I won’t be intimidated by cyber-attacks, says Among

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, has said she will not be intimidated by a section of the public who are trying to stain her image during her current term in office. 

Ms Among, who is also the Bukedea Woman Member of Parliament (MP), made the remarks while chairing the House yesterday afternoon. 

“I want to assure this House that I am still a Deputy Speaker for 10 years to the level of becoming a Prime Minister,” she said. 

The statement attracted loud cheers from the House. 

“In leadership, you will continue suffering if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said about you. True power is about sitting back and observing everything to its logical conclusion. If words control you, that means everyone else can control you,” Ms Anita said. 

“Breathe and allow things to pass and that is what I am doing. But I can assure you that as we speak, the culprits are known, we know and will handle you. Nothing will intimidate me. Nothing will deter me from whatever I am doing,” she added.

Her responses come amid claims and reports making rounds on social media alleging that Ms Anita is corrupt and involved in shady deals.

A section of legislators came to her defence with some calling for investigations to be done on the cyber-attacks. 

Ms Cecilia Ogwal, the Dokolo Woman MP, on the Forum Democratic Change (FDC) ticket, said the tradition of putting down women must stop. 

“From the time of Specioza Wandira Kazibwe (former Vice President), you bring it to Kadaga (former Speaker of Parliament) and now bring to Anita Among. Why? The institution of Parliament cannot be attacked while we keep quiet,” Ms Ogwal said. 

“When anybody sees a woman rising up, that woman should be knocked flat-down. We have been reading in the media about the condemnation of a leader steering this institution of Parliament. I suggest as an elder that there must be an investigation on the attack on the Deputy Speaker of the institute of Parliament,” she added.

Similarly, Busia Municipality MP Geoffrey Macho (Independent) said it was important for the current breed of generation to support women rather than bring them down. 

Mr Patrick Oshabe Nsamba, the Kassanda County North MP (NUP), compared the ongoing attacks on the Deputy Speaker to what befell Mr Gilbert Bukenya, a former vice president, who claimed of mafias in government trying to taint his image. 

“The former vice president (Gilbert Bukenya) claimed about mafias pitching him in this country. The mafias are still around and if they continue working in that form and we just leave them like that, tomorrow they will be on my Leader of Opposition and make similar claims,” he said. 

Mr Nsamba beseeched Uganda Communications Commission to bring the perpetrators to book. 

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