Combo: The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Annet Anita Among and former Speaker Rebecca Kadaga. PHOTOS/ FILE
Former British prime minister Harold Wilson was quoted to have said at some point during the 1960s that “a week is a long time in politics”. He was referring to how much change can occur on the political landscape in so short a space of time. The realignment of political forces that Busoga has witnessed in recent times is perhaps testimony that Wilson was spot on.
On May 24, 2021, Ms Mariam Naigaga, the Namutumba District woman representative, volunteered to be Ms Rebecca Kadaga’s agent when the latter defied President Museveni and the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party and stood as an independent candidate after the party had zeroed in on the Jacob Oulanyah as its candidate in the race for the job of Speaker of the 11th Parliament.
At the time, Ms Naigaga was reportedly angry that, despite having mobilised MPs to support the constitutional amendment that culminated in the scrapping of the presidential age limit, some high-ranking NRM officials campaigned against her even as she was the party’s flag bearer for the Namutumba women’s seat.
The race for the job of Speaker had shaped out in such a way that whoever did not support Oulanyah would not support Bukedea District Woman MP Anita Among, who was viewed as Oulanyah’s running mate. Things have since changed. Ms Naigaga is one of Speaker of Parliament Among’s closest allies.
Newly elected Speaker of Parliament Anita Among honours former Speaker Rebecca Kadaga upon her election on March 25, 2022. PHOTO/ FILE
NRM losses in 2021
Events in Kololo came four months after a general election in which the NRM’s presidential candidate, Mr Museveni, had taken a beating in Busoga. Mr Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, the presidential candidate of the Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), bagged 437,059 votes against Mr Museveni’s 404,862 votes, a small but significant margin given that Busoga had never voted against Mr Museveni or the NRM. Eight out of the 11 districts of Busoga, namely Kamuli, Luuka, Iganga, Jinja, Bugweri, Bugiri, Namayingo, and Mayuge, voted against Museveni.
A post-election assessment concluded that unfulfilled promises, complacency and failure to address issues around the region’s economy had combined to deliver a savage political blow. On the list of unfulfilled promises are several roads, including the Kamuli-Bukungu road; the Jinja-Kamuli Road via Mbulamuti; and a ferry on Lake Kyoga.
Others include turning Jinja into an export processing zone (EPZ); a pledge to avail Busoga Shs11 billion for funding an agricultural zoning programme; a pledge of $1.5 million to help Busoga Kingdom set up a call centre and; turning the government-owned Kiige Citrus Farm into a modern industrial park with a modern fruit processing plant.
Mr Daudi Migereko, a former minister in Mr Museveni’s Cabinet, who was one of those involved in the post-election assessment exercise, says the sugarcane question was a big factor. “Poverty, unemployment and failure to secure markets for farmers’ sugarcane, yet a majority of farmers had successfully turned to sugarcane growing, were major factors. The sugarcane issue compounded the poverty conditions,” Mr Migereko says.
The sugarcane question has never been resolved. It has, if anything, been exacerbated by the back and forth that has seen the construction of a sugar factory in Namayingo halted. SN Sugar Limited was on course to commence operations in March, but on January 20, just as final touches were being put to a mill section, a boiler and a boiling house, Justice Douglas Singiza ordered a halt to work on the mill.
As a result of that order, more than 351 sugarcane farmers in Namayingo who had entered into contracts to supply sugarcane to the mill are stuck with thousands of acres of cane that they cannot convert into cash. Mr Migereko added that the army’s handling of operations intended to curb illegal fishing was another big factor in that election.
“The mistreatment of the fishing communities by the army in a bid to restock lakes Victoria and Kyoga meant that the communities could not fish. They were left with no source of livelihood,” he says.
Ripples
Shortly after the 2021 General Elections, NRM leaders in Busoga traded blame for Mr Museveni’s loss. A number of them blamed Ms Kadaga. It has never been possible to ascertain whether that particular accusation had anything to do with Mr Museveni’s decision to back up and campaign for Oulanyah.
What is clear though is that whereas the rest of the country has moved on from that election 47 months ago, Busoga is still reeling from Ms Kadaga’s defeat.
As Speaker, her position as the supreme political leader had never been in doubt. She was the fulcrum around which everything rotated.
Now if her removal was intended to cure a problem, it has created a bigger one in the form of a power vacuum. It is true that she still commands a lot of respect, but her current position does not come with as much authority as her previous one, which makes it impossible for her to move things as much as she used to. Therein lies the problem for both Busoga and NRM.
Mr Faruk Kirunda, the special presidential assistant in charge of the press and mobilisation and deputy spokesperson of the President, insists that there is no vacuum. “The NRM exists from the grassroots all the way to the top. The party is alive in all the 12 districts and Jinja City, with structures that are deeper and broader than those of other parties,” Mr Kirunda says.
Leaders in disarray
The truth, though, is that the party leaders here are in disarray. The Busoga Parliamentary Caucus (BPC), which is meant to bring together all 44 legislators from the sub-region, is very highly factionalised.As patron, Ms Kadaga handed over the leadership of the caucus to Luuka South MP Steven Kisa in September 2011, but another faction led by Mr Idi Isabirye, the MP for Bunya South, soon emerged.
The factions owe allegiance to different individuals. As the boos that Kamuli Municipality MP Kayaga Baroda Watongola was subjected to during Mr Museveni’s rally in Kamuli on January 24, 2025, show, the populace expects all leaders in the district to follow Ms Kadaga without question.
Whoever does not is considered a traitor and betrayer. Mr Maurice Kibalya, the Bugabula South MP, is one of those whose allegiance to Ms Kadaga has in recent times come under scrutiny.
“I am the MP for Bugabula South. My immediate boss and supervisor is the Speaker of Parliament. The Speaker is the one who will give me the opportunity to speak. The Speaker allocates me a committee, assigns me work, facilitates me and enables me to deliver whatever I promised while seeking re-election. Any battle between me and the Speaker affects me at a personal level,” Mr Kibalya says.
He is quick to add that allegations of switching allegiances are mostly fuelled by self-seekers who will at the same time be the first to crucify him for failure to deliver on his mandate.
Deepening divisions
The tirade that Speaker Among launched against former Speaker Kadaga, in Bukedea and Buyende in March last year, blaming the siege that she and the 11th Parliament were under at the time on persons who want “to reclaim their seat as Speaker”, did not help matters.
As expected, the declaration by Ms Among that she is to take on Ms Kadaga for the post of second vice chairperson of the NRM served to deepen divisions. Local leaders who constitute the electoral college that votes for NRM leaders have now joined the fray, lining up on different sides.
Mr Alex Brandon Kintu, the Kagoma North MP, who is also the spokesperson of the NRM Parliamentary Caucus, says it in the circumstances becomes difficult for NRM MPs in Busoga to mobilise for the party the same way that the NRM Buganda Parliamentary Caucus has been doing.
“As people’s representatives, we need to stand and speak as one irrespective of who one owes allegiance to whether it is to Ms Among or Ms Kadaga. We need to emulate Buganda, which when it comes to matters Buganda, all the politicians put aside matters of the parties that they belong to or subscribe to.
As of now, we cannot work together. Everyone is on their own. I think that the leadership question within us must first be addressed. Once that is done, there will be unity and the possibility of people rallying around any idea that comes up,” Mr Kintu says.
The problem, though, is that there does not seem to be anyone who will facilitate a process that will arrive at an agreeable leadership or minimum working programme. The Kyabazinga of Busoga and the institution of Obwa Isebantu Kyabazinga has lately come under fire from Ms Kadaga who now accuses some of the actors in the institution of propping up people to contest against her at different levels.
Mr Osman Ahmed Noor, the second deputy prime minister of Busoga Kingdom, played down Ms Kadaga’s outbursts as the result of misinformation.
“As an institution, we have always tried to steer clear of politics and I have it on good authority that no kingdom official has been endorsed by the Kyabazinga or any other official of the kingdom to go into active politics.
Nonetheless, we take note of the concerns of our mother, Ms Kadaga. The institution of Obwa Isebantu Kyabazinga is working on arranging a clear-the-air talks with her,” Mr Noor said.
NRM AWOL
One of the concerns of some of the NRM supporters here is the conspicuous absence of the NRM in efforts aimed at containing the sharp divisions that have been precipitated by the rivalry between Ms Kadaga and Ms Among. There is a feeling that the party leadership has gone away without official leave, leaving Busoga to deal with its problem.
But Mr Emmanuel Dombo, the party’s communications director, says the party has been doing a lot in terms of ending the divisions there.
“The party usually intervenes when leaders in any region wrangle. Our method of work is that we only address the media about the outcome, but not the process. Work is in progress at a senior level. At the lower level, a lot of mileage has been covered. At one time, there were two parliamentary caucuses in Busoga, but a lot of progress has been made to reconcile them into one,” Mr Dombo says.
The biggest question, though is around what NRM has been doing in terms of mobilisation, given that the area MPs emulate their colleagues in the NRM Buganda caucus and mobilise for the party. Mr Kirunda says a lot is going on.
“I cannot reveal the NRM’s strategy, but I can assure you that a lot is going on in terms of mobilisation and planning. Of course a lot more can be done, but the assessment should start at the grassroots and not at the centre,” Mr Kirunda argues.
Nevertheless, Mr Kibalya believes that it is now up to the party leadership to take charge of efforts to recapture the region and return it to Museveni. With less than a year to the next general election, there is a feeling that Mr Museveni has given up on the region, a conclusion that Mr Kirunda is quick to dismiss.
“Busoga and NRM are inseparable, and the President’s heart will always remain in Busoga where he started his revolutionary struggles against Amin during the Fronasa days. You also know well that Busoga has good representation at the centre; in Cabinet, security and other postings,” Mr Kirunda says.
Others, however, think that Mr Museveni’s actions in Busoga tell a different story. He is, for example, said to not have handed out as much cash and other goodies as he did in other regions, an assertion which Mr Kirunda dismisses.
“It is not true. The President supported model farmers in the region. In Luuka, he bought land for a farmer. In Jinja he bought a Fuso truck and machinery to enable one of the farmers to go into value addition. He also promised to support other groups like boda boda cyclists, artistes and masters of ceremonies, who will get their support once they form their Saccos and streamline their leadership,” Mr Kirunda says.
He, however, hastens to add that the magnitude of support also depends on the scale of activity in a region. “The model farmers in Busoga aren’t comparable to the ones in, say, the Bunyoro sub-region or those in Sheema District. They operate at a smaller scale. You can’t give the same support to farmers who operate at different scales and levels,” Mr Kirunda argues.
Mr Museveni is also said to have ignored most of the demands that were tabled before him when he met the region’s leaders in Mayuge.
“Yes. He did not respond to most of the requests made at some of the rallies. It is possible that he lost interest. Now that you have raised it, it is something that could be subjected to scrutiny, but I am not the best-suited person to raise it,” says Mr Kintu. Mr Dombo dismisses the conclusion that the NRM is no longer interested in Busoga.
“The NRM treasures Busoga. That is why, prior to the President’s tour, the secretary general conducted mobilisation meetings in the region. During these meetings, issues concerning the UPDF fisheries teams and the sugarcane question were addressed,” Mr Dombo says, but does the NRM really treasure it?
About the rivalry
The Speaker of Parliament, Annet Anita Among, has thrown down the gauntlet to her predecessor, the First Deputy Prime Minister and East African Community (EAC) minister, Ms Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga. Ms Among last November announced that she intends to contest for the position of second deputy National Resistance Movement (NRM) vice-chairperson.
The seat is currently held by Ms Kadaga, who previously served as the first female Speaker of Parliament. The position is third in the hierarchy of the ruling party politburo, which is led by President Museveni and deputised by Mr Moses Kigongo.
Claims. The issue at the moment is that the Kyabazingaship was overthrown and it is a matter of concern,’’ Ms Kadaga said, further accusing some senior kingdom officials she didn’t name of being “enemies of Busoga” and endorsing rival candidates to unseat her in 2026.
Accusations
On March 16, 2024, Speaker Among at two separate rallies in the districts of Bukedea and Buyende alleged that the Parliament exhibition on X, which exposed dubious expenditures worth billions of shillings spent by the Legislature was the handiwork of those seeking “to reclaim their seat as Speaker.”
