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I will guard my seat jealously, says Among
Speaker Anita Among chairs a plenary session at Parliament on April 30. The Speaker is in the spotlight following the recent UK’s sanctions against her over corruption. PHOTO | DAVID LUBOWA.
What you need to know:
- Last week, President Museveni praised Among for “steering parliament and building a “constructive relationship with the Executive.”
Parliament Speaker Anita Among has vowed to “jealousy guard her seat,” indicating that it was a hard “earned position she relentlessly worked for.”
Speaking at the official launch of the Parliamentary Forum to end Child Marriages and Teenage Pregnancies on which she serves as the patron, Among urged her counterparts to aim at retaining their positions through ways that inspire the young generation.
She indicated that the journey to her success was hinged on her determination for growth and a better livelihood, which enabled her to escape attempts by her parents to force her into a childhood marriage.
“I will keep this seat jealously because I worked for it. I refused to become a teenage mother. So, I’m going to be in this seat. You better guard your seats,” she told an audience comprising children who she rallied to desist from early marriages.
“Better say I am going to be the speaker or MP and get it other than this business of saying I want to have a kid. No! Those kids are a problem, [so] you will get them later,” Among advised.
Her vow comes at a time when the United States and the United Kingdom have imposed sanctions on her, alongside two former Ministers Agnes Nandutu [Bududa Woman MP] and Dr Gorreti Kitutu [Manafwa Woman MP] plus Finance junior Minister Amos Lugolobi for alleged misappropriation of public resources.
Last week, President Museveni praised Among for “steering the 11th parliament and building a “constructive relationship with the Executive.”
Among has used several recent addresses to scoff at The West for targeting her with sanctions which she believes are motivated by her speaker role as Uganda adopted a tough Anti-gay law.
Still on Tuesday, Among said: “One of the causes of early marriages and child pregnancy is an issue of parenting, but it also comes back to you, what do you want in life? You can be taken through all that but the resilience to move on is very important.”
