Okoth Chris

The Fall of Anita Annet Among: Why Jacob Oboth-Oboth Is the Main Contender — and Why Norbert Mao Is Out!!! Until barely a month ago, Anita Annet Among looked politically untouchable. Within the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), everything appeared settled. Between 27–29 January, the NRM’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), chaired by Yoweri Museveni, met at State House Entebe and resolved to retain Among as Speaker and Thomas Tayebwa as Deputy Speaker for the 12th Parliament. That decision was reaffirmed on 20th February, forwarded to the NRM Parliamentary Caucus, and formally endorsed by Museveni on 4 March, ahead of the scheduled 25 May Speaker’s vote. By all conventional standards, this was a done deal. So how did Anita Among lose out? The Short Answer: Kyankwanzi Everything changed at Kyankwanzi. From 7–14 April, the NRM held its retreat-cum-induction at Kyankwanzi. This was the turning point — and, politically, where Among miscalculated. Two things had happened, beforecand during the Kyankwanzi retreat: the sudden Speakership bid by Norbert Mao and A visible shift in Museveni’s threat perception. The abrupt entry of Mao into the race unsettled Among’s camp. Mao actively courted power brokers, including visits to Salim Saleh in Namunkekera and outreach linked to Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Sensing danger, Among reportedly fell back on a style of politics that had worked for her at constituency level — raw mobilisation, intimidation, and money politics. How did she become unoppossed in Bukedea Woman's constituency? By bribing her opposers to withdraw from the race and bribing the voters and race organizers in Bukedea. She was declared "unopposed." It is this patronage strategy, she was utilising at Parliament. At Kyankwanzi, her enthusiastic supporters crossed a red line. When Museveni began addressing the retreat, pro-Among MPs disrupted him mid-speech, loudly signaling allegiance to her. In NRM culture, that is not just indiscipline — it is a direct challenge to the fountain of power. Among had successfully built a personal power centre within Parliament. But the moment it appeared capable of publicly disrupting Museveni himself, it ceased to be tolerable. Museveni’s Pivot: From Tolerance to Alarm Museveni had long tolerated corruption and excesses in Parliament — as long as they posed no threat to his authority. Kyankwanzi changed that calculus. In his speech, Museveni issued a thinly veiled warning, stating that anyone bribing MPs for Speakership votes would be “disqualified." Corruption suddenly became central to the narrative — not because it was new, but because it had become politically dangerous. At that moment, Anita Among ceased to be an asset and became a potential rival power centre. We all remember, the work she had done to have Museveni elected. But when she crossed-line, begun talking strong and showing, power and invisibility- her duck was cooked. That is where her fall began. Why Norbert Mao Was Never an Option Ironically, Mao emerged from Kyankwanzi politically visible — but strategically doomed. The regime does not trust Mao. He is intelligent, calculating, ambitious, and openly presidential in outlook. His past manoeuvres inside the Democratic Party (DP), particularly how he neutralised internal rivals to retain party control, are well understood at the centre. Museveni is many things — but naïve is not one of them. Entrusting Mao with the third-highest office in the land would mean empowering a man capable of independently mobilising, negotiating, and pivoting against the regime if circumstances allowed. That risk is unacceptable. So Mao was quietly ruled out. Why Jacob Oboth-Oboth Emerged???