It was empty seats on both government and opposition sides as Parliament convened for a plenary session to tackle matters critical to the nation’s trajectory healthcare funding, sugar industry reforms.
Yet, the chamber was hauntingly quiet, with only a handful Members of Parliament present, their absence raised stark concerns about the legislature’s dedication to its responsibilities.
The long rows of benches, usually full of MPs debating, were mostly empty. Both government and opposition sides had hardly anyone there, leaving the chamber feeling quiet and lifeless.
The few MPs who showed up seemed lost in the big, echoing space, with the Speaker’s chair overlooking a room that felt more like an empty hall than a busy place of lawmaking.
The agenda demanded a full House. The Health Committee’s report for the Financial Year 2025/2026 budget was up for debate, a matter critical to a nation where 75% of citizens rely on underfunded rural clinics and maternal mortality stands at 211 per 100,000 live births.
Equally pressing was the Sugar (Amendment) Bill, 2023, reviewed clause by clause to stabilise an industry that sustains over 100,000 livelihoods and generates $80 million in exports annually.
And then, the discussion on the Supreme Court’s January 31, 2025, ruling against military trials for civilians, raised by the Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi.
This near-empty House, and a persistent crisis of absenteeism has seen the Speaker Anita Among even threaten to name and shame MPs.
The sparse attendance on Tuesday afternoon was not an isolated incident but part of a troubling pattern. In June 2023, Speaker Among expressed frustration when only two ministers appeared for a plenary, warning that she would publish MPs’ attendance records to hold them accountable.
Her resolve to curb absenteeism, which she called a barrier to effective law-making has not yielded much.
Despite these warnings, the session today saw just a handful and raises questions about whether MPs are prioritising their constituents’ needs, especially when the stakes are as high as they were that day.
Speaker Among’s past threats to expose absentee MPs, as noted in the 2022 parliamentary news, have yet to yield consistent turnout.
Will Uganda’s Parliament rise to meet the needs of its people? The near-empty house today during debates on healthcare and sugar reforms left critical issues with minimal voices.
Despite Parliament leadership’s ongoing push for better attendance, the sparse turnout raises questions about whether MPs will find to engage with the challenges facing farmers, patients, and the nation’s future or they are busy looking for votes.