Masindi Woman Member of Parliament Florence Akiki Asiimwe has narrated how Speaker of parliament Annet Anita Among panicked after President Museveni who is also the National Resistance Movement (NRM) national chairperson stated that at the right time, the party leadership will revise the decision made by the party top organ the Central Executive Committee(CEC) to endorse her and her deputy Thomas Tayebwa as speakers of the coming 13th parliament.
Museveni said that it has been a practice that the speaker of parliament and deputy serve two terms which is ten years respectively but a section of NRM leaders and members want the arrangement to be changed claiming that the current parliament leadership placed parliament in bad light.
When he was interacting with NRM legislators at the ongoing retreat at Kyankwanzi leadership institute, Maverick legislator Alioni Odria asked Museveni why they blocked him and other legislators who have interest in contesting for the speakership position in the coming elections through endorsing Among and Tayebwa.
In response, the President promised that at the right time, the discussion will be revised.
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Legislator Asiimwe said that he looked at Among as she melted in her chair without believing that Museveni was the one making such a statement which humiliated her.
“I’m telling you, the woman (Among) panicked and she didn’t sleep at Kyankwanzi, we don’t know where she slept but we just saw her coming back in the morning,” Asiimwe claims.
Asiimwe who is also aspiring to be elected as a speaker of the coming parliament said that Museveni’s statement is a big blow to Among because she has been telling her opponents that they have no chance of taking her office because CEC has already decided.
She claims that parliament needs fresh leadership which will clean the dirt that the current leadership left especially corruption allegations, impunity, leaders being sanctioned by super power countries because of corruption and human rights violation.
Asiimwe was supported by Persis Namuganza who is also contesting for speakership position. Namuganza insists that legislators should be given the opportunity to choose their new leaders not CEC appointing them.
The sharp competition is between Among and Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Norbert Mao and at Kyankwanzi, they exchanged bitter words to the extent that Among even asked the president not to allow opposition politicians who have signed with NRM cooperation agreements to access the party’s bedroom which is parliament.
In response, Mao said that Among exhibited bad manners noting that her statements are below average and cannot be made by a speaker of parliament.
