Why has Kadaga been more active this term?

One of the busiest and most demanding public offices in the land is that of the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga.

From several daily visitors that camp at Parliament, including those without appointment that plead with Parliament security to allow them meet the Kamuli Woman MP, to high level dignitaries that grace Ms Kadaga’s boardroom, the Speaker is easily one of the public figures with the most packed daily diary.
As is the case with her meeting schedules at Parliament, the Speaker’s inland travels in the countryside are also numerous.
On Thursday, the number three in the national order of precedence officiated at the launch of an international conference for ophthalmologists (eye specialists and surgeons) at Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort in Kampala.
She would immediately thereafter fly to Kamuli District for another function. In the next few days, Parliament’s Communication and Public Affairs department will publish a long list of a particular day’s itinerary for the Speaker.

Preparing for next political move?
During the heated race for Speaker that pitted Ms Kadaga against her deputy Jacob Oulanyah, one of the primary arguments of Ms Kadaga’s team was the need for Mr Oulanyah to follow the Ssekandi-Kadaga precedent where the now Vice President Ssekandi served two terms as Speaker before Ms Kadaga took the office in 2011.
Mr Oulanyah, the argument went, had to wait for the Speaker to head the Legislature for two terms too, after which he could also have a bite of the speakership pie.
Later, Mr Oulanyah’s speakership bid was contained by the National Resistance Movement party, which maintained the status quo of Ms Kadaga as Speaker and Mr Oulanyah as her deputy.

As the wheels of political time turn, a puzzle emerges. Will Ms Kadaga run for Parliament again and therefore Speaker? Where, if indeed it ever happens, would this leave Mr Oulanyah, who now sets his eyes on the top prize?
To answer this question, history comes in handy.
In the run up to the 2011 elections, Mr Ssekandi vied for his Bukoto Central parliamentary seat while holding the office of Speaker, and so did Ms Kadaga, then deputy speaker, with her ambitions to rise to the speakership being a publicly kept secret.

The ruling National Resistance Movement had a difficult time, Ms Kadaga had already declared interest for the speakership and her team was leaving no stone unturned during their mobilisation.
True to his character, Mr Ssekandi kept his cards in close proximity to his chest, with only some mild clandestine campaigns.
President Museveni would later solve this puzzle by appointing Mr Ssekandi as Vice President, setting the stage for Ms Kadaga’s easy ride over now Forum for Democratic Change secretary general Nathan Nandala Mafabi to the speakership.
In the event that Ms Kadaga returns to Parliament, together with Mr Oulanyah and Mr Ssekandi, a similar dilemma will strike.
Will she return as Speaker, or will she seek to ascend a step ahead?
In her National Resistance Movement party where she serves as 2nd national vice chairperson, one of the unwritten laws is that any leader having an eye on the highest office in the land other than President Museveni makes a tall order, and the party machinery is easily assembled to neutralise such attempts.
Reading from the scripts of self-styled mahogany, Prof Gilbert Bukenya, and the recent case of former prime minister Amama Mbabazi, Ms Kadaga has calculated her political moves with great care and a surgeon’s carefulness to maintain a clever balance of power.
The Speaker has made numerous trips beyond the official version of fulfilling her obligations as leader of the Legislature.

These field visits, says Parliament’s Communication and Public Affairs Director Chris Obore, are in fulfilment of Ms Kadaga’s national mandate, being the leader of legislators voted across the country.
“The Speaker is the Woman MP for Kamuli, but once she comes to Parliament, she is elected by other Members of Parliament to represent them as their leaders. Those MPs are mandated to consult their electorate…in that regard MPs invite the Speaker to join them either in consultation or mobilisation of the people,” says Mr Obore.
Indeed, immediately after the inauguration of the 10th Parliament, Ms Kadaga graced many functions dubbed MPs’ thanksgiving, where appreciation is extended to the electorate for elevating them to an important public office.
MPs also use the opportunity to stamp their presence on the ground, and successfully inviting a busy Speaker to your function accounts for a significant political score.

But could the Speaker be emphasising her presence on the countryside with any political calculation in mind?
No, responds Mr Obore, who says the Speaker by virtue of her office is already a national leader and that her visits are in line with the fulfilment of her responsibilities as leader of a Parliament which in turn derives its mandate directly from the populace.

“The Speaker cannot have any other political reasons for her to stamp herself on the ground. The fact that Parliament is represented [by MPs across the country] means that the Speaker can visit any part of the country,” said Mr Obore.
High on the Speaker’s countrywide trips is the agenda of mobilising the population for development projects, which Mr Obore says falls within the mandate of the Legislature.
“Mobilising people to understand what Parliament can do for them, and also to mobilise people for development projects, which is a mandate of MPs,” Obore says.
But legislative researcher Hippo Twebaze says it is well within her rights to make those political calculations, if there is any that she has in mind.

Mr Twebaze also says it is a good thing that she is making the in-land travels.
“Why not? If she is interested, she can use that opportunity as the President uses it himself. If she is using it for her advantage to make a political footing, it does no harm because power belongs to all of us. I find no harm, in fact it is good that she is doing it,” says Mr Twebaze.
With the political temperatures in slow but steady rise, Ms Kadaga remains one of the political leaders to fix eyes on as she makes her next move on the political chessboard.