Carry on Oulanyah’s legacy, Kadaga tells Among, Tayebwa
Former Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, pays respect to her successor, the late Jacob Oulanyah, at Parliament on March 30, 2022. PHOTO| DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- "The Rt Hon Jacob Oulanyah had aspirations of bringing the House together and proper legislation in Parliament and I think the current leadership in the House needs to carry on the legacy," Ms Kadaga said.
Former Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has called upon the current leadership in House under Ms Anita Among to carry on the legacy of the late Jacob Oulanyah.
Ms Kadaga, who is the first deputy prime minister and minister for East African Community Affairs, made the remarks during the celebration service of Oulanyah organised by National Resistance Movement (NRM) party at the secretariat in Kampala on Thursday.
Oulanyah, who is the former Speaker of Parliament, passed away on March 20 in Seattle, USA.
“The Rt Hon Jacob Oulanyah had aspirations of bringing the House together and proper legislation in Parliament and I think the current leadership in the House needs to carry on the legacy. He worked so hard for the party especially in the north as deputy national chairman,” Ms Kadaga said.
In response to the Ms Kadaga’s remark, Mr Chris Obore, the head of communications at Parliament, in an interview with this publication said: “If you asked Jacob (Oulanyah) who he wanted to replace him, he would have told you Anita. The current Speaker is a mentee of Oulanyah and she has continued to say that she is going to uphold her former boss’ legacy of working together in Parliament, respect for each other as well as reducing conflict.”
After the 2016 General Election, Ms Kadaga and her then deputy Oulanyah got entangled in internal disputes which would later spill into the public as the latter accused his boss of blocking him from chairing proceedings in Parliament.
The matter worsened last year when the two contested against each other for the Speaker seat which Oulanyah won.
It took the intervention of President Museveni to reconcile the two.
However, for the more than 10 months that Oulanyah was Speaker, Ms Kadaga was a no-show in Parliament.
On Wednesday, she made her first appearance in the House to pay homage to Oulanyah.
She also attended the Speaker elections at Kololo Ceremonial grounds on March 25.
At the Thursday event on Plot 10 in Nakasero, Kampala, many of the party leaders said Oulanyah was a researcher, great speaker, and hardworking leader for both the party and the people of the north.
Mr Moses Kigongo, the NRM vice national chairman, said: “Oulanyah was loyal to the party and he was a great leader. I want to ask the rest of the leaders in the party and other national leaders to work for their souls because of what will be spoken about you when you are dead.”
Mr Richard Todwong, the NRM secretary general, called on party members to stop fighting among each other but support those that are struggling in various ways.
“If we keep fighting each other, we shall damage the party, the fountain of honour (President Museveni) and our supporters,” Mr Todwong said.
Ms Sarah Kagingo, the press secretary of the former Speaker, explained why they kept the news of Oulanyah’s illness from the public.
“I know there has been so much spoken and among which are lies. Even when you blame us for keeping quiet, Jacob deserved his right to privacy and we have no right to question him about that. He was such a great leader and boss to the people around him,” Ms Kagingo said.
