Within 48 hours of being sworn in as Bukedea District Woman MP, Anita Annet Among went from Speaker of Parliament to a political casualty. The speed of her fall should unsettle anyone who still believes Ugandan power operates only through formal institutions.
For years, Among appeared untouchable. She rose outside the Museveni family orbit, consolidated control of Parliament, and commanded a section of the ruling establishment’s loyalty. That independence may have been her undoing.
In Uganda’s politics, power without patronage from the centre rarely endures. The Patriotic League of Uganda’s withdrawal of its endorsement of her speakership bid on May 12 triggered the sequence of events. A joint police-UPDF-CID raid on her Nakasero home on May 16, under “Operation Maliza Ufisadi,” then turned political pressure into legal jeopardy.
By May 18, she had withdrawn from the Speakership race, citing the need to preserve “harmony” within the NRM and after “deep introspection.” Who replaces her reveals where power is shifting. PLU’s public backing of Jacob Oboth-Oboth for Speaker and Thomas Tayebwa for Deputy Speaker goes beyond routine parliamentary politics.
It marks the formal entry of a military-linked mobilisation movement into Parliament’s leadership structure. What began as a civic platform now operates with the discipline, symbolism, and reach of an organized political force.
It is drawing younger MPs and aligning with security circles, widely seen as the engine that has driven Ugandan politics since independence. Those without such backing have typically lost both power and political standing.
The shift matters because it signals a reordering ahead of the post-2026 political landscape. Parliament is no longer just a legislative chamber. It has become the main theatre for contesting succession politics, military influence, and control of the state narrative. Oboth-Oboth’s endorsement projects institutional experience, while Tayebwa’s backing secures generational and loyalty credentials.
Together, they give PLU a foothold at Parliament’s apex. The warnings from Uganda Law Society President Isaac Ssemakadde should not be dismissed as partisan noise. If military-linked structures can dictate parliamentary leadership, the risk extends beyond the legislature.
Using anti-corruption as a vehicle for political realignment makes the process more palatable, but not less consequential. Among’s fall illustrates the limits of visibility without a protective coalition, and how quickly political capital erodes when new power blocs consolidate.
PLU has moved from mobilisation to gatekeeping in record time. The May 25 Speakership vote will likely confirm the shift. The bigger question is what happens to parliamentary independence when the center of gravity moves from party structures to a movement with military pedigree and nationalist messaging.
Ugandans should watch closely because the next Parliament may legislate and referee succession politics.
