Deputy Speaker Among’s fight to become ‘Maama Busoga’,  an order too high

Three days before Christmas Day, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, proclaimed herself “Maama Busoga”.

Being the first time that anyone has dared claim the title, which is the preserve for the mother or wife of a seating Kyabazinga, elderly folk like the veteran politician and author, Mr Henry Kyemba, are still trying to make sense of the proclamation.

“Maama Busoga! Who declared her Maama Busoga? When did she become Maama Busoga? We have had a good relationship with the people of Teso, but to get to that extent is humiliating (to the Basoga)” Mr Kyemba says.

The title Maama Busoga has not had a claimant since the death on November 6, 2005 of Ms Alice Muloki, wife of the late Kyabazinga (King) of Busoga, Henry Wako Muloki. Kyabazinga Muloki had not remarried when he passed on in September 2008.

Kyabazinga William Wilberforce Kadhumbula Gabula IV is a bachelor and his mother passed on years ago.

Resentment

Ms Among’s proclamation has since become the subject of heated discussions on local radio and on social media, especially Facebook. To say that the proclamation has sparked off widespread anger and resentment would be an understatement.

Prof Paul Wangoola, a former member of the National Consultative Council (NCC), which served as Uganda’s parliament soon after the ouster of President Idi Amin, says that Ms Among can never be “Maama Busoga” and has no capacity whatsoever to ever serve in that capacity.

“It is the people of Teso who should be naming her a mother, but if the people of Teso have not yet named her the mother of Teso how can she become the mother of Busoga? People can only become mothers of the regions from whence they come,” Prof Wangoola argues.

Bugabula South MP, Maurice Kibalya echoes Prof Wangoola’s sentiments, insisting that Ms Among should have first gained acceptance as the mother of Teso before making a proclamation that he says borders on the denigration of the people and culture of Busoga.

“She had to first lock up and block all potential opponents in order for her to emerge. If she is a selling brand why did she lock out the competition? Let her first gain acceptance in Teso and also tell us what she has achieved there,” Mr Kibalya argues.

Mr Henry Kyemba says that if ever there was a need for anyone other than the mother or wife of a Kyabazinga to claim the title, it would have to go to a Musoga who has rendered distinguished service to the region.

“If you are looking for a Maama Busoga, there are people here (Busoga) who have done a lot for Busoga. Dr Speciosa Wandira Kazibwe has been fairly active. Ms Kadaga has also been very active,” he says.

It would appear that Ms Among’s lackeys who include Kigulu South MP,  Milton Muwuma, Bunya South MP, Iddi Isabirye, Budiope East MP, Moses Magogo and Bulamogi County MP,  Sanon Bwire Nadeeba, among others, did not warn her that such a proclamation had the capacity to stir up emotions.

On the other hand, any good leader would be expected to know that culture can be quite emotive. It goes without saying that that Ms Among should have treaded more carefully. Are holders of such high offices after all not meant to be knowledgeable enough to know what to say and when to say it?

Is Busoga orphaned?

Ms Among’s publicist, Mr Joseph Sabiiti, tweeted on Tuesday indicating that Busoga has great potential, but that all it needs is “focused leadership and unity in order to progress”.

That suggests that Ms Among and her boss are inclined to believe that Ms Rebecca Kadaga’s defeat in the race for the job of Speaker of the 11th parliament created a leadership vacuum that must be filled.

“Me and the Speaker (Jacob Oulanyah) have agreed we must sort out the issues of Busoga. We will make sure we work with you. I want to tell you that I am going to be the mama Busoga,” she said.

Mr Sabiiti said in his tweet that Mr Oulanyah and Ms Among “have good plans for Busoga and mean well”.

‘Fortunate’ Busoga

If what Mr Sabiiti says is anything to go by, Busoga is very fortunate. Never in the history of Uganda have two people who are not even immediate neighbours chosen to ignore the fires that are ravaging their huts and run hundreds of miles to put out fires that are ravaging a hut elsewhere.

The people of Teso have for long been complaining about the government’s failure to compensate them for cattle lost during the insurgency that rocked the region. They have cried themselves hoarse over the failure to de-silt 52 dams, place valley tanks in every parish and rehabilitate Labori and Odina irrigation schemes, all of which would have helped in livestock keeping and farming.

The promised compensation for Kachumbala Uganda People’s Army (UPA) war victims; the family of the late Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jonathan Inyalio, who was killed by the National Resistance Army (NRA) and, the Serere Secondary School lorry and bus that were damaged by the UPDF has never come.

Omoro County where Mr Jacob Oulanyah is the area Member of Parliament has for a number of years now been waiting to get what is meant to be the equivalent of a district hospital. There are other issues such as the payment of war reparations and setting up savings and credit cooperative societies for youth leaders and survivors of deceased fighters of the Front for National Salvation (FRONASA).

Mr Oulanyah and Ms Among have deemed it fit not to push for those matters, which are at the heart of the people of Teso and Acholi, and instead chosen to give priority to the problems in Busoga.

Unwanted help

The problem though is that they are making sacrifices for a people who are not interested. Some people see mischief and petty politicking in their actions.

Prof Sabiiti Makara,  who teaches Political Science at Makerere University, thinks that Mr Oulanyah and Ms Among now seek to portray themselves as the leaders of Busoga, which he describes as a “really fake” move that will be rejected.

“In Africa, we don’t borrow bulls. In African societies, we do not borrow a leader. So it is really fake for those people to pretend that they are going to replace the leaders of Busoga,” Prof Makara said.

High risk

During last year’s elections, Mr Museveni lost the Busoga vote to the candidate of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Mr Robert Kyagulanyi. Mr Kyagulanyi took the region with 437,059 votes against Mr Museveni’s 404,862. Mr Museveni won in only three out of Busoga’s 11 districts, a loss which Mr Museveni blamed on the leadership in Busoga.

On November 21 when he visited Kamuli, Mr Oulanyah promised to win back Busoga to the NRM and Museveni.

It is difficult to tell what the NRM’s strategy is, going into the 2026 general elections. The biggest question though is whether it is with the blessing of Mr Museveni and the NRM organs that Ms Among and Mr Oulanyah are making their bizarre moves in Busoga.

Prof Makara believes that Mr Museveni and the party will be playing a high risk game if they allow Ms Among and Mr Oulanyah to continue playing at being Maama Busoga and Mater campaigner respectively. He argues that Ms Kadaga is the best weapon available to them.

“That gimmick of saying that they are replacing her is really misplaced. The strategy should be to empower and invest in Kadaga to drive the mobilisation in Busoga because she is still a political asset for the NRM. Relegating her to the periphery would be a high-risk game,” Prof Makara says.

Is it a risk that they are willing to take? That is the question

The biggest question in Busoga now is around what is driving Ms Among and her boss to make the kinds of moves that they are making. While speaking in Kigulu South constituency where she made the infamous proclamation, Ms Among made it known that she intended to follow in the footsteps of Ms Kadaga, by serving two terms as Deputy Speaker of Parliament before aiming for the top job at Parliament.

Ms Kadaga has never proclaimed herself “Maama Busoga”. She is fondly known as “Maama Kamuli” while people from other parts of Busoga fondly refer to her as “Omukaire” (mother). From that perspective, it is would appear that Ms Among is obsessed with eclipsing Ms Kadaga’s position in Busoga.

Mr Kibalya says that the proclamation is only a part of a sustained campaign on the part of Ms Among and some 13 MPs from Busoga region who seek to opportunistically portray themselves as more relevant than others in the politics of Busoga and Eastern Uganda in a post-Kadaga Speakership era.

“They are sponsored to portray themselves as relevant. They hope to impose themselves and show people that they are ready to work more for Busoga than Ms Kadaga did, which they definitely cannot achieve,” Bugabula South MP, Maurice Kibalya says.

Mr Kibalya might have a point. Those who seek to eclipse Ms Kadaga are always going to be up against a mountain. She is arguably the most influential person in Busoga today. She is loved and revered in most parts of Busoga.

“I have been doing research in Busoga and I found that Maama Kadaga was very popular in Busoga. That is why she has been getting the highest number of votes among district women MPs. She has been getting the highest number of votes in the last three rounds of elections. That attests to her popularity,” Prof Makara says.

That popularity and love have, however, been products of years of hard work and exhibition of a high degree of love and commitment to Busoga.

The Busoga second deputy premier, Mr Osman Ahmed Noor, told Sunday Monitor in a previous interview that many people credit her for what they are.

“She has worked for the region. One will be able to find people all over Busoga who will give her credit for a job, business or project that they are engaged in. You will also find pupils or students who have either got scholastic materials or scholarships. People will naturally rally behind such a person,” the deputy premier says.

That perhaps explains why people will run to her defence even when she is miles away. Some of her defenders go physical.

In September 2012, for example, a group of angry youth stormed the Jinja Central Police Station and nearly beat up the late interim Kyabazinga, Prince David Gabula Bogere, for ‘disrespecting’ and ‘bad mouthing’ her.

Again in April 2014, police had to rush to the premises of Victoria FM in Jinja and evacuate Ms Maureen Waluube Kyalya, after an angry mob that accused her of badmouthing Ms Kadaga stormed the station baying for her blood.