Kadaga: "The speakership is not like herding cattle"

Outgoing Speaker Rebecca Kadaga has said that the speakership is not like herding cattle where you determine what will happen in the future.

"I said that it will be undemocratic for the Central Executive Committee to sit five years early and say that in five years’ time so and so will be our speaker. Why don’t we do that for the president? Every five years he comes and says there is an election. What do we do? You can’t determine, even in Kamuli{district} they cannot determine that [in five years so and so will be MP],"she said.

"So you can't come and say for us [CEC] we decided on the speakership five years ago. Are you deciding for us like the way cattle is herded?" she continued, visibly furious.

She said it is better for leader to go back to his or her area and seek for a new mandate.

She made the remarks shortly after presenting her credentials to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) electoral commission expressing interest to contest again for the position of the Speaker of parliament.

Kadaga dismissed claims of a gentleman’s agreement that would have seen her hand over the Speakership to her Deputy, Jacob Oulanyah.

It is alleged that NRM's Central Executive Committee in 2016 asked Oulanyah to step down to pave the way for Kadaga on condition that he will take over in 2021.

Kadaga has been speaker for two terms and she’s vying to defend her seat.

Kadaga, who is vying for the speakership for the third time ,said she will carry on from where she stopped in the previous parliament if elected speaker again.

She pledged to ensure that the independence of Parliament for the benefit of Ugandans.

She promised to champion issues that affect families, women and marginalised groups.

“I am their voice and I think you have heard the work we have done, for instance we have the first day care centre in the country, no other institution has a day care centre. We have done that to help women in the parliament and the staff. We have conducted a number of those to support the families, I am their biggest voice,” she said.

Elections for speaker and deputy speaker are slated for May 24 at Kololo ceremonial grounds following the swearing-in of 529 Members of Parliament.

Should she be re-elected, she will become the longest serving speaker in Uganda's independence political history.