Kamuli up in arms over Speaker Among's 'old woman' diatribe

Residents in Kamuli have demanded unconditional apology from Speaker of Parliament Anita Among for remarks in which she allegedly attacked her predecessor Rebecca Kadaga.

They accuse Among of orchestrating a social media campaign to undermine Kadaga's leadership.

Speaker Among's recent outbursts on separate occasions in Bukedea and Buyende have angered voters in Kamuli Municipality.

While in Bukedea last week, Among told a rally that some "old women" are spearheading the smear campaign against her and the institution of Parliament.

"We should do away with those old women who think Teso doesn't want to have a speaker," Among said.

She reiterated the remarks last Saturday at a public gathering in her matrimonial home in Buyende District.

An amateur video recording posted on social media app, TikTok, shows Among telling a gathering that Kamuli is more developed than Buyende but there is an "old woman from Kamuli" who is fighting her.

Although she did not mention any name, the voters in Kamuli interpreted that the Speaker's remarks were targeting their Woman MP Kadaga.

The voters, including Opposition National Unity Platform leaders and the ruling NRM supporters, have put aside their political differences in unison to condemn Among's utterances.

Led by NUP Kamuli Municipality MP flagbearer Moses Bigirwa, the voters have demanded that the Speaker comes up with a public apology and if she fails they resort to other means.

"We have the capacity to block her from passing through Kamuli to go Buyende because the roads she uses to go to Buyende were lobbied by Kadaga," the agitated locals said.

They added that Kadaga has been a big pillar in the development of Kamuli and Busoga at large therefore they are not ready to watch as someone is mud slinging her

"It is a very hard to cut a notch at top political space of the country, and it has taken us decades to build the name Kadaga to become what she is now, so it is our duty to protect her," they said.

"Kadaga has been pivotal in bringing us development such as roads in Kamuli Municipality which have been tarmacked, street lights, getting bursaries and jobs for our children so we ought to be respected."

The agitated locals have asked Busoga Kingdom to intervene since Kadaga was at the forefront of streamlining the kingdom which was once on the verge of collapse.

"Let the kingdom come up and declare Among persona non grata for her continuous attacks against Kadaga," they said.

They demand an apology from Among or suggest she find an alternative route to her Buyende matrimonial home.