Politics: Do not let hate win

I come to comprehensively deal with the multitude of voices that have been sounded against Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, who especially online, have had to endure a sustained character assassination and smear campaign by detractors.

My objective is to address the humble seekers of the truth, who could be doubting the truthfulness and motivation of the multitude of accusations levelled against Speaker Among. Speaker Among and Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa are the youngest pair of presiding officers to assume the leadership of Parliament.

On account of this, the naysayers, who thought them to be political novices, anticipated a chaotic tenure in which, with the sudden shift in politics that saw the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) rake up some numbers, the 11th Parliament would not be a House divided. 

Give it to the temerity of the Speaker. She has, through her soft and disarming approach, detoxified the House, which is seeing it dispose of government and other businesses in a frequency and efficiency never seen before. 

Attempts to create conflict between the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, to recreate the unproductivity and disintegration seen in the 10th Parliament in which at some point the Deputy Speaker then could not even be allowed to preside over House, has failed. 

This is because Speaker Among looks at the Office of Speaker and Deputy Speaker as one office, in line with Rule 2(1) of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament. 

The atmosphere created by the two leaders has seen the House dwell in peace and harmony, and has engendered stability in Parliament and the politics of NRM. 

And since government business takes precedence in line with Rule 25 of the Rules of Procedure, it has been easy for government to realise its agenda and fulfil its mandate to the populace.  Much has been said about the alleged wealth of Ms Among. 

Before becoming Speaker, she then, conducted serious mobilisation for the party to which she leaned in the 10th Parliament – NRM and its Chairman President Museveni. This would sometimes contend with a lot of finances, true to her generous nature. Was that also Parliament money? Not at all. 

Her school in Bukedea was already in place before she became Speaker, and her teaching hospital was also in final stages of construction. Was that also Parliament money?

Most importantly, generosity is a matter of the heart. If other wealthy leaders have chosen meanness to safeguard their wealth, why should the one who has chosen to share the little she has with the society through philanthropy and a multitude of projects, be singled out for condemnation? 

It is a matter of choice informed by heart and upbringing for which the Speaker should not apologise.  Then there are the claims of her alleged receipt of Shs600m in travel abroad per diem, claiming she received the money and did not travel, and that her per diem is rated at $4000. 

This is utter falsehood. The Speaker’s official per diem is $990, and she does not intend to travel for holiday out of the country as  it has been maliciously indicated in various social media platforms.  The Speaker is not a fan of travel abroad, and has largely remained in-land to maximise resources for other public needs in line with the freeze of travel abroad announced by the President. 

Whereas the leaders of the various arms of government have been exempted from the freeze, the decision of Parliament is to minimise travel abroad to the most crucial international undertakings, drawing parallels with the 10th Parliament which was known for incessant travels out of the country.  Allegations that she received money for travel abroad and chose not to go should, therefore, be disregarded with contempt. 

The other thing is recruitment in Parliament, which has elicited some conversations online. It is true the staffing levels in Parliament has risen. It is equally important to note that previously, employment in Parliament did not take into consideration the plurality and diversity of this country. 

The late Speaker Jacob Oulanyah alluded to this in one of plenary sittings in which he observed, and rightly so, that the Karimojong had no single member of staff in Parliament. This is unacceptable for a national Parliament, and steps had to be taken to engender diversity and inclusivity, through the many methods of recruitment allowed to Parliament in the Rules of Procedure. 

The deliberate hateful campaign against the Speaker should be collectively frowned upon and deliberately defeated.  The politics of anger, hate and falsehoods meant to ridicule leaders as opposed to raising meaningful concerns for strategic advancement of this country should be strongly resisted. 

My clarion call to the right-thinking members of the public is: Do not let hate win.

Chris Obore is the Director of Communication and Public Affairs at Parliament.