Enraged Ugandans have taken to social media to demand the arrest of Speaker of Parliament Anita Among.
This came after activists published new documents showing Among’s extravagant expenditures, costing taxpayers billions of shillings.
The documents released on Tuesday by activist Agather Atuhaire show that Among spends about Shs 400 million per week.
It also emerged that between February 8, 2023, and April 17, 2023, Daniel Adilo, a staff member of Parliament, received a staggering Shs 2 billion for the Speaker’s activities, most of which are private.
For example, the documents show that on June 13, 2023, Adilo picked Shs 130 million from the bank on behalf of Among for ‘garments to facilitate the Speaker’s outreach activities in Eastern Uganda.’
On July 24, 2023, Among was granted an advance of Shs 750 million for her ‘community’s empowerment workshop in Bukedea, where she serves as Woman MP.
The revelations about the scandalous expenditure come at a time when Ugandans, who are struggling to recover from the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, are being taxed heavily to fund the national budget and pay the country’s debts.
“As citizens, we have failed our country,” said Benjamin Katana, a prominent city lawyer and human rights activist.
“This theft is part of a bigger criminal enterprise that only collective action by citizens can stop, but most of us are waiting for a messiah to liberate us,” he added.
The documents showing Parliament’s expenditure on Among’s activities (Courtesy: Agather Atuhaire)
He added: “The sad part is that most of us who are busy explaining away this impunity and insulting whoever is putting in effort to expose it need functional public health facilities, functional public schools unlike the ones we are trying to shield who can afford treatment abroad, etc.”
The Inspector General of Government, Beti Kamya, said they had started an investigation into the “inner workings of Parliament” following petitions from ordinary citizens and whistleblowers.
“Our mandate, coupled with public interest, has moved us to decide to start an investigation,” she observed.
However, Angella Namatta, a social change activist, said, “The Speaker should be impeached to facilitate in-depth investigations into her conduct.”
Daniel Kawuma, an opposition activist, described the situation as a “tragedy for our nation.”
He asked, “The crucial question now is what will happen to those involved in corruption. Will the state have the political will to uphold accountability, even among their top NRM officials?”
On X, Innocent Nahabwe, who analyzed the financial documents implicating Among, observed: “This means that she used Shs 1.2B every month, which amounts to Shs 18B annually. This makes it Shs 900B in one term of office (5 years). In short, she uses money bigger than the whole budget allocation for agriculture.”
Another X user observed: “I think we should start a hashtag to arrest the speaker and cease all her properties with those of the husband… Because how can this be happening in a third-world economy?”
Impeachment rules
According to Ugandan laws, a motion for a resolution for the removal of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker from office shall be moved by a seven-day’ notice, signed by not less than one-third of all Members of Parliament.
The motion is then sent to the Clerk of Parliament.
The clerk, within twenty-four hours of receiving the list of names, forwards the notice to the speaker.
The motion is then tabled in Parliament and listed for debate within fourteen days after receipt of the notice by the Speaker.
In debating the Motion, Parliament constitutes itself into a Committee, which reports its findings to Parliament for adoption.
The Speaker is entitled to appear in person and to be assisted or represented by a lawyer or any other person when the Committee of the Whole House is considering the motion for his or her removal.
The Speaker, in respect of whom proceedings for removal have commenced, is not allowed to preside over the proceedings.
If Parliament passes the motion for the removal of the Speaker by not less than a two-thirds majority of all the voting Members of Parliament, the Speaker shall cease to hold office.
The ruling NRM party, which enjoys the majority in Parliament, would have to endorse the motion for the impeachment to succeed.
Uganda’s outrage
George Tumuhimbise noted: “Surely what does the speaker do with this huge sum of taxpayer’s money? Why? How did we come to this point? Can the speaker append her signature, or is she being used by those around her? FIA,CIDI, IGG, and AG should help this country!”
Isaack Rukanda chipped in: “When will the president address the nation about these issues?”
Michael Wambi observed: “This reminds me of the thieves at the Public Service Ministry. Kiwanuka Nkusa and others. They would ask individuals to open accounts at the banks and then deposit money, which would be withdrawn and returned to the senders.”
