Speaker of Parliament Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth has pledged to lead a corruption-free Parliament after being elected Speaker, saying the office is meant to serve Ugandans rather than elevate personal power.
Oboth-Oboth, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate, secured a decisive victory after garnering 441 votes out of the 519 ballots cast.
National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Paul Mwiru received 60 votes, while Laroo-Pece Member of Parliament Norbert Mao polled 15 votes. Three ballots were declared spoiled.
In his maiden communication as Speaker on Monday, Oboth-Oboth expressed gratitude to Members of Parliament for entrusting him with what he described as the highest office of Speaker, saying he accepted the responsibility “with utmost humility and modesty.”
Oboth-Oboth pledged to cultivate a Parliament founded on integrity, accountability and service to citizens, stressing that corruption would not be tolerated under his leadership.
“Under my leadership, we will cultivate a culture of absolute integrity and zero tolerance to corruption anchored in President Museveni's clarion call to a corruption-free Parliament in the next five years,” he said.
The new Speaker emphasized that the office of Speaker should not be viewed as a position of privilege or dominance, but rather as a platform to ensure the voices of Ugandans are represented and respected.
“The Speaker's Chair is not a throne; it is a servant's post. My role now is to come before you to ensure that working together, the voices of the over 48 million Ugandans who send us here are heard, protected and respected,” he said.
Oboth-Oboth also called for greater accountability within Parliament, noting that legislators must first demonstrate transparency in the management of public resources before demanding the same from other government institutions.
“Accountability begins with us. In the next five years, we will hold the executive and other government bodies accountable, but we must start with ourselves. As they say, charity begins at home,” he said.
He further pledged to improve the quality of parliamentary debate by promoting research-based discussions supported by facts, evidence and sound analysis.
“Under my leadership, the floor of Parliament will not be a theatre for hearsay or grandstanding. Our debates must be grounded in hard facts, data and sound research. We must be fair and objective to others as we play our oversight function,” he said.
Oboth-Oboth also committed to presiding over a people-centred Parliament focused on addressing the needs of ordinary citizens through service-oriented and results-driven governance.
“Under my leadership, budgeting will no longer be an exercise in financial engineering and distortion. It will be a service-oriented, results-driven endeavour to deliver services to our people,” he said.
His election comes at a politically sensitive moment, with Parliament facing growing public scrutiny over accountability, corruption allegations and governance standards ahead of the 2026 general elections.
Oboth-Oboth’s victory followed endorsement by the NRM Central Executive Committee and the ruling party parliamentary caucus during meetings held at State House Entebbe last week.