Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) Secretary General Daudi Kabanda has publicly declared that Defence Minister Jacob Oboth-Oboth will be the next Speaker of Parliament, pointing to a shift within the ruling establishment and intensifying pressure on incumbent Speaker Anita Among ahead of the May 25 vote.
Speaking during a thanksgiving ceremony hosted by Oboth-Oboth, Kabanda invoked Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe’s famous words, saying: “Things fall apart. The things have fallen apart.”
He then announced that “the line we are taking now is for the Right Honourable Markson Oboth Oboth as our next speaker.”
Kabanda described himself as “a machine gun” now deployed for what he called “a just war” ahead of the highly anticipated Speakership contest.
“I want to make this very clear, that Daudi Kabanda is like a machine gun. There is somebody there who will pick this machine gun and use it for a good cause. And I am here to fight a just war,” Kabanda said.
In one of the most politically explosive moments of the event, Kabanda claimed he had been directed by Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba to officially communicate Oboth-Oboth’s endorsement by both PLU and President Yoweri Museveni.
“The Chairman of PLU has instructed me to inform you that Hon. Jacob Oboth Oboth has been endorsed by His Excellency, the President of Uganda,” Kabanda declared.
The remarks come amid growing turbulence surrounding Speaker Anita Among, who has recently come under renewed scrutiny over corruption allegations and internal political resistance to her continued leadership of Parliament.
Among has faced international criticism since the United States imposed sanctions on her and other Ugandan officials over alleged corruption and abuse of office linked to the Karamoja iron sheets scandal.
The sanctions significantly damaged her international standing and intensified domestic criticism from sections of the political establishment.
Today on Saturday May 16, tensions escalated further after security operatives raided Among’s residence in Kampala amid investigations linked to alleged illicit financial dealings and political mobilisation activities connected to the Speakership race.
The political fallout has also engulfed some of Among’s allies. Newly sworn-in Masaka City Woman MP Justine Nameere, a vocal supporter of the Speaker, was reportedly arrested by military operatives after publicly attacking Kabanda and PLU figures over their campaign against Among.
Reports later emerged alleging that security operatives recovered billions of shillings from her residence believed to have been intended for Speakership mobilisation, although authorities had not officially confirmed the claims.
The unfolding developments have exposed widening divisions within the ruling National Resistance Movement and signaled an increasingly aggressive battle for control of Parliament ahead of the formation of the 12th Parliament.
Kabanda insisted the contest was far from over and predicted victory for Oboth-Oboth in the May 25 Speakership vote. “I want to tell you that this has just started. On the 25th, we are winning,” he said.