Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa has expressed gratitude and defended his performance in office following President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s endorsement of him and Speaker Anita Annet Among for another five-year term.
“If it has happened, I thank the Lord because we have done our level best. I have been reading and watching the commentary about our performance as Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and for now, I will reserve detailed comments,” Tayebwa said.
Tayebwa reflected on Parliament’s work across its core constitutional mandates. “If you assess us strictly on those four pillars of representation, legislation, oversight, and appropriation, I believe we would earn an excellent score,” he said.
He highlighted reforms in the budget process. “On appropriation, we have streamlined the budget process. The cycle is now more consultative from start to finish, and the frequent confrontations that once characterized budget discussions have significantly reduced,” Tayebwa said.
On legislation, he recalled critical bills passed under intense pressure. “I recall a week when we passed seven amendments under immense pressure because Uganda risked being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force which would have severely affected our access to the international banking system. We worked around the clock to safeguard the country, even though we faced heavy criticism at the time,” he said.
Tayebwa also defended controversial measures on fuel imports. “Sometimes leadership requires making difficult decisions that are unpopular in the moment but necessary for national stability. Looking at current global uncertainties, including tensions affecting oil supply routes such as the Strait of Hormuz, it is clear that the decision was strategic. Government, unlike middlemen, has no incentive to hoard fuel,” he said.
His comments came after President Museveni formally wrote to the National Resistance Movement Central Executive Committee reaffirming support for Among and Tayebwa to continue as Speaker and Deputy Speaker for another five-year term.
NRM Electoral Commission Chairperson Tanga Odoi, a CEC member, described the endorsement as a product of consensus within the party’s top organs and emphasized that the backing was aimed at ensuring stability of Parliament and relationship with government.
Meanwhile, Democratic Party President General Norbert Mao has shown interest in the Speakership, signaling that a contest could emerge despite the NRM’s numerical advantage in the House.