Young female legislators in the 9th Parliament

Although she came with much vigour raising people’s expectations, this teenage MP has gone silent. She is rarely in the House and when she appears, she hardly speaks.

Ever since she was sworn-in over five months ago, she has spoken twice: the first while giving her maiden address and the second when complaining of how her voters are dying of flood.

One day during the oil debate she bumped into a hot discussion and after listening to MPs Abdu Katuntu, Medard Ssegona and the Attorney General Frederick Ruhindi submissions on the pros and cons of the powers of the minister, she just picked her bag and moved out.

Joy Kaliisa Arinaitwe, 26 [NRM Buhweju]
She has not yet made a mark. A first timer in Parliament, Kaliisa spent almost the whole second session indisposed after surviving a terrible accident. But even before, she had been one of the quietest MPs. A graduate of Business Management from Makerere University, she worked as a trainee in the procurement department of Parliament. She is always seated at the back, one of the little known legislators in this Parliament.

Barbara Nekesa Oundo, 28 [NRM, Busia]
One thing this youngest minister has mastered is the art of being smart. However, she falls short of doing what MPs do in parliament- talking. Ms Oundo is a graduate of Human Resource Management from Makerere University. She is serving her first term as Woman MP for Busia District. She has not done much on the floor of Parliament but her colleagues in cabinet say that she is a good performer in her docket as the junior Minister for Karamoja. For her obedience and allegiance to the NRM leadership, she may stay longer in the House.

Lyndah Timbigambwa, 29 [Kyenjojo District]
She has a diploma in Human Resource and worked as a field officer in charge of HIV/Aids before joining Parliament. She is also a neophyte in Parliament but she has made tremendous contributions on matters of national importance. In one of her contributions, she alerted the House to the fact that health workers were running away from Kibaale district and some residents were on the run due to Ebola. Timbigambwa talks, heckles, bangs seats and votes anything NRM, and, in Hon Katuntu’s words “she is a voting machine in Parliament. If she continues like that, she treads the risk of being used by the NRM’s political top echelons and later dumped”.

Justine Khainza, 30 [NRM Bududa]
She is a first timer in the House, but is a dedicated MP. I usually meet her as early as 9am (too early for a Ugandan MP) entering her office.

She is one of the few MPs who attend the House daily and at least contribute to debates. She is very quiet though outside the House. She pushed so hard to have government send aid to Budada when disaster hit the district. She does not subscribe to any political cocoon, at least not publicly.

Monicah Amoding, 31 [NRM-National Youth MP]
Having worked as a coordinator for the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association, Amoding just crossed over to the House to represent the Youth. Being the National Youth MP, she is the highest paid MP because she gets more mileage allowance than any other MP.

Amoding has been very vocal in the House on especially matters of the youth fund. She is a staunch NRM member but independent on matters that affect the people. She has on several occasions disagreed with her positions. She recently voted against the move to give the energy minister unlimited powers to govern the oil sector.

Jennifer Mujungu, 29 [Indep Ntoroko]
A lawyer by profession, Ms Mujungu contributes once in a while, on different matters on the floor. However, there is no substantive contribution you can easily point to as most of her contributions are to augment debates on the floor.

Before becoming an MP, the always smart MP worked as a legal assistant and her parliament profile shows her as a mender of the Rules and privileges committee and the Budget committee.

She is a first timer in the House and since she doesn’t belong to any political grouping, at least publicly, it is hard to project on her future political life.

Evelyn Anite, 28 [NRM - Youth, Northern region]
This youth representative for northern Uganda is a young, happy, and friendly legislator who keeps true to her party discipline- she does not oppose what the NRM caucus, where she is a spokesperson, decides. She is serving her first term but before becoming an MP, the Mukono University Mass communication graduate worked at the Uganda Media Centre as a Public Affairs Assistant (International Relations). She is also at the centre of President Museveni’s fifth term project. However, she was also at the centre of pressuring government to release the close to Shs10Bn meant for the Youth fund project.

Mariam Patience Nalubega, 31 [Indep.- Butambala]
Hitherto a quiet smiling MP, Ms Nalubega has morphed into an anti- corruption activist. She attends and addresses press conferences and calls for resignations of senior government officers, including the President. To take the Butambala seat, she had to tussle it out with a veteran politician whose name had become synonymous with the Ministry of Education - Namirembe Bitamaziire.

She has been in the House since the eighth Parliament where she served as a youth MP for central region under the NRM. Although she is now independent, she has not forgotten her NRM roots [She was in the Party in the eighth Parliament as a youth]. She sometimes hobnobs with NRM and votes in favour of their arguments.

Looking at her performance in the House, her political life is still bright.

Jackline Amongin, 30 [NRM Ngora]
She is active in the House; heckles, bangs seats, interrupts rather good debates by her constant points of procedures and yes, she is another voting machine. But she has also campaigned for the increased salaries of health workers and teachers only that she quickly coiled and changed the tone when her party leadership took a hardline stance.

She is first timer in the House. But before joining parliamentary politics, she was working as the Executive Director of Hope Foundation Uganda. Because she is an asset to NRM, owing to her loyalty to the party and her young age, I believe chances are high that we will have her around for some time.

Susan Namaganda, 28 [DP- Bukomansimbi]
She is also a first timer in parliamentary politics. However, Lobby journalists have on several occasions asked why Ms Namaganda does not talk in the House albeit attending sessions daily. Just like the members in the public gallery, Ms Namaganda sits in the House and does not say a word. The first time I saw her speak in the just concluded session is when she stood up to shout “no vote” slogans during the November 27 oil bedlam.

She is a CISCO Certified Network professional. If her constituents expected her to talk in Parliament, then her political life in the House may be short.

Annet Nyakecho, 31 [NRM Otuke District]
Although she has only spent two sessions in Parliament, she is one of the active young legislators. She is a regular contributor in the House, raising both substantive arguments and also raising points of orders and clarification. A graduate of Development Studies, Nyakecho has also been in the middle of land wrangles back in Otuke where she has been battling to explain the importance of a proposed cattle project, which was going to cost the district 200 acres of land at the request of the President. She is one of NRM die-hards in Parliament.

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