LoP Ssenyonyi to Speaker Among: Are you leading clowns?
Leader of Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi during a plenary at Parliament in Kampala on May 13, 2025. PHOTO | IBRAHIM KAVUMA
What you need to know:
The bold question drew a swift response from the Speaker: “I don’t lead clowns.”
Drama unfolded in Parliament on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, when the Leader of Opposition (LoP), Joel Ssenyonyi, openly asked Speaker Anita Among whether she was leading clowns, a pointed reference to the way Members of Parliament (MPs) had been treated by the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
The bold question drew a swift response from the Speaker: “I don’t lead clowns.”
Mr Ssenyonyi, who represents Nakawa West in the 11th Parliament, was raising a procedural matter when he criticized Gen Muhoozi for allegedly abducting civilians, including Edward Ssebufu alias Eddie Mutwe, the chief bodyguard of National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi, and bragging about it without consequence.
“Edward Ssebufu went missing. We checked all police stations and were told he wasn’t in custody. Days later, the CDF tweeted that he was ‘disciplining’ him, teaching him Runyankore, and holding him in his basement. Eight days later, Ssebufu appeared in Masaka, limping,” Ssenyonyi said.
He added that Gen Muhoozi was summoned by Parliament’s Defence Committee but refused to appear, dismissing the MPs as “clowns.”
“This House operates through committees. When the CDF was summoned, he said he would not appear before ‘those clowns’. These members, as he called them, were intimidated and let the matter go. I expected it would be taken seriously and even brought to your attention. So, Right Honorable Speaker, are you leading clowns? And what does that make you?”
Speaker Among responded with visible irritation.
“I don’t lead clowns. No one has ever told me that I lead clowns. This House is for honorable MPs,” she said.
She also questioned the legitimacy of the summons to the CDF, stating that only the Speaker is authorized to issue official invitations.
“When you say the CDF was summoned, I didn’t see that summon. Only the Speaker’s signature authorizes invitations in this House.”
Gen Muhoozi, in a January 17 post on his X account, had indeed referred to members of the Defence Committee as clowns, writing, “I WILL NEVER appear before parliamentary CLOWNS! Instead, I will ARREST them all!”
In a follow-up post, he added, “After arresting all the fools in Parliament, I will invite them for a discussion. If anyone even coughs in a wrong way, I will ARREST them on the spot!”
His online tirade came after the Defence Committee, chaired by Nyabushozi County MP Wilson Kajwengye, declined to review the defence budget until Gen Muhoozi personally appeared to explain his threatening posts.
Makindye East MP Derrick Nyeko criticized the CDF’s absence and questioned his commitment to fostering a healthy civil-military relationship.
LoP Ssenyonyi cited the case of Eddy Mutwe, who reappeared limping in court, as part of a disturbing pattern of impunity.
“Right Honorable Speaker, I want the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to tell us if there are people above the law,” he said.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao responded that no one is above the law, adding, “One person doing the wrong thing does not make him above the law.”
Mr Mao had previously condemned the Masaka Chief Magistrate’s Court for trying an individual who was not lawfully arrested and presented in a poor physical state.
