Prime
Who might be after Speaker Anita’s life?
Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among.
What you need to know:
- Ms Among says she is in possession of a dossier about threats to her life, marked by endless trailing of her motorcade.
- Leader of Opposition Mpuuga, whom Ms Among said was only person she briefed about the threats, said “it is highly probable that some jackals may hide behind where government is absent”.
The Speaker of the 11th Parliament, Ms Anita Among, has said her life is in danger and believes unknown individuals trailing her want to eliminate her.
The revelation during yesterday’s Parliament session appeared to take members by surprise, prompting noticeable sighs and scanning of the room by legislators.
Ms Among asked Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and Internal Affairs Minister, Maj Gen Kahinda Otafire, to expedite investigations into her allegation and report their findings within a fortnight.
Her statements followed a demand by Katikamu South Member of Parliament (MP) Hassan Kirumira that the government establish the whereabouts of Mr Jakana Nadduli, son of former junior minister Abdul Nadduli, whom unknown individuals reportedly abducted.
Ms Among, who chaired yesterday’s sitting, disclosed that she was in possession of a dossier about threats to her life, marked by endless trailing of her motorcade.
She said nothing about who might want to snuff her out, but disclosed, without explaining the reason, that she had only shared news of the threat with the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mr Mathias Mpuuga.
“I have got a report and I have only shared this with the Leader of Opposition and now I can officially tell you [MPs in plenary about it]. I have got [a] report [of plots] to assassinate me,” Ms Among said.
She added: “... my car is still followed up to now.”
The Speaker is chauffeured in a bullet-proof S500 Mercedes, acquired just in June, and her official motorcade comprises a lead car and backup guard vehicle.
Her residence in Nakasero, in central Kampala, has fortified security manned by, among others, counter-terrorism police.
During yesterday’s Parliament session, Ms Among did not explain why she never reported the alleged threats to her life to police, which protects her, or to President Museveni who is the commander of the armed forces.
“I raised it [alleged assassination plot] because it has been overdue,” Ms Among told MPs, adding, “It was [also] in relation to the issue [of illegal arrests and killings that we] Ugandans talk about.”
She added: “If that (trailing) can happen to me who has security, what about [Bukomansimbi South MP] Solomon [Kayemba, whom the Speaker randomly cited] who doesn’t have [guards]? I raised that issue [of threat to my life] in good faith and I want Ugandans to know that [if] anything happens to me, [it’s because] I have got assassination threats.”
Cases of high-profile officials publicly announcing threats to their lives, including being trailed, are not knew. From about a decade ago, some of the complainants have survived while others ended up being killed.
For instance, Gen David Sejusa, when coordinator of intelligence services, in 2013 asked then domestic spymaster Ronnie Balya to investigate allegations of a plot to eliminate top government officials including himself opposed to perceived plan for Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba to succeed President Museveni.
He afterwards fled the country, and the government shut down this newspaper aswell as Red Pepper, which published stories from the dossier, for nearly two weeks.
However, other leaders such as former Arua Municipality MP Ibrahim Abiriga, then Assistant Inspector General of Police Andrew Felix Kaweesi, ex-Buyende District Police Commander Muhammad Kirumira, and nearly a dozen Muslim clerics were gunned down, despite their proclamation of the threats.
In her statement to Parliament yesterday, Speaker Among said the lurking danger will not distract her from her work.
“I am not going to be intimidated. We are going to handle it. It is not anything for debate. Let us leave it,” she said, stopping lawmakers who sprang to their defeat to submit on the matter.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, the leader of government business in the House, assured MPs that the government is fully in-charge of the security of Uganda and will do all it is obliged to do to defenced the country and citizens.
“And anybody who tampers with the security of this country will be dealt with,” she said, adding, “I, therefore, want to inform colleagues and this House that the government of NRM is present, not absent. We are in charge, these small punctuated areas will be addressed and we are investigating the matter.”
Bugiri Municipality MP Asuman Basalirwa led a chorus of skeptical legislators about the effectiveness of such government inquiries, citing the lack of closure to investigations into the attempted assassination of Works and Transport Minister Gen Katumba Wamala.
“Our brother Gen Katumba faced assassination and sadly lost his daughter, they are still investigating the matter up to now,” Mr Basalirwa said, “The Prime Minster knows that consistently those provisions have been abrogated. I want to find out whether you have plans [when] we shall get back to the constitutional order.”
The MP added: “If really the speaker is facing assassination threats, where does that leave all of us? In your communication, you said the matter will be investigated, which is a casual statement. Are you planning to enhance her security?”
Leader of Opposition Mpuuga, whom Ms Among said was only person she briefed about the threats, said “it is highly probable that some jackals may hide behind where government is absent”.
“When government is absent, other people fill the vacuum. Where people are observing that government is also involved in abductions and they can’t account, you can’t ask citizens to account,” he said.
In a rejoinder, Ms Nabbanja promised that the Speaker’s security will immediately be bolstered, pending other interventions.
“Issues of security, especially when it comes to assassination cannot be discussed here. I ask that you give me time. We shall inform the commander-in-chief (President Museveni) and also inform those that are concerned,” she said.
