just to grow profits, but also to take an active and positive social role in the world around them. The term is also associated with the related term corporate citizenship.
While the speaker’s office is allocated Shs 3.6 billion for these activities, they are dispensed in cash because anticipated recipients are not itemized in the government electronic payment system known as EFMIS. Most of the beneficiaries under the Speaker’s CSR budget have been churches, mosques, schools, and women’s groups among others.
Sources tell us that these cash bonanzas dubbed as CSR have benefited over 300 MPs who occasionally present personal and constituency-related financial issues.
The reason why it can’t go through government financial systems like EFMIS is because of the nature of beneficiaries, sources say.
“This money is normally given out in cash. The way you always see President Museveni giving out cash in envelopes. And most of the beneficiaries (churches, women’s groups, individuals, and others) are not on IFMIS. This is why this money is withdrawn from the bank by parliament staff on behalf of the Speaker and then given out in cash to various beneficiaries and it is always accounted for at the end,” emphasized an insider at Parliament.
It is not only the Speaker’s office that has a huge CSR budget; even other government institutions have got.
We are told President Museveni advised these government institutions including parliament to stop direct involvement in every fundraising but instead have a specific budget to cater for that under CSR arrangement.
SPEAKER’S LIFESTYLE
The exhibition has also revealed sordid details about the Speaker’s seemingly opulent lifestyle that has left the nation shocked. But our sources further told us that, even before entering parliament Among has always lived large.
These sources beyond parliamentary work, she has had her own money and even brags about it to close associates.
For instance, she revealed to close source to us that her secondary school only (Bukedea Comprehensive School) gives her shs2bn in net profits annually. She founded this school in 2017 before joining politics and more so the higher table (Speakership). Her other sources of income include a hospital, radio, and Skills Centre among others which were all established before becoming a Speaker.
Those close to her say she always tells them that she established all these projects long before she became a Speaker.
“She resents living a miserable life. She has tirelessly worked for them,” another insider in her camp intimated, adding that even in the opposition FDC party where she belonged, everyone can testify how she used to heavily fund party activities during her time there before crossing to NRM.
Sources close to her say she also buys the fashionable dresses she has recently become synonymous with using her own money.
The clothing allocation in the parliament budget goes into buying the ceremonial expensive wigs, gowns, etc for the Speaker, Deputy, Clerk, and sergeant at arms among others which are normally donned during plenary. All these, as a must, are expensively bought from Common House Shop in London, UK under Common Wealth protocols.
Sources however admit that sometimes parliament pays for the Speaker’s clothing but she never gets involved directly.
“She only stops at seeing people requesting to take measurements from her and later sees clothes being delivered. Her security team also benefits from this budget. They normally buy raincoats, tents, and others,” an insider observed.
Sources say the Speaker is entitled to travel twice a year with a spouse at the expense of parliament.
All other travel especially inland is accounted for by all beneficiaries including junior staff who get subsistence pay, the source further elaborated.
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