Mwenda raises concerns over Anita Among’s growing political influence

Ugandan journalist and political commentator Andrew Mwenda has said Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among has built strong political influence across the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and other centres of power, even as debate continues over who should hold the speakership.

Mwenda made the remarks while appearing on the Bad Natives Podcast, hosted by veteran journalists Charles Onyango Obbo and Robert Kabushenga.

Mwenda is the founder of The Independent magazine and a long-time political analyst in Uganda. Obbo is a senior journalist and columnist Daily Monitor, while Kabushenga is the former chief executive of Vision Group.

During the discussion, Mwenda said there is growing internal debate within the ruling party about who should lead Parliament.

“As you are aware right now, there is a significant competition on who should be speaker. There is internal discussion on who should be speaker and there are serious concerns if Anita Among should return as speaker,” Mwenda said.

Among currently serves as Speaker of Parliament. She previously belonged to the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) before joining the NRM.

According to Mwenda, her political rise within the ruling party has been rapid.

“Anita Among, remember, was historically from FDC, that is the Forum for Democratic Change. She was an outsider to NRM seeking the president’s patronage to get through,” he said.

Mwenda said the Speaker gradually built support within party structures across the country.

“Now, when she comes into, she begins winning over NRM structures. NRM district councillors, sub-county councillors, parish councillors, then NRM leagues for the youth, for women, for the disabled, for entrepreneurs,” he said.

He pointed to her victory over former Speaker Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga in the NRM national vice chairperson race on the women’s ticket as a sign of her influence.

“So that last year, when it came to running for national vice chairperson of NRM on the women’s ticket against Rebecca Kadaga, who was former speaker, she defeated her hands down. She won by more than 80% of the vote,” Mwenda said.

“What did that signify? It meant that Anita Among has actually captured the political infrastructure of NRM across the country.”

Mwenda argued that her influence also extends inside Parliament.

“You come to parliament, she has a stronghold over parliament, both NRM, the independent and the opposition. Because she came from there, those people, she knows them personally,” he said.

He also claimed her position as head of the Parliamentary Commission gives her significant administrative power.

“The parliamentary commission employs more than 2,000 people and she’s the one who dispenses those jobs,” Mwenda said.

Mwenda added that this concentration of influence has raised concerns among some political actors.

“People in NRM do not want anybody to wield that amount of power,” he said. “There is concern. She has effective control over powerful elites.”

The debate comes at a time when reports indicate that Among could face political competition for the speakership, including potential challenges from Norbert Mao, the president of the Democratic Party and Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

The speakership remains one of the most powerful positions in Uganda’s political system, overseeing Parliament’s legislative agenda and supervising the Parliamentary Commission.