Anita Among gave Museveni rope to hang her and that is one big mistake she may live to regret, veteran journalist and commentator Andrew Mwenda has argued.
Andrew Mwenda argued that Speaker Anita Among exposed herself politically through her public image and lifestyle, making her vulnerable within Uganda’s power structure.
His comments come amid a week of intense political developments surrounding Among, including security operations at her residences, the seizure of luxury vehicles, and her withdrawal from the Speakership race.
In the past several days, joint security teams conducted coordinated searches at properties linked to Among, including in Nakasero and Kigo as investigators acted on ongoing inquiries into alleged financial misconduct involving senior parliamentary officials.
Electronic devices and documents were reportedly taken away for forensic analysis as part of the operations, though official agencies have not released detailed public statements on the scope of the searches.
Several high-end vehicles linked to Among were removed from her residence under heavy security escort. The convoy included luxury SUVs and high-value vehicles that were transported on low-bed trucks for inspection and verification. The movement of the vehicles attracted significant public attention as it passed through parts of Kampala.
The vehicles were being examined as part of broader investigations into asset declarations and ownership records.
Amid the escalating scrutiny, Among announced that she would not participate in the Speakership contest for the 12th Parliament.
In her public statement, she cited internal consultations and unity within the ruling party as reasons for stepping aside, and said she would cooperate with ongoing investigations.
Her withdrawal marked a major shift in the parliamentary leadership race, effectively removing her from contention for one of the country’s most powerful political positions.
Political pressure and realignment
Her exit from the race triggered rapid political realignments within Parliament and ruling party structures, with attention shifting to alternative candidates and emerging power blocs.
The developments were part of a broader restructuring within parliamentary leadership circles, influenced by both institutional decisions and internal political negotiations.
Mwenda’s interpretation
Mwenda has framed the developments as a consequence of political visibility and perception, arguing that public image can become a source of vulnerability within Uganda’s political system.
He linked this to broader dynamics of power and survival among senior officials in government.
In his view, Anita Among’s luxurious living made Ugandans dislike her and made her vulnerable.
“Anita had done one big mistake, either deliberately or innocently: she had given President Museveni a rope to hang her: her ostentatious living – her luxury mansions, her expensive cars and dresses – all these things tended to alienate her in the eyes of the Ugandan public; the Ugandan public did not like her and there were exhibitions of ‘corruption’ – not the parliamentary exhibition of the Agather Atuhaires, no, I am saying she exhibited a lot of wealth and luxury and affluence but that not only revolted many elite Ugandans against her but it also gave Museveni a rope with which to hang her,” Mwenda said while appearing on state broadcaster UBC programme Behind the Headlines on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
“So, at any one time, I think she was vulnerable. At one time I thought Museveni may keep her because she was so vulnerable that he knew he could any time call her financial issues into question to get even with her.”
Writing in his Independent Magazine column in March 2024, two years before the fall of Anita Among, Andrew Mwenda warned that if the speaker defied Museveni, she would not be far away from prison gates.
“Ideally, parliament and the executive should be equal. Among has placed the house under Museveni’s control, with her acting as his assistant. This is the sin Kadaga committed: she always tried to assert parliamentary independence,” wrote Mwenda.
“Museveni can now eat his cake and still have it. He can have a powerful and effective speaker of parliament but also one who can do his bidding with zero capacity to threaten him and whatever succession plan he has. If Among went off script, she would be sent to jail and the country would celebrate the president for finally making “the right decision.”
Andrew Mwenda has also argued that Anita Among stole to build Museveni’s political base and do his dirty work, and that the speaker ate very little money from what she allegedly stole, as reported Here.
Meanwhile, dangerous weapons were reportedly found in Anita Among’s homes, and reports also claim that she was planning to remove Museveni, including through an impeachment, so that she could become president. (See Details Here and There).
