The contest for the speakership of Parliament took a sharper political tone at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi after Norbert Mao criticized Speaker Anita Among over remarks suggesting that “guests” should not enter what she described as the “NRM bedroom” — a reference to the speakership race.
Mao, the newly elected Member of Parliament for Laroo-Pece, President General of the Democratic Party (DP), and Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, is challenging Among for the Speaker position. He was attending the retreat of NRM MPs and independents at Kyankwanzi on invitation of President Yoweri Museveni, who also serves as National Chairman of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Responding to Among’s comments, Mao expressed surprise and disappointment at what he described as language unbecoming of the Speaker.
“I was actually shocked to see the holder of such a dignified office going to the gutters. First and foremost, I’m a guest of the National Chairman of the NRM. I’m not an intruder,” Mao said.
He emphasized that his presence at the retreat and his NRM participation in national leadership training are grounded in a formal cooperation agreement between DP and NRM.
“True, I don’t belong to the NRM, but we have got a written cooperation agreement,” he stated.
Mao said it was inappropriate to characterize his ambition for Speaker as an intrusion.
“Now, to make a statement that for Norbert Mao, who is a leader of the Democratic Party, and who is the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs of the Republic of Uganda, to aspire to be Speaker of Parliament amounts to intruding or trespassing in the NRM bedroom. Surely, that is beneath the dignity of someone who holds the high office of Speaker,” he said.
The Laroo-Pece MP-elect acknowledged that the NRM holds the numerical advantage in Parliament but argued that he should be considered on merit.
“It is important to know that there are qualifications for Speaker of Parliament, and they have all the qualifications. But to be elected, you need the support of the majority of the Members of Parliament, and the NRM has the majority. My only case is, I should be on the short list,” Mao said.
“I should be vetted like any other aspirant. After all, I already sit in the Cabinet, where I also sit by invitation, by appointment of the President. Now, that was not only bad politics, it was bad manners.”
He framed his response within cultural norms of respect for guests, stressing that his invitation by President Museveni carries weight.
“The head of the family knows who invites. Actually, when I was young, there were many times I was forced to leave my bed for visitors, yet I was the child of the home. In our society, guests are highly respected,” Mao said.
“And anybody who insults a guest, insults the host. So, anybody who insults me, who has been invited by the President, who is also the National Chairman of the NRM, is basically insulting the President of Uganda. I’m not an intruder.”
Mao also addressed reports that his name had been removed from the list of speakers at the retreat.
“Worse still, I was supposed to speak, but I don’t mind that my name has been removed. I understand Andrew Mwenda’s name was also removed, and a few other people. I really don’t mind,” he said, referring to journalist Andrew Mwenda.
“I have many platforms. But this is a time-bound contest, and after the contest, we need each other to build our country.”
He cautioned against confrontational politics, noting that the retreat’s rules discourage active campaigning.
“So, I totally object to that kind of approach that is beneath me, and that’s why in my social media post, I responded by saying, you know, this is not just bad politics, it’s bad manners, and I’m a guest of the National Chairman on invitation, and anybody who insults me has insulted the person who has invited me,” Mao said.
In one of his most pointed remarks, Mao appeared to contrast his status as an invited guest with Among’s political trajectory.
“But more importantly, she also knows where she came from. I think you would say that at least me, I’m a guest. Now, what about a refugee? There’s a difference between a guest and a refugee,” he said.
Mao’s reference to “refugee” is widely interpreted as alluding to Among’s past affiliation with the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), an opposition party, before she crossed to the ruling NRM, where she has since risen rapidly through the ranks to become the Second National Vice Chairperson — effectively the third most powerful position in the party hierarchy.
He called for a respectful and rules-based approach to the contest.
“But for now, that’s all I really want to say. Let us keep this thing clean. After all, the rules even forbid campaigning. What the rules encourage us to do is just to speak about our qualifications. Which I have, but it is up to the head of the household,” Mao said.
He underscored that decisions within the NRM ultimately rest with its national chairman.
“It is the father who knows his children. It is not another child who tells the father that these are our children or these are not our children. Who are you to tell your father who your brothers and sisters are? It is your father to tell you that this is your brother or this is your sister. So, definitely that statement was beneath someone who holds such a high office,” he said.
Mao concluded with a strong criticism of the tone of the remarks attributed to Among: “Extremely undignified, uncalled for, really gutter politics.”
Anita Among, who is seeking to retain the speakership, has the backing of significant sections within the NRM. Her allies maintain that the position is a strategic one that should remain within the ruling party.
The exchange highlights underlying tensions within Uganda’s political landscape, particularly around the DP-NRM cooperation agreement and Mao’s dual role as both an opposition party leader and a Cabinet minister.
As the race unfolds, Mao’s challenge — framed in his pointed question, “Who are you?” — continues to shape the debate over legitimacy, political inclusion, and authority within the ruling party and Parliament at large.
Mao previously labelled Among as an “accidental Speaker,” arguing that her rise to the position followed the death of former Speaker Jacob Oulanyah — whom Mao described as a friend — rather than a conventional, long-term build-up within parliamentary leadership. The characterization adds a personal and historical dimension to the contest, further intensifying an already charged political battle for the speakership.
Meanwhile, former spymaster Gen David Sejusa has labelled parliament as a dining hall of eaters, and not the NRM bedroom, after Anita Among said Norbert Mao should not enter the party’s bedroom. (See Details Here and There).
It should also be remembered that Museveni has been told to appoint Norbert Mao vice president so that he can leave the speaker race, even as some MPs advised Museveni to appoint his son and army chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba the vice president. (See Details Here and There).
Read interesting facts about speaker Anita Among’s Here.
