Traitors, gays are using social media to attack Among- Museveni
President Museveni (R) commissions Bukedea Teaching Hospital and Bukedea College of Health Sciences that was established by Speaker of Parliament Anita Among (L) on March 23, 2024. PHOTO/ DAVID LUBOWA.
What you need to know:
- Mr Museveni's position comes just a week after Ms Among faulted the pro-gay community for allegedly launching the explosive attack on Parliament on social media through #UgandaParliamentExhibition.
President Museveni on Saturday made an attempt to protect Speaker Anita Among from intense public scrutiny following grave allegations implicating her in an alleged multibillion corruption scandal at Parliament.
The Bukedea Woman MP and the Parliament she presides over as Speaker have been in the news of late for alleged misuse of taxpayers’ money amid growing national debt burden, with many Ugandans calling on President Museveni to reign in over what critics described as uncontrolled expenditure.
During her recent visit to Bukedea District to update her particulars in the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) register, Ms Among told her supporters that Mr Museveni was in her support, even as her critics called for her resignation from the House which she had consistently said was working for the ordinary Ugandans who bear the brunt of all the economic mismanagement in the country.
“Those people who say I should resign, did they put me as the Member of Parliament? My voters are here. And my President who supported me is supporting me. And I want to ask you people of Bukedea to pray for our President. Pray for your country, pray for your speaker," She assured the rest of the country.
Seemingly to confirm her statement, Mr Museveni whose government has been accused of not doing enough to contain corruption on Saturday took a swipe at Ms Among’s critics.
“People like [Speaker] Anita Among are not the problem. The real problem we have is the traitors working for foreigners. They are not mistake makers but outright traitors working for wrong foreigners like homosexuals and imperialists. How can you talk so much on social media about Anita Among instead of those traitors? I'm getting intelligence and we're going to expose those traitors,” Mr Museveni, 79, told the crowd in Bukedea after commissioning the Bukedea Teaching Hospital and Bukedea College of Health Sciences that was established by Ms Among to provide professional health training for medical students.
Mr Museveni who has been in power since 1986 when he shot his way to State House through a guerrilla warfare commended Ms Among for bringing quality healthcare services closer to the people and always heeding to his guidance.
“I have been hearing people attacking Anita Among and some other MPs. Many of these young MPs are learners direct from university... sometimes, they maybe excited and get loans, debts ...or make mistakes. But within NRM, we always see how to help our people out of their mistakes," Mr Museveni said.
Before Mr Museveni’s address, Ms Among had cried out to him saying some people she didn’t name don't value her as an asset.
“I know you don't believe in kneeling but I am thanking you [by] kneeling for you. I want to tell you [that] you are the only person who is there for me. You are the only person who knows me as an asset. And I will never disappoint you. And that one is my commitment," she said before lauding Mr Museveni for taking a strong stand to defend Uganda's moral fabric by signing the anti-homosexuality law.
"Your Excellency, thank you for being the father of this nation. Thank you for keeping the heritage of our country. Without you, I don't know where this country would be," she said.
Mr Museveni's position comes just a week after Ms Among faulted the pro-gay community for allegedly launching the explosive attack on Parliament on social media through #UgandaParliamentExhibition.
The Inspector General of Government (IGG), Mr Beti Kamya, who in her earlier reports had indicated that Uganda loses about Shs10 trillion to corruption every year, told journalists recently that she had taken interest into the Parliament expenditure following the exhibition.
However, it a twist of events days later, she told journalists that she had abandoned the pursuit after the Auditor General moved to investigate the House.
Ms Among on March 15 waved the anti-homosexuality flag in what looked like a deliberate bid to redirect intense public scrutiny away from grave allegations implicating her in an alleged multibillion corruption scandal at Parliament.
In her first public reaction three weeks after the disturbing revelations went public in a campaign on social media platform X, Ms Among attempted to deflect attention from herself with the claim she is being targeted for her role in the enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act last year.
“I will never, and I am saying never, give you an answer on hearsay; on rumour mongering. We are not going to run this House on rumour mongering… Me? To answer you on hearsay on things that you have cooked on the social media because I have said no bum-shafting (a crude reference to homosexual/anal sex which is illegal in Uganda)? I will not!” she snapped during the Friday plenary sitting.
Immediately after this outburst, the Speaker summarily shut down any further discussion of the matter before suddenly adjourning the House to March 28
At the heart of scandal is the Speaker who is facing intense public scrutiny partly on account of the billions of shillings reportedly allocated to her in travel expenses between July 2023 and January 2024.
Other allegations include the depositing of even more billions on the private bank accounts of junior Parliament staff for Ms Among’s so-called community outreaches, contrary to standing orders issued to avert corruption.
Allegations around irregular employee recruitment and ghost staff, some highlighted by the Auditor General in his latest annual report, have also featured prominently.
