When the National Resistance Movement (NRM) parliamentary caucus endorsed and "elected" Anita Among and Thomas Tayebwa to speakership and deputy speakership respectively, Andrew Mwenda and Forum for Democratic Change( FDC) commented. FDC is a former political home for Anita and Tayebwa.
FDC, through its deputy spokesperson, John Kikonyogo, is quoted by Daily Monitor saying:
“… to many Ugandans it [election of Among and Tayebwa] is a surprise, but to some of us who have been in the party( FDC ), it's not a surprise because when we were starting this party, we wanted to start the party, which would not only go to power but we deliberately trained our members to be leaders in Uganda at time.”
FDC's words, through Kikonyogo, insinuate that Museveni's NRM was compelled by the good leadership qualities of Anita Among and Thomas Tayebwa to endorse the two for their current positions in parliament.
Andrew Mwenda, a very articulate, influential, and highly opinionated journalist also noted in his tweet:
"NRM has endorsed Anita Among, a former FDC politician, as its candidate for Speaker. Jacob Oulanyah was UPC, joined NRM, and rose to the top. While the opposition fights everyone who disagrees with them, NRM embraces its opponents and gives them top posts!"
Andrew's tweet was reinforcing his string of past arguments to the effect that Museveni's NRM is too accommodative.
I think FDC's and Andrew Mwenda's arguments could be flawed, not necessarily because Among and Tayebwa are poor leaders and Museveni's NRM is non-accommodative, but because their endorsements and "election" aren't automatic indicators that the two are good leaders and that Museveni is tolerant.
Their endorsement and election is an automatic indicator that Museveni has a strong desire to weaken the opposition that he can restrain his dislike for it, to appoint or endorse opposition figures into high offices. Appointment of opposition figures to much-coveted offices attracts more opposition politicians (who are still hesitant to abandon their parties) to NRM because it gives them a prospect of accumulating wealth, being powerful, and attaining glory.
It's possible that Museveni wants to wreak vengeance against his opponents, but his strong desire for power can't let him do certain things. There are certainly other options for Museveni to weaken the opposition but appointing opposition leaders into top positions is a cheap( in regards to consequences), safe, and almost sure way of weakening the opposition.
If Museveni appoints Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine as a minister today, no NUP supporter -- however radical -- can go to the streets and burn car tires in protest. The appointment can, instead, win Museveni some supporters from NUP or at least de-radicalize some NUP fanatics.
You have to understand that the opposition isn't as non-accommodative as Andrew Mwenda portrays it, one should interest themselves in what motivates opposition leaders to join, serve and promote the Museveni administration. When Museveni wants to win over an opposition figure, he doesn't articulate NRM's (or his) ideology and vision the same. He knows that things such as ideology or vision don't adequately attract a typical Ugandan politician.
Museveni presents job offers and "power", and a fat purse to the opposition member he is targeting. Because human action is partly prompted by the love for power, acquisitiveness, and vanity, Museveni's offers are usually irresistible to many opposition figures. Opposition politicians, therefore, join NRM not because they've developed an ideological appreciation for the NRM over opposition political parties.
So, even if the opposite side is more tolerant or accommodative than Museveni and his NRM, Ugandans may not know that the opposition is that virtuous because it can't successfully outcompete Museveni in extending power, money, and jobs to dissidents.
Just like a woman can endure a tragic marriage with a wealthy man, many opposition leaders are willing to forego any opposition political party -- however ideologically grounded, tolerant, and democratic it might be, for them to join a rich, influential and powerful NRM -- however undemocratic, future-burying, incompetent, corrupt and torturous it could be.
On whether FDC is right that Museveni's NRM was attracted by Tayebwa's and Antia Among's leadership qualities
Museveni probably wants to appoint the most competent opposition politicians but such politicians may not always be available for compromise, they may not be popular enough to enable him to score his political goals effectively, or both. Popularity and competence aren't necessarily synonymous.
Today, if you give Museveni two options to choose from: Bobi Wine and Norbert Mao, for a ministerial job, Museveni will readily show a preference for Bobi Wine over Norbert Mao because Museveni has stronger political interests in compromising Bobi Wine than in doing the same to Mao. The political interests in compromising Bobi Wine tower above the natural competencies and rich experience Mao can bring to the NRM table.
So, it's possible that opposition leaders that are more competent ( or just competent) than Among and Tayebwa weren't available for compromise at the time each was compromised and no better options have been poached till today or, that the two were the most popular at the time they were compromised or both.
It's also possible that it was Museveni's entrenched interest to have speakers with a record of being affiliated with the opposition and that by the time a decision to elect a speaker and deputy speaker was made, the erstwhile opposition politicians Museveni thought would best serve his interests (which doesn't necessarily require special competencies) were Anita and Tayebwa.